Southeast wrestling’s success on rise; so is team’s confidence

Published 6:02 am Thursday, January 10, 2013

A few years ago, Southeast Whitfield’s wrestling team had trouble filling out a starting lineup. Now the Raiders stand out among local programs.

Southeast is the lone team from Whitfield and Murray counties heading to the GHSA’s state duals as all six classifications’ respective competitions begin today at the Macon Centreplex. It’s the first time the Raiders have advanced to state duals, which began in 2002 to give a more team-oriented counterpart to the individual-based traditional state tournament held each February.

Michael Herndon has overseen the Raiders during their rise. He was an assistant under coach Neil Nichols during the 2010-11 season before taking over the program the following season.

“My first year here, I don’t even think we fielded a whole team,” he said. “We were just trying to stay healthy and progress the guys into traditionals.”

Currently, the Raiders hold the duals crown for wrestling programs in Whitfield and Murray counties — the Conasauga Cup, which they claimed last month at Murray County High — and they won three straight matches in the wrestlebacks at this past weekend’s Area 7-4A duals in Cedartown to secure a spot in state with a second-place finish. The top two teams from each of eight areas around the state will compete for the Class 4A state duals title, whittling the field to the final two by Saturday night in Macon.

For the Raiders, this year’s situation is quite different than even last year’s, when they finished fifth at Area 7-3A duals for the second year in a row.

“We’ve gotten better since last year,” said junior 160-pounder Austin Allen. “Really it’s the progression from being super awful to being all right, and just the jump of getting some confidence under ourselves.”

Some local coaches said that due to injuries and the quality of their competition, this year’s area duals essentially became a tune-up for next month’s area traditional tournaments, where individuals can succeed even if their teams don’t. As recently as last year, the Raiders also held that mentality.

“I think, certainly last year, with Heritage-Catoosa and Gilmer, we knew we wouldn’t place in the top two (at Area 7-3A duals),” Herndon said in reference to the Northwest Georgia programs that have been among the best in the state in recent years, with Gilmer winning five state titles since the duals event began. “We hoped to place in the top four.”

Herndon attributes the program’s progress to the maturing of a roster that now includes five seniors — Jesus Dominguez (113), Aaron Thomas (126), Lester Paucay (152), Carlos Fraire (220) and Jose Martir (285).

But seniors leave, and programs must replenish the contributors. Herndon thinks the future is bright because he believes the middle school programs at Eastbrook and Valley Point are doing a good job preparing the next wave of Raiders. Those programs are led by coaches David Self and Pete Duzan, respectively.

“Where it really starts is down at the middle school level … and they have these guys ready to wrestle when they get here,” Herndon said. “We talked to them this year, and they both think they can send us three or four guys who are pretty good.”

Simply having a full lineup makes a difference when postseason duals competition arrives. Southeast was one of two local teams — the other was Murray County, which competed in Area 3-2A — that had a wrestler in each of the 14 weight classes for this year’s postseason duals. Whether because of injuries or wrestlers quitting, many teams were in a situation similar to Southeast’s two years ago.

Having a deep roster helps prepare the young by matching them with the old.

“You want your varsity guys, backup guys and JV guys getting some mat time to get better,” said Herndon, who has “30 to 35 kids” in the program. “That’s what we’ve worked on more this year — getting the JV guys some mat time to get better. It helps having those younger guys wrestle the older guys, because they get better.”

There are other factors that account for the rise. Martir, who was on the roster as a freshman and took a two-year hiatus before returning as a senior, looks to the mentality of the team.

“There was negativity,” he said. “There was kind of a coming into the match already predicting, like who we’d lose to and who we’d beat. Sometimes. It wasn’t always verbal. There was an energy.

“This Southeast team always has a positive attitude.”

There’s no doubt the Raiders are better than they have been recently, even if labeling them the area’s best program isn’t something Herndon is ready to do.

“I wouldn’t go as far to say that,” Herndon said, “but I think if we continue to keep kids and work hard, then we can keep winning.”