Spartans look to move forward at state tournament
Apr. 7—Like every other wrestling coach in the state, Mark Solak has done his best to get his team some consistency. That certainly has been no easy task.
It's not exactly what he envisioned for his first year as Greenbrier East's head coach.
"It's been a little bit on the difficult side because getting matches for everybody, every time we go out to wrestle, hasn't happened," Solak said. "Most teams show up without a full team. We don't have a full team. We have 12 out of the 14 weight classes and there has never been a time we were able to wrestle everybody in the lineup. So to get people matches, and to get people quality matches, just to create some kind of continuity and let them know how they're doing, help them self-motivate for training has been difficult."
That lack of continuity has also hampered the coaches' ability to get a feel for the wrestlers' tendencies.
"You can get a read on wrestlers over a long season. You start to see likes and dislikes, how they have progressed, and that hasn't happened this year," Solak said. "We've had a few layoffs. We miss a practice because of Covid tracing. That stuff happens and breaks the continuity, and the next day you're wrestling. From no practice, we're going wrestling. I can't remember the last time that's happened to us in the last 10 years. I don't think we've ever gone into a match with a day off before."
Through it all, the wrestlers have responded well. Solak has gotten some solid performances, led by senior Colby Piner, who is ranked No. 6 in Class AAA at 160 pounds.
"Colby is just a man on a mission," Solak said. "Allergies get him the first part of the year and he had real bad allergies the first few weeks of the season and it was tough on him. That was the hardest thing for him, getting through that.
"(Landon) Hoover has been a consistent wrestler (at 182), and the big surprise has been how well Thomas Mullins has progressed (at) 220. He's a sophomore and he's done everything right this year. He worked hard in the offseason, worked hard in practice and it's paying for him on the mat."
The Spartans have three girls on the roster who have already made a big impact. Micah Fisher, Emma Kesterson and Aaliyah Robertson competed at the second annual West Virginia Girls State Championships and finished third with 74 points. Champion Musselman and runner-up East Hardy have full teams.
Fisher, who won a state title at last year's inaugural tournament, brought home another championship at 140 pounds. Robertson won the state title at 195 and Kesterson was runner-up at 133.
Solak hopes the three of them can lay the foundation for increased girls participation at Greenbrier East. All three will be back next season — Fisher and Kesterson are juniors and Robertson is a freshman.
"If we can, we hope to have a few more girls come out next year to actually provide a girls program," he said. "We haven't had any luck, but that can change. We're trying to change that culture here at Greenbrier East and get more girls out. We would love to have a team as big as Musselman or East Hardy. As of right now it just isn't happening, but we'll see. That may change."
For now, the immediate focus is on the Class AAA Region 3 tournament Saturday at Riverside High School. Greenbrier East will join the host Warriors, Woodrow Wilson, Oak Hill, Princeton, Capital, George Washington, St. Albans and South Charleston.
Despite the challenges, Solak said the goal remains to qualify all 12 wrestlers for the state tournament.
"I guess the best way to describe the approach would be to not slow down, to not step back," Solak said. "We can't take this weekend off. We're right now ramping them up trying to get them to where they're ready to go first thing. We've got to hit the mat wrestling this weekend."
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