Warriors wrestling hits stride
Published 9:28 pm Thursday, January 26, 2017
Nansemond River High School’s wrestling team feels it is making strides at the right time as Conference 10 championship meets start up soon.
The team is currently 13-3 in dual meets so far this season. It is better than what coach James “Tripp” Seed was expecting the team to be at. So far this season, the teams have gotten big wins against Southeastern District opponents in Oscar Smith and Indian River. After starting off slow at the beginning of the year, Seed believes his team is starting to peak at the right time.
“I feel like we have been wrestling pretty well,” Seed said. “We have our core guys in there winning a lot of matches for us. We don’t have a lot of depth this year, but the kids I do have are quality kids, and the new kids are coming along pretty well too.”
Dia Gray is in top form for the Warriors, as he has only lost two matches on the year. Daniel Peacher is wrestling well in the 145 weight class. Elijah Williams, Aaron Whear and Zechariah Gray round out a solid core in the middleweight classes. Tommy Cervantes and William McKleny have been improving in the heavyweight classes.
Though Seed is happy with the way the team is wrestling right now, he does believe they can get better. Nansemond River recently wrestled in a tournament in Ocean City, Md., where they saw some of the toughest competition in the state of Maryland. The Warriors had six wrestlers place in the top eight at that event.
With the conference championships looming, Seed expects his team to do well. From there it will be regional meets, and Seed hopes his team will be wrestling its best by then.
“I feel like the guys are peaking at the right time,” Seed said. “We have a good chance to win the conference. I’m hoping we have a high number of champions. We want a lot of guys to qualify for the region, which is the main goal. That gives a better chance to score more points when we get there.”
Nansemond River will face off in Conference 10 championships on Feb. 4 at home.