9 Demons to move on

FAIRFIELD - There's nothing better than when a plan comes to fruition.

Washington High School won a Class 2A sectional wrestling title last Saturday and hosts the district tournament this Saturday.

'We have a plan every year and we're going to follow it and it'll be mostly about keeping kids close to weight, so they're healthy and energetic,” Washington coach Brent Van Weelden said. 'We'll keep them fresh and motivated and be ready to roll at districts.”

Winning the sectional means they have a chance to advance to state for team duals.

That journey starts with a dual against top-ranked West Delaware in Manchester tonight. The winner will face the winner of West Liberty and Camanche.

'There are some better draws that we could've got,” Van Weelden said. 'It is going to be a tall task. Our kids had a great practice (Monday), so we are going to go up there and give it a shot and try to win it.”

They are on a winning streak, with a 43-point victory Saturday over second-place Centerville.

'Getting nine guys through is a huge accomplishment,” Van Weelden said. 'I was pleased with everybody, especially Brandon Dickel. He was a third seed and ended up second. He did a great job. Tristan Allender won. I think it was the first tournament that he has ever won. He seems to be peaking at the right time.”

The coach had hoped to see 10 guys advance.

I would've liked to have seen Cade Pohren advance. He's a senior and wrestled all four years. He wrestled great and just lost the wrestle back.”

Besides Allender, Washington champions were Garrett Ikerd, Dillan Sanders, David Hora, Tristin Westphal-Edwards, and Logan Escher. Other second-place finishers were Walker Ikerd and Ayden Frazier. Frazier got beat in the finals and responded with a tough mentality to win his wrestleback.

'They position themselves well for the district tournament,” Van Weelden said. 'I was very pleased with that. We had a couple upsets but everything kind of went the way we hoped.”

One upset that set the tone for the day was Walker Ikerd's defeat of the No. 7 wrestler at 120 pounds.

'I was not sure who was the underdog, but that was the match that was highly anticipated,” Van Weelden said. Ikerd had been ranked this season.

'Walker was aggressive. It was 3-3 after the first,” Van Weelden said. 'He started down for the second. He got in a scramble situation, ended up getting the kid in a half Nelson and was able to wiggle his hips loose and pin him. That was a big match.”

That was the first match of 10 straight wins for Washington. 'That got everybody going in the right direction, that's for sure,” Van Weelden said. 'That gets the juices flowing. The crowd erupted. The kids erupted and it gets the adrenaline flowing for everybody involved.”

Having that kind of support from the home crowd will be important come Saturday.

'Having it in our gym is a definite advantage,” Van Weelden said. 'Kids get to sleep in a little bit longer than anybody else. It should be a great atmosphere. We will have a big crowd. Hopefully things get rolling like they did last week.”

The Demons have been working hard and practicing hard and they don't want to quit until the state tournament is over.

'Win or lose, there's always going to be some good kids that don't get to get to state, but that's the way it is every year,” Van Weelden said.