The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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Barnett advances but Hornets lose to Holt
Senior on way to state, team finishes season with 24-11 record
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 28, 2008
The Saline wrestling team's season has come to a close, but senior Nick Barnett will be wrestling on after qualifying for the state tournament at Saturday's individual Regionals for the second consecutive season.
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Barnett, now 44-3 on the season, survived a challenge from Jordan Henderson of Hudsonville in the "blood round"—the round in which the winner advances to state and the loser does not—by a 4-2 decision in overtime to advance.
Barnett then won a second overtime decision, 9-7 over Anthony Benjamin of Battle Creek Central, to finish third in the 215-pound bracket.
"It's nice to have him get there for a second year in a row," said Saline head coach Scott Marvin. "We weren't sure if we'd given him enough good competition (entering the postseason), but he's been right there, just one or two points behind, with some of the best kids in the state.
"The 9-7 win in overtime, he was down 5-1 in that match. So it was also good to see him show that he can get down and come back if he has to."
Barnett opened the tournament with a pin at the 3:23 mark of Kalamazoo Central's Corey Marsden before losing a tight 4-3 decision in the tournament semifinals to Holland West Ottawa's Michael McClure.
Barnett's performance was the highlight of a week that saw Saline struggle in the win column elsewhere. Individual regional qualifiers Nick Pataro (at 199) and Amir Rad (at 189) each went 0-2 and were eliminated, though Marvin said they had nothing to hang their heads about.
"They wrestled hard and their opponents work," Marvin said. "With Pataro, it was good to have a sophomore there who could see what it was all about. Hopefully he can pass on that experience as a leader next year and help some of other guys step up to that level."
Feb. 20, the Hornets also took on the state's No. 2-ranked Holt Rams in the team regional at Howell. The Rams made short work of Saline, ending the Hornets' team season with a 69-0 victory.
Despite the lopsided loss, Marvin was satisfied with the way his team battled even after the outcome had been decided.
"It's our last few matches and Nick O'Neill comes out at 112 against a kid who'd pinned him in the first period at (individual) districts," Marvin said, "and he went after him. He made him work. We had a lot of guys who wrestled like that. We were sort of outmanned but we went out battling."
The Holt defeat combined with the individual Regionals results meant the end of the careers of five of Saline's six seniors: Rad, Nate Opaleski, Adam Davis, Eric Matteson, and Ryan Matthews.
Along with Barnett, Marvin said the seniors have made a major difference in taking the program from a 7-22 record two seasons ago to 20-18 last season and their 24-11 final mark this year.
"Nick and Nate have been starters for all three of my years. They helped hold things together as a group and really helped us start building," Marvin said. "Amir moved into the starting lineup this season to see him be successful was great. Adam had an injury from football but worked hard all season and we were glad to get him on the mat at the end of the year. Eric and Ryan both blew out their shoulders, but they're smart kids and it's been great having them involved.
"They've been a good, stable group and are a big reason we made the progress we've made."
The Hornets still have plenty to work on for next season, Marvin said, including improving the team's overall depth and beefing up the schedule with more challenging meets and tournaments.
But after seeing his program go from 15 games under .500 to 13 above it, Marvin isn't complaining about the direction the Hornets are headed.
"We're real happy," he said. "You can't win Regionals if you don't even have the opportunity to compete. There's a lot of positives to take out of this season."
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