KINGWOOD — Five Preston High wrestlers qualified for the state tournament last season and four of them returned to the mat for the Knights this season.
Sophomores Gavin Garlits and Owen Klimas, along with seniors Chase Blaney and Curtis Shreve, have picked up right where they left off last season and have their sights set on making it down to Huntington again.
“We’ve looked good against competition that we’re comparable with,” head coach Brad Reed said. “We can’t fill all the weight classes so we’re missing three or four spots. We have wins in the duals we’ve been in, but if you’re looking at the team scores, we come up short just because we’re missing some weight classes. Going up against a full team, it’s hard to overcome an 18- to 24-point deficit.”
In Early December, the Knights had an impressive showing at the Hedgesville Duals in the Eastern Panhandle, going 7-3. The Knights traveled to Cumberland, Md., for a dual with Fort Hill. They also won seven bouts — all by pin.
“You have to look at that as a win overall,” Reed said.
Blaney is working to drop weight from the 220-pound weight class to 195.
“It can be a challenge,” Reed said. “The reason why Chase has been at 220 is the way they do the weight certifications. They only let you drop so much weight per week based on body-fat percentage. He came into the season a little heavier than he wanted to be but he had a pretty low body-fat percentage. He came in around 208 pounds but only had 14 percent body fat.
Blaney has been wrestling since he was a sophomore but Shreve has been with Reed since he joined the coaching staff five years ago as a middle school assistant. Shreve started in seventh grade when the wrestling program was restarted at the middle school level in Preston County.
“From those two guys we have really good leadership,” Reed said.
A third senior, heavyweight Tyler Jeffries could miss eight weeks or more after suffering a shoulder injury at John Marshall on Dec. 11 while facing an East Fairmont wrestler.
Overall, Preston is really young this season with nine wrestlers who are either freshmen or sophomores.
At 113 pounds, freshman Calizah Hampton is wrestling for the first time. At 126 pounds is freshman Zeb Greaser; Garlits is back at 132 and freshman Cole Turner is a standout at 145 pounds. His father, Buddy Turner, is a longtime coach at the middle school and club level, so Cole brings a wealth of experience and talent as a youngster.
Klimas wrestles at 152 pounds as there is some competition for the top spot at 160 pounds between freshman Xander Hahn and junior Caleb Armbrester, who will also wrestle at 145 pounds.
Shreve headlines at 170 pounds, junior Zeke Lilly goes at 182, freshman Erik Farkas checks in at 195 pounds, and the heavyweight spot is filled by sophomore Greyson Kuhn, freshman Dylan Haskiell, junior William Marks, and Jeffries.
With a majority of the team as underclassmen, Reed is encouraged by the future prospectus of the Preston program. They recently held their third annual golf scramble to raise funds for a potential new wrestling facility to be built in Preston County. Reed said they are still in the very-early planning stages of that process. Until then, thanks to a rejuvenated middle school program and a club program in the county, numbers are growing and interest in the sport is rising.
“Right now, my main focus is getting as many kids out as possible,” said Reed, who teaches at the high school. “Getting kids on the mat and giving them that experience will be a big key.”
By MATTHEW PEASLEE
TWEET @dompostsports
