Pats prepare for later by dominating now

Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2007

Click here to enlarge this photo j. adam fenster⁄the gazette Wootton’s Nate Richards (top) prepares to pin Clarksburg’s Patrick Audain during tri-meet with Poolesville Saturday. Richards is one of six senior starters, who helped the Patriots (21-1 record) to a sweep of the tri-meet and who have led the program to its finest season in years.

And yet, following the Patriots’ 13th victory in a row, there was a cautious optimism in McTamany’s voice.

‘‘I’m very pleased with how we’re doing this year,” he said. ‘‘It’s a great feeling. But, I’m also trying to tell these guys, we’re not wrestling Quince Orchard yet, we’re not wrestling Sherwood, we’re not wrestling Springbrook. We need to keep our heads in every match right now for later on, when we wrestle the best guys.”

It’s true that Wootton hasn’t faced anything close to the toughest part of its schedule. That, however, cannot diminish what the Patriots have accomplished to this point, including hard-fought dual-meet victories over perennial rivals Whitman and Churchill earlier this season. Their only loss of the season came to Paint Branch in the championship match of the Rocket Launch Tournament in December. The two teams actually tied, 36-36, but the Panthers won on tie-breakers.

If there’s any year in which the Patriots can make a legitimate run at their first division title in 20 years, it’s this one, thanks to a senior class that has won over 90 percent of its matches this season. All six senior starters contributed immensely in the victories over the Coyotes (3-6) and Falcons (2-7).

In fact, four of the six took home two victories by fall. With Alex Schild (23-3 record) at 121 pounds, Evan Morris (25-1) at 137, Mike Tobin (25-2) at 191 and Andy Rampp (18-1) at 217, Wootton didn’t need any more contributions, but 173-pound senior Nate Richards scored a pin and a forfeit victory, while classmate Jason Lessans — who has over 100 victories since his freshman year — scored three points with a decision over Kyle Flick of Poolesville.

Underclassmen Mike Barbaro, Jeremy Banas and Jeremy Rosenthal also pinned their opponents both times on Saturday. And yet somehow, amidst two landslide victories, not everyone was satisfied.

‘‘We didn’t wrestle our best today, actually,” said Morris, a former Bullis wrestler in his second year with the Patriots. ‘‘I guess we won by a pretty good margin, and winning matches like this is a big confidence booster, but I’d like to be wrestling a little bit tougher guys to prepare specifically for Damascus and Magruder. I feel like, when we wrestle those schools, we can’t underestimate anyone like some of us did today.”

Morris’ wishes will soon become reality, as the real tests come twice in a five-day January stretch. Next Saturday, the Patriots host another tri-meet with Seneca Valley and the undefeated Swarmin’ Hornets. The following Wednesday, Wootton takes on the Colonels, in a match where a victory would wrap up the Division II title.

‘‘Honestly, as long as you stay injury-free, the end of the season is the best time to do it,” McTamany said. ‘‘By the end, you’ve had a whole season to get them ready, prepared, and that’s what we as coaches are trying to do. Are you ever fully ready, 100 percent? We never are, and unless you win all your matches 84-0, you can always do better.”

Realistically, it would have been hard for the Patriots to do much more Saturday, although Clarksburg was able to give them a run for their money early on. The Coyotes, fresh off a 43-26, come-from-behind win over the Falcons, snatched three individual victories from Wootton. At 114 pounds, Tanner Wrublik scored an impressive win over Lessans with a late takedown in the final 30 seconds of the bout, while his brother Zack pinned Alex Castelli in the 147 class. Mario Caldwell (154) struggled and even sustained an injury against Jack Corbett, but battled through the pain to pick up his team’s final victory of the day.