The season is at an end for Panther women’s wrestling.
On Feb. 8, the team traveled to North Henderson for the Women’s West Regional tournament, featuring nearly 200 wrestlers from more than 50 teams. There, Malaina Alberry and Carrie Holland battled the region’s toughest competition.
“Carrie lost her first match and that put her in the losing bracket, and I really thought she should have won that first match,” said head coach Jimmy Barnett of the 152-lb weight class. “Things that we went over early in the season that we don’t cover a lot came back to hurt us, so we made some mental notes and stuff like that to go over it next year a whole lot more. Her second match she did real well, went out and wrestled the way she should wrestle, dominated that match and won.”
After falling in Round 1 to Foard’s Crystal Pena, who later placed fourth, Holland drew a familiar foe in round 2. Having pinned North’s Fatima Perez en route to a conference title last month, the junior repeated the feat on her Mountain Seven rival’s home mat, pinning Perez in the first period to move to Round 3.
“Her next match, she had a girl that had won her first match but lost her second,” said Barnett. “It was a girl from North Buncombe that she hadn’t wrestled, but a teammate had wrestled earlier in the year. She did one of those things – a head throw that I don’t cover a lot. In years past we’d call it a ‘trash move.’ It’s a beginner’s wrestling move that I kind of get mad that kids even use anymore, but it works.”
Versus North Buncombe’s Alana Mullis, Holland encountered a type of hold she hadn’t seen before, dropping her second match to be eliminated from contention. In the 132-lb. weight class, Franklin’s veteran senior made a mark on the entire field.
“We had a coaches’ meeting and of course all the coaches go to that, and I slid out as soon as it was over with to go back and make sure that Malaina and Carrie were warming up, getting everything right and making sure they were hydrated,” said Barnett. “I walked into the gym and all the girls were having a little walk-through with some of the referees and FCA [Fellowship of Christian Athletes], and when they dismissed, Malaina was dismissing them in a word of prayer. For a coach, that’s one of the best things they can see, is one of his athletes leading prayer for all the athletes in the region. That was a special moment for me as a coach, and I know it was a special one for her.”
While Alberry didn’t have her best day on the mat, falling to wrestlers from East Henderson and Enka, the senior still displayed the type of leadership skills her teammates have come to expect. Although the results didn’t bear out the way she had hoped, Barnett said that doesn’t tarnish her impact on the program the past three years.
“Like she said, ‘It’s been a great year and I hate that it ended like this, but it’s not going to define who I am,’” said Barnett. “I told her, ‘No, not by any means. Even if you’d won it all today, it still doesn’t define the person that you are.”
Upon returning home from Hendersonville, the team turned their attention to the 3A West Men’s Regional at Pisgah Feb. 14-15. There, sophomore Preston Douglas (165) and freshmen Garrett Young (215) and Devlin Bailey (Heavyweight) tried to qualify for state.
“Preston’s dealing with a hurt thumb, so he’s not been on the mat a lot,” said Barnett. “Last Thursday one of my assistants took Devlin and Garrett down to Truett McConnell and rolled around with a couple of their wrestlers down in Cleveland, Georgia. ... Today (Feb. 12) we’re going to Robbinsville to roll around with their regional qualifiers, and that’s something that we’ve done in the past. ... This is the one that really counts, so we want Preston to be healed up. Preston’s not going with us this afternoon but he’s going to do his cardio today, and then tomorrow we’ll have a little cardio workout, and Friday it’s go-time.”
At the weekend-long men’s regional, Young placed among the top four wrestlers in his weight class, becoming Franklin’s first-ever freshman to advance to the state tournament. The state finals are scheduled for Feb. 20-22 at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Press will feature full coverage of both tournaments in next week’s edition.