“The team is really wrestling well and peaking at the right time of year. Our team trained really hard over winterim and it is paying off,” Plymouth State Wrestling coach Tommy Prairie said as the Panthers finished their dual-meet season at .500. The Panthers would upset Trinity College and Springfield College and would wrestle Johnson and Wales to an 18-18 tie. PSU is now looking ahead to the New England Championships to be held at Western New England College February 20th.
PSU had five wrestlers go a perfect 3-0 this weekend, including Josh Huber, Fermi Wheeler, Mike Willey, Seth carter and Eric Larcomb. Huber’s impressive weekend was yet another success this season bringing him to a record of 25-4, ” Josh is an incredibly hard worker and it is paying off big time for him and the team. Josh is successful because he has been putting the work in since he arrived at Plymouth State last fall. Anytime you commit yourself to something, you are going to see success,” Coach Prairie said.
Sophomore Jake Gagnon went 2-0 in his 285-pound class and solidified his place as the number 2 wrestler in his weight class in New England. Rob Phillips went 2-1 with his only loss being a decision to the top wrestler in New England. PSU has a number of wrestlers ranked in New England, ” We have six guys ranking in New England right now: Josh Huber (1st), Fred Wilkinson (7th), Mike Willey (3rd), Seth Carter (4th), Eric Larcomb (5th), and Jake Gagnon (2nd). Huber is ranked 10th in the country and Mike Willey is an honorable mention,” added Coach Prairie.
Looking ahead to the New England’s, PSU is looking to improve upon their 11th place finish from last year. Coach Prairie spoke on this, “Our team goal is to place top 5. It is going to take a lot of great individual efforts. We have six guys ranked in the conference, but more importantly as a team and individually we are healthy and wrestling the best we have all season,” he said, “That is a great combination to have heading into New England’s. I expect this to be our best season since I’ve arrived at Plymouth State. Every one of our starters is capable of reaching the podium, the top 6 in New England’s, it is just about taking it one match at a time,” added Prairie.
With a few weeks before they are set to start, PSU has ample time to prepare for the NEWA Tournament. They will be ready to go when it comes time. They have a young team that has experienced success and will continue to do so.