Demons hoping to send six to state

After a successful trip to Mediapolis last Saturday, the Demons are looking to repeat that success at Fairfield on Valentine?s Day.

The Washington wrestling team will send six athletes to districts on Saturday, and all of them have a chance to advance to the state tournament which will begin on Thursday, Feb. 19.

To help prepare for the big tournament, the Demons went to Mt. Pleasant for a practice with the Panthers to help set the focus.

?It changes the atmosphere a little bit,? Washington head coach Brent Van Weelden said. ?The room is different and the kids are different and it changes the attitude. When they come into our room, it?s more of a comfort level for them, but in a different environment they have to change their mindset. To wrestle with other kids, where you aren?t always beating up on yourself, is nice too.?

Starting with the lower weight classes, Alex Latcham will have a rematch at 106 with Gabe Ruepke.

In their first match Ruepke won an 8-0 major decision, and to flip things around, Latcham will have to take the role of aggressor, according to Van Weelden.

?He needs to secure his defense on his feet, and be more active on his feet,? Van Weelden said. ?In his last match, (Ruepke) was more of the aggressor in the match, so we have to turn that around.?

At 113, the Demons will have another rematch, when Andrew Waite will look to make it another win over Chariton?s Dylin Harberts, whom Waite pinned at the Southern Iowa Classic on Jan. 31.

?If Andrew goes out and takes care of business, and wrestles his style of match we?ll be OK there,? Van Weelden said. ?It?s good and bad, wrestling someone you?ve wrestled, because they know you better, and so Andrew needs to make sure in his head that he is prepared to wrestle for six minutes and not take for granted that he?s already pinned him.?

At 120, Washington?s Kyle Anderson will look to avenge a 6-5 decision loss to Albia?s Zach Oldham.

To get on the winning side and move on to state, Van Weelden said the key will be on the feet.

?It comes down to the battle of the feet,? Van Weelden said. ?We have to get the takedowns in that match and it?s important to score first and to get a mental mindset there. I think we can get the first points in that match and set the tone early.?

Looking at the rankings, Washington?s Austin Hazelett has one of the toughest matchups in Saturday?s first round, going up against PCM?s Tristan Clark, who is ranked No. 5 in the 126-pound weight class.

Despite the toughness of the match, Van Weelden was confident in the sophomore?s ability to take the match.

?He needs to stay focused and wrestle six minutes,? Van Weelden said. ?He needs to know that he can go out there and win that match, because he can. With Austin, if things go bad for him, he seems to shut down a little bit, so he needs to make sure that he stays in the match for six minutes. If he does that, who knows what will happen??

At 138, Washington?s Trey Van Weelden will face off against Albia?s Kyle Sinnott. Despite not wrestling against him, the Demons were able to see him in an earlier tournament and Brent Van Weelden thinks the team should be able to escape the first match.

?They are both similar in body styles,? Van Weelden said. ?We saw him wrestle at the Southern Iowa Classic in Fairfield. That?s going to be a coin flip there, and the person who wins that has a shot at getting through. As long as we dictate the pace, everything should be fine.?

Ranked No. 2 in the 195-pound weight class, Washington?s Brad Skubal will face off against Knoxville?s Travis Poffenbarger, and if he can get past that match, another potential meeting with the No. 1 wrestler, Mediapolis? Steven Holloway.

?We saw the Poffenbarger kid wrestle against Holloway the other night at regional duals,? Van Weelden said. ?We are confident in Brad?s ability and he knows what he needs to do. Brad has been in this situation before and as long as Brad is getting to the legs and shooting, we should be able to win that match. As long as we are the ones dictating these matchups we?ll have a chance.?

The Demons will weigh in at 10 a.m. on Saturday, with the tournament starting at noon in Fairfield. Check out Monday?s issue of The Journal to see what Demon wrestlers advanced to the state tournament.