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Schools

Jr. Raider Wrestlers Take Home Medals

The Beginner's tourneys are over, and four wrestlers won bronze, silver or gold medals.

Junior Raider Wrestlers Win at Northview Beginners Tournament.

Four of the six Junior Raider wrestlers who competed at the Northview High School Beginners Tournament medaled, with one earning gold

Jacob Fragle (10-U/70) went 3-1 to earn the gold medal on a tiebreaker criteria.  He is only a fourth grader in his first year of wrestling, said Coach Mark Spivak.  Fragle is a young fourth grader who will have another year in the 10-U class and he has shown tremendous improvement in his understanding of technique and his acquisition of body awareness, according to his coach, Mark Spivak. Fragle wants to continue his wrestling growth in the off-season.

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"We expect big things from Jacob next season at both the second-year Beginner and Open levels," the Junior Raider head coach said.

Reagan Boyd (10-U/65) won two matches, including one by pin to make the finals. However, in the finals match he lost a hearbreaking 13-11 decision.  He earned a silver medal. Boyd is also a young fourth grader who will return next season to the 10-U class.  Now that he has experienced increasing success, with participation in an off-season program and off-season coaching from his dad, a former Regional champion and GHSA referee, Coach Spivak expects that Reagan also will be a frequent medalist next season at both the second-year Beginner and Open levels.

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Colson Wamsley (8-U/70) won one match 11-2 and lost two other matches by decision to earn a bronze medal. He was on a two-tournament gold medal streak that included 6 consecutive victories and 4 pins. Therefore, the coaching staff was surprised that Colson didn't continue the streak. Unfortunately, Wamsley's streak came to a premature end. He loves wrestling and plans to participate in the off-season.

Coach Spivak said, "Colson has shown tremendous improvement physically and cognitively on the mat and with a full off-season program and greater conditioning he will reveal even greater potential.  Moreover, he is a young second grader who will return to the 8-U weight class.  We expect many Open-level victories from Colson next season." 

Connor Mead (10-U/87) won two matches by pin and lost two others to earn a bronze medal.  His coach said he is an exceptional athlete who enjoys wrestling both as a stand-alone sport and as an off-season conditioning strategy for football.

Beyond his athleticism, Mead has intestinal fortitude, as proven by his willingness to venture onto the middle school dual mats to obtain difficult matches against older and more experienced wrestlers.

In the opinion of Coach Spivak, "After Connor continues wrestling this off-season and throughout the upcoming seasons, he will have the ability to eventually become a high school state placer or maybe even a high school state champion."

Grant Thomson (10-U/87) had an "off tournament," losing all three of his matches.

Nevertheless, the Junior Raider coaches have seen greater intensity, concentration, and technique from Grant in practice and look forward to him continuing his improvement.  Since Thomson is a second-year wrestler, Northview was his last Beginner tournament. Starting next week at the Qualifier, Grant will become exclusively an Open-level wrestler.  

Dylan Hannon (8-U/105) also had a tough tournament where he lost all three of his matches. Coach Spivak describes Dylan "as a big, strong, aggressive second grader in his first year of wrestling, who if he dedicates himself to an off-season program should experience frequent success on the mats during the 2012-13 season."  

Northview was the last Beginner tournament of the season. Now, the Junior Raider coaches look forward to both the Beginners and the experienced Junior Raider wrestlers testing their mettle at the State Qualifiers in Dahlonega.

Persons wishing to learn more about Alpharetta Junior Raider Wrestling are encouraged to review the team's website or to contact Head Coach Mark Spivak by email.

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