Tyler Connolly of Marysville has control of a Westland opponent in this photo. The Monarchs will face a big challenge on Thursday when they host Dublin Coffman.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
––––
The Marysville High School wrestling team will jump back into Ohio Capital Conference Central Division competition on Thursday.
Coming off their fifth-place finish at the Top Gun Invitational over the weekend, the Monarchs will host Dublin Coffman at 7 p.m.
The high school program will honor local youth grapplers, as well as the Bunsold Middle School team prior to the varsity match.
MHS opened the OCC portion of its schedule last week with an easy victory over Westland.
Now, the stakes are higher against the Shamrocks, who have won four out of the last five dual matches against the Monarchs.
Even though the caliber of competition will be higher, head coach Shawn Andrews is approaching it as another match on the schedule.
“We don’t see this as a springboard type of match,” said Andrews. “It is our first test of the OCC season and we can’t loose focus going forward.”
Despite the success they have experienced this winter, the Monarchs have been battling a consistency issue, as it has been difficult to put the same 14 athletes in the lineup.
That’s due, in part, to the fact the team has battled injuries and illness.
“We just want to get 14 moving parts in the lineup,” said Andrews. “We’ve had guys who have wrestled well all year, but others who have not wrestled consistently.”
Andrews cited the Top Gun as an example.
“After Friday’s opening day, we were in second place,” he said. “Now, we did have a flu problem and some injuries on the second day, but we also had some guys who finished only one match away from placing.
“Those guys have to learn that they can’t hold back.”
The MHS boss said more athletes have to be willing to step up and help.
“We can’t expect three or four guys to carry the team,” he said. “Other guys have to accept the challenge of stepping up and doing their part as well.”
“It falls back on self-belief,” said Andrews. “If the kids believe in themselves, they’re going to work harder.
“It’s the mental side of coaching,” he said. “You have to convince some guys that they can be better than what they think.”
The Shamrocks will enter Thursday’s match led by three returning state tournament qualifiers. They are Kyle Murray (113), Ben Yost (145) and Lennox Wollack (185).
Bonus points are always important when it comes to competition involving two strong programs.
Tallying those points against Coffman won’t be easy.
“Dublin Coffman goes not give up a lot of pins or technical falls,” said Andrews. “They find a way to fight against those and they make scoring bonus points very tough.”