Middle school wrestling needed to boost high school programs

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on March 28, 2015 11:30 PM

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The sound of tape being ripped from the wrestling mat filled the air.

Soon, a loud "boom" erupted when the long tubes, some worn from constant use and age, were pulled from the storage room.

Still in their wrestling gear, members of the Eastern Wayne team gathered at one end with the tube and began rolling up the mats.

Michael Daughtry silently watched.

It had been senior night -- a special evening for four grapplers who meant the world to Daughtry. He gushed over their efforts as he introduced them before the match to the sparse crowd. Each received a warm round of applause, but it should have been more.

Especially to Daughtry.

That quartet of seniors had been the backbone and leaders of a team for four years. Each had achieved his own set of accomplishments, whether it was emerging victorious in an individual tournament, earning a key victory in a dual match, advancing to the regionals or qualifying for the state championships.

Daughtry pondered the program's future.

He recognized fellow county schools Rosewood and Charles B. Aycock, which benefit yearly from youth wrestling programs. Many of those kids now wear either an Eagle or a Golden Falcon singlet.

The two programs have reset the standard of wrestling in the county due to their offseason programs that even have 6-year-olds getting instruction -- and competition time -- on the mat.

Not Eastern Wayne.

Not Goldsboro.

Not Spring Creek.

Not Southern Wayne.

In fact, the Saints disbanded their program two seasons ago due to having no coach. Kelvin Gurley stepped in this season and remarkably resuscitated a program that had seemed to take its last breath.

There are 10 middle schools in the county. Wayne School of Engineering just started middle school sports this year.

Wrestling is one of four sports -- along with track, golf and tennis -- that is not offered in middle school?

Why?

Daughtry said there have been discussions with Wayne County Public School officials about starting the sport. He never revealed any specific details from those conversations.

When teams from Wayne County head outside their region to face other teams, they run into programs that have AAU and middle school programs. It's particularly evident in the Triangle area and western parts of North Carolina, which produce a majority of individual and dual-team state champions.

I'm not saying the east is weak. Nearly 30 state champions have come from Wayne County, but just two (Aycock alum Ngu Tran and Rosewood alum Nick Quillen) since 2007.

Think about how those numbers could increase exponentially if Eastern Wayne, Southern Wayne, Spring Creek and Goldsboro had either an AAU or middle school team to help rebuild its program.

From the late 1950s to 1970s, Goldsboro churned out 20-plus state champions in what was then the "open" era -- when all the wrestlers statewide competed to determine one state champion.

Of course, it didn't have a middle school program. But it had stability and athletes who worked hard to succeed in the sport.

Daughtry desperately wants to see that again.

But putting a first-year freshman on the mat -- with no previous experience -- is like dropping a diver off in shark-infested waters with no protective cage. There is no chance for survival.

Wrestling is a sport that relies on agility, technique, strength, stamina and intelligence. Those characteristics don't surface in one year. But they can be developed over time in a youth program.

Experience is everything.

Daughtry undoubtedly agrees.