IR season sinks to a close on the mat
The regularly season dwindled to a close for the Indian River wrestling team this past weekend, and although they finished the year 4-11, head coach Jeff Windish was still able to learn a lot. While the road for some on the team has reached an end, the Henlopen Conference tournament sits on the horizon for others this weekend.
Coastal Point • Jesse Pryor
Antonio Gonzalez pins a Woodbridge opponent in the Indian’s victory last Friday. IR finished the regular season 4-11 as they head into the conference championships this weekend.
“Looking back on the season,” said Windish, “it’s definitely been a growing year. We battled through a lot of adversity, and the kids have grown as a result of that. We saw some really positive things by having younger guys in the lineup that I might not have normally seen.”
New faces stepped up as freshmen, while a handful of upperclassmen helped establish the team’s demeanor. Injuries throughout the season forced Windish to accommodate what he could in the lineup, as well.
“We still have two weeks left in the season,” he added, “and it’s really important to focus on our last three days of practice going into the conference tournament.”
The state competition is something that the Indians will have to set their sights on for next year.
“Every coach’s goal is to take their entire team to the state tournament,” he added. “It’s a reasonable expectation to get seven or eight [team wins] through in a year. Maybe we get some breaks along the way and squeak another one or two in there, but we’ve come a long way.”
Even though the team’s overall record reflects struggle, there were some notable individuals who made their presence felt this year.
“We definitely have a few front-runners,” said Windish. “Bo Wilkinson finished 11-2 in the conference, and Katteem Harmon ended up 12-1. Matt McDowell, even though he wasn’t with us most of the season, looks good in the conference on paper.”
The last push will come for the Indians this weekend, as the Henlopen Conference Wrestling Tournament is held at Caesar Rodney on Friday, Feb. 20, at 4 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 21, at 10 a.m.
“Our schedule’s prepared us for this,” said Windish. “At the start of the year, we set the schedule up to get our guys ready for this, and they believe they are ready. But we still need good days of practice.”
Windish has worked all year with a young team struggling to find its footing.
“It’s been a developing year,” he stressed, “and all my coaches – myself included – will look back after conferences and states and realize we had a good group of kids. They were maybe not the best wrestlers we’ve had as a whole, but we had really good kids. I’ve had more fun with this group than I have in my subsequent years.
