Stebbins, wrestling Generals gearing up for postseason
There is something about finishing well.
That is certainly on Wooster senior Nate Stebbins’ mind, especially when that “something” is on the Wooster campus. The wrestling postseason mind-set begins this weekend for Ohio Cardinal Conference grapplers when the eight OCC teams gather in Wooster to determine this year’s champions.
Stebbins, who is 21-6 so far this season, is looking to become one of those champions and set himself on the path to the State tournament, which will be held on the Ohio State campus March 1-3.
The OCC is the first step, which will be held Saturday, Feb. 4 at Wooster. Weigh-ins for the double-elimination tournament will begin at 8 a.m., with the first bout scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. The finals will begin tentatively at 3 p.m., and post-match results can be found on HSwrestling.com.
Lexington will be out to defend last year’s title, while Clear Fork finished second. Wooster coach Troy Worth is expecting a similar finish this year.
“Clear Fork has some good kids, but I don’t know if it is strong enough through its whole lineup,” he said.
“Lex is a Top-10 team in the state,” added assistant Don Rammel. “They have three strong state contenders.”
Worth is looking for “individual improvement” from his squad as it faces the final month of the season.
“We don’t have five weight classes filled, so there are no points in those,” said Worth. “We have two, maybe three, first-year wrestlers who will be starting. If we can get a win out of them, that would be great.
“I just want to see (the team) go out and wrestle well. I want to see them go out and prove how much we have improved. I’d like to see some champions, but if that doesn’t happen, I want some placers and for them to wrestle well.”
While Stebbins has a difficult path through the OCC before him, Worth is hoping the senior can close out his career with a strong finish. Stebbins is a four-year letter winner who stepped into the lineup at 119 pounds as a freshman and suffered through a losing record. He moved down to 112 as a sophomore and finished 13-13, and had a breakthrough campaign a year ago to wrap up 27-11 as he moved back to 119.
Stebbins was runner-up in his OCC weight class a year ago, and he’s hoping to reach some of his goals in the final days of his career.
“I haven’t been a district qualifier yet, so districts are my top priority now,” said Stebbins. “I only have three to four weeks left -- it’s surreal right now thinking about it. I only have one shot left to do it – I don’t have next year.”
Stebbins followed in his brother’s footsteps, picking up the sport in middle school.
“My brother wrestled. He started in middle school and I thought it was a cool-looking sport,” said Stebbins. “Conference is always big here and it’s always tough – 126 is really tough this year. Last year I was runner-up and it would be great to have a title. That will help me get better with sectionals and districts coming up.”
“Nate has been a solid performer, a hard worker ever since seventh grade,” said Worth of his senior captain. “He goes out and does what is asked of him. He’s always trying to make improvements. He sets his goals high and he strives to get those. He hasn’t made it, but hopefully districts are in the cards for him.
“If he catches you, he’ll turn you,” he added. “He goes out and makes it hard for you to score and he’ll work hard for that takedown. He’s never big and flashy, but he’s always in your face for the whole six minutes and he does that well.
“His strength is his endurance. He wears people out. In close matches, he’ll get you in the third period because his conditioning is top-notch. He has moves he really likes and he goes to all the time, but he’ll get a takedown even though people know it’s coming.”
Right now, Worth is working on showing a few new wrinkles to try to give Stebbins a better chance with the season counting down.
“We’re adjusting a few things on his feet for the people he wrestles the next time,” said Worth. “We’re trying a few things to help him take his shot, working on his breakdown to get a turn. It’s little things now. He can do all the technique we have. Now we’re putting the pieces together to make sure it’s a high-percentage turn, a high-percentage shot, and to make sure it’s all there.”
That is certainly on Wooster senior Nate Stebbins’ mind, especially when that “something” is on the Wooster campus. The wrestling postseason mind-set begins this weekend for Ohio Cardinal Conference grapplers when the eight OCC teams gather in Wooster to determine this year’s champions.
Stebbins, who is 21-6 so far this season, is looking to become one of those champions and set himself on the path to the State tournament, which will be held on the Ohio State campus March 1-3.
The OCC is the first step, which will be held Saturday, Feb. 4 at Wooster. Weigh-ins for the double-elimination tournament will begin at 8 a.m., with the first bout scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. The finals will begin tentatively at 3 p.m., and post-match results can be found on HSwrestling.com.
Lexington will be out to defend last year’s title, while Clear Fork finished second. Wooster coach Troy Worth is expecting a similar finish this year.
“Clear Fork has some good kids, but I don’t know if it is strong enough through its whole lineup,” he said.
“Lex is a Top-10 team in the state,” added assistant Don Rammel. “They have three strong state contenders.”
Worth is looking for “individual improvement” from his squad as it faces the final month of the season.
“We don’t have five weight classes filled, so there are no points in those,” said Worth. “We have two, maybe three, first-year wrestlers who will be starting. If we can get a win out of them, that would be great.
“I just want to see (the team) go out and wrestle well. I want to see them go out and prove how much we have improved. I’d like to see some champions, but if that doesn’t happen, I want some placers and for them to wrestle well.”
While Stebbins has a difficult path through the OCC before him, Worth is hoping the senior can close out his career with a strong finish. Stebbins is a four-year letter winner who stepped into the lineup at 119 pounds as a freshman and suffered through a losing record. He moved down to 112 as a sophomore and finished 13-13, and had a breakthrough campaign a year ago to wrap up 27-11 as he moved back to 119.
Stebbins was runner-up in his OCC weight class a year ago, and he’s hoping to reach some of his goals in the final days of his career.
“I haven’t been a district qualifier yet, so districts are my top priority now,” said Stebbins. “I only have three to four weeks left -- it’s surreal right now thinking about it. I only have one shot left to do it – I don’t have next year.”
Stebbins followed in his brother’s footsteps, picking up the sport in middle school.
“My brother wrestled. He started in middle school and I thought it was a cool-looking sport,” said Stebbins. “Conference is always big here and it’s always tough – 126 is really tough this year. Last year I was runner-up and it would be great to have a title. That will help me get better with sectionals and districts coming up.”
“Nate has been a solid performer, a hard worker ever since seventh grade,” said Worth of his senior captain. “He goes out and does what is asked of him. He’s always trying to make improvements. He sets his goals high and he strives to get those. He hasn’t made it, but hopefully districts are in the cards for him.
“If he catches you, he’ll turn you,” he added. “He goes out and makes it hard for you to score and he’ll work hard for that takedown. He’s never big and flashy, but he’s always in your face for the whole six minutes and he does that well.
“His strength is his endurance. He wears people out. In close matches, he’ll get you in the third period because his conditioning is top-notch. He has moves he really likes and he goes to all the time, but he’ll get a takedown even though people know it’s coming.”
Right now, Worth is working on showing a few new wrinkles to try to give Stebbins a better chance with the season counting down.
“We’re adjusting a few things on his feet for the people he wrestles the next time,” said Worth. “We’re trying a few things to help him take his shot, working on his breakdown to get a turn. It’s little things now. He can do all the technique we have. Now we’re putting the pieces together to make sure it’s a high-percentage turn, a high-percentage shot, and to make sure it’s all there.”
Published: February 1, 2012
