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Team or individuals
By Monty Tayloe
.Rappahannock News Staff Writer
On the Rappahannock County High School Varsity Wrestling team, you compete alone. The Panthers, who currently numbter only five, don’t have enough wrestlers to compete as a team under VHSL rules. Instead, Panther wrestlers strive to place individually, not bothering about how they are scoring as a team.
“It’s all about individuality. We’re not going to win as a team, it’s completely out of the picture,"explained new Head Coach Jim Herzog. Herzog coached previously in Spotswood and Culpeper Middle school, and wrestled at the University of Maryland. He also teaches Special Education for RCHS.
“In some ways having small numbers has helped us gel together as a team.” In fact, this mode of competition suits this year’s team, which combines experienced stars with up and coming beginners. The senior standouts, Alex Sharp and Doss Allen, were both All-State wrestlers last season.
“I can’t see them finishing lower than one and two in the district this year,” said Coach Herzog. The lack of pressure to win as a team allows Allen and Sharp to concentrate on their champion hopes, and lets new wrestlers learn the sport and make mistakes without bringing their team score down.
“Numbers don’t always dictate success,” explained Herzog. He does worry about the gap in experience between his two standouts and the newcomers on his team. “I worry that they’re not getting the level of competition in practice that they need. We might partner up with Fauquier or Culpeper to practice some,” explained Herzog. The Panthers will wrestle in the Robert E Lee tournament in Staunton on December 17.
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