The South Kitsap High wrestling team is on the brink of the two biggest weekends of their season.
After falling just short to Yelm for the league title and then again in the league tournament, head Coach Chad Nass and his team are ready for a different outcome at the regional tournament.
The Wolves are sending 14 wrestlers and seven alternates to regionals hosted at Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma Feb. 12-13. Then the following weekend, those who move on will compete at the annual Mat Classic, the state tournament at the Tacoma Dome.
“I think all 14 can get out and go to state,” Nass said. “And then we’ll go from there.”
Nass said a great regionals will lead to all 14 wrestlers moving on. A good regionals, will result in double digits moving on, and a bad one will end with only a small number continuing on to the Mat Classic.
To prepare for this feat, Nass and the coaching staff are focusing on the mental side of the sport.
“The biggest thing is working on their minds right now,” he said. “Physically, we’ve been at this for 13 weeks. So it’s more mental right now.”
Nass said they are focusing workouts toward the 14 wrestlers who are moving on and working on mistakes they have made throughout the season to clean up their technique.
The Wolves finished 5-1 on the year, having only lost to Yelm in the final match of the season. Although South Kitsap won eight out of the 14 matches, Yelm ultimately won 27-25 because they accrued more bonus points.
Two weekends later, at the Narrows League Tournament, South Kitsap again fell just short of beating the Tornadoes.
“At the league tournament we had 371, and they got 372,” Nass said. “Two days of wrestling and a half a point separated us.”
Nass thinks that regionals will once again come down to both teams finishing first and second. Although the competition is tough, he knows that his team can finish on top.
“We lost in the dual by two and then at league by half,” he said. “If we keep shaving off more points, it’s us. We’re just sanding off the edges.”
Two of the 14 wrestlers competing in Tacoma this weekend are seniors Brandon Forster and Isaac Santos. Forster wrestles in the 138-pound category and finished eighth in the state tournament last year.
“I started strong in winning, and I felt the coaches began believing in me more,” Forster said. “I started believing more in myself. It kept continuing on through the season to right now.”
Forster finished first in his weight class at the league tournament and hopes to help lead his team to a state championship by winning an individual championship himself.
“There are a couple of teams with some tough kids. But the way our region is set up, I think we have a chance of going far,” he said.
Santos, who finished in third place in the 126-pound weight class at the league tournament, said the team has a culture among themselves of a hard-working program. And this year, he said the team is continuing that work together and making sacrifices to reach their goals.
Both Forster and Santos said the team chemistry this season has really set them apart from teams in the past.
“The team camaraderie is great,” Forster said. “We are all tight and close with the coaches and the seniors.”
Santos agreed, saying traveling to different tournaments really helped the group bond.
“We have an extremely strong team,” Santos said. “Our senior class kind of has it in our mind to make this year count and win it all. We all just kind of think this is our year. It’s all on the line, and we have a good chance of doing well in the postseason.”
Santos finished third in his weight category at the Narrows League Tournament and said he is hitting his peaks at the right time.
“I’m looking forward to postseason,” he said.
Nass compares post season to preseason. Everything starts anew.
“Everything now is preseason. Everything starts over at regionals,” he said. “Everyone is 0-0. Doesn’t matter who you’ve faced or what they have done in season.
“It’s a whole new day. Anything can happen, and we want to make sure we’re on top of it.”
To help keep his team focused, Nass tells his wrestlers to take care of the little things and focus on themselves.
“I tell them to worry about themselves. We are aware there are other good teams, but worry about yourself,” he said. “Wrestle to your ability and things will fall in place to the next meet and the next, hopefully on to the podium.”
Focusing on themselves includes getting a good night’s sleep, finishing their homework early to prevent being up all night working on it, managing their time and eliminating distractions.
“This and next week, we are going to take care of the little things,” Nass said. “That’s why we’re here, to work hard.
“We’re at the finish line, and we want to finish strong.”
Along with Forster, Clayton Brooks, Deion Anderson and Angelo Trujillo also finished first in their weight class at the Narrows League Tournament.
Devon Gentz, Ashton Schessler, Sebastian Robles and Kenny Close finished second. Santos, Davonn Keyes, Cole Craner and Jessie Jones finished third. And JJ Leota and Thomas Miller each placed fourth in their respective weight classes.
All 14 wrestlers moving on are focused on winning when it really counts these last two weekends.
In recent seasons, wins have gone back and forth between Yelm and South Kitsap. But this time around, when the two teams face off, Nass believes the results will come out differently.
“They’re sending 15, we have 14. I like our 14.”
