By Allen Hamrick
The Panthers and Lady Panther have ended their season on the mats at the State Wrestling Tournament held in Huntington over the past weekend. Yet again this season, they went head-to-head with some of the best in the state and put great individual numbers in the books. Four Panthers – Blake Coleman, Eddie Metheney, Owen McGlothglin and Caiden Bryant and one Lady Panther – Zaiah Minger – qualified for state competition. It was a tough event as some of the top wrestlers were getting a workout trying to keep their top spots.
The Panthers had some of those tough matches but gave it a hundred percent. Blake Coleman and Caiden Bryant were the only wrestlers from the Panther team to place in the top 6. Blake Coleman placed 4th in the state in his weight class, and Caiden Bryant placed 6th in the state in his weight class. Placing at all in this tournament is a great accomplishment considering the level of competition they were up against.
Congratulations to Blake and Caiden on their places. Zaiah Minger went 2-2 in the tournament, also a great accomplishment for the first Lady Panther wrestling team. She, along with teammate Jayda Stricker, set the bar for all future Lady Panther wrestlers. Next season, the teams will be back in action, and who knows, it could very well be the year of the Panther.
