The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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Positives in Hornet loss
Seniors help Saline move closer to SEC power Bedford
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 1, 2007
Once again, the Saline wrestling team fell to a powerful Southeastern Conference foe.
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Once again, head coach Scott Marvin is less disappointed in the loss than he is excited by the improvement his team has made since this time last season.
As they had against Tecumseh the week before, last Thursday the Hornets lost on the road by a wide margin, this time to 2006 Division 1 semifinalist Bedford 54-18.
But as was the case against Tecumseh, the Hornets' total of 18 represented how far the program has come since the 2006 season. Four different Hornets won their match against Bedford, whereas last season only one Saline wrestler did.
"Some of our kids wrestled really well. We're still growing," Marvin said. "We've come a long way from where we were."
Three of the same winners against Tecumseh repeated the feat against Bedford. Joey Everett earned the only pin of the match for Saline in the heavyweight division. Ean Pokryfky won a 9-3 decision at 171 pounds, and Bryce Rajabian continued his stellar senior season by winning a 10-5 decision at 215.
At 160, Brent Greene had suffered a tough defeat against Tecumseh, but rebounded to take a 10-point major decision over his opponent from Bedford.
For Rajabian, his win extended a double-digit winning streak and kept his total losses since returning from an early-season injury at one — and that one a double-overtime loss in his second match back.
"Since then, he's been tearing it up," Marvin said. "He's done a nice job for us."
Veterans like Everett and Rajabian have been far from the only bright spots, however. Marvin said that many of his less experienced wrestlers, including sophomore Jay Augustyn and Nate Opaleski, have continued to fight hard and challenge their opponents, even against wrestlers from places such as Tecumseh and Bedford.
"All of our young kids battled," Marvin said. "That's definitely a positive for us. We know we're improving."
It will take more strong performances from the Hornets' younger wrestlers to defeat Chelsea at home Thursday, which would cap their SEC regular season at 5-2 only a year after going winless in conference play.
"That's what we want, and we're very capable of doing that," Marvin said. "It's time to start making our big push at the end of the year."
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