Bolstered by experience and strength in the middle weight classes, the Halifax County High School wrestling team is looking to improve upon last year’s successful season.
“Last year was a solid year for this team,” pointed out Comets Head Coach David Riddle.
“We finished with a winning record in dual meets, and had quite a few wrestlers achieve podium finishes in tournaments. We also had three wrestlers move on to Day Two of the region tournament. This group seems hungry and ready to continue on with that success from the previous season.”
Riddle said the desire of the wrestlers to improve their skills is showing in the practice room.
“Assistant Coach Jay Cole and I have been pleased with the work ethic to start the year,” Riddle said.
“The team has come in ready to work. We have a good mix of wrestlers with experience and several that are learning the ropes as we go through the early season workouts.”
The strength of this season’s Comets wrestling team rests in the middle weight classes, particularly with returning wrestlers senior Shon Ballou and juniors Tyler Hudson and Tyler Mabe.
“All three of them have been with the team since their eighth-grade year and had Halifax County Youth Wrestling Club experience prior to that,” Riddle explained.
“We got 62 individual wins out of this group last season, and they were a key to our success in our dual meets. They have all had experience at regional meets and have a great grasp of what needs to be done to succeed at this sport.
“We expect this group to be able to get us points pretty much anytime that we step on the mat,” added Riddle.
“Their experience and leadership will be key to our success.”
In addition to Ballou, Hudson and Mabe, the Comets have five wrestlers that are returning to the team this season for what will be their second season on the team. That group includes Preston McCargo, Mykell Morris, Rahquez Ford, Jacob Abedeljalil, and Isiah Graves.
“This group got a good deal of time on the mat last season, and as a whole found a good deal of success as well,” Riddle noted.
“They are all growing as wrestlers, and should build on what they learned from last year.”
Riddle also has several newcomers to the team, one of them being junior Jonathan Thornhill, who is expected to compete in either the 126-pound or 132-pound weight class.
“Jonathan is new to the team but has quite a bit of wrestling experience from the past,” Riddle pointed out.
“We can already see in the (practice) room he is going to be a great asset to this team this year and in the future as well.”
Other newcomers include Chaia DeBow, Minjune Kim, Ethan Martin and Rakail Faulkner.
“They have all shown great signs of improvement since the start of practice,” said Riddle.
“We have seen a great work ethic out of this group, and expect that they will all be able to contribute to the overall success of this team.”
The team also has two young wrestlers, eighth-graders Colin Saunders and Daval Ballou, who could possibly see some action in junior varsity or exhibition matches.
“While they cannot compete on the varsity level, we do expect to get some exhibition matches out of them this year and have them become key leaders for the future.”
