Noxon's expectations reach high point
<p>Luke Crowe of Noxon begins to escape the grasp of his opponent during the Divisional Tournament.</p>
NOXON – The percentage of success was high for the Red Devil wrestling team as they placed 60 percent of their team during the Divisional Tournament in Ronan.
Three wrestlers placed, with one champion.
John Onofrey took first place in the heavyweight division, while Luke Crowe and Alan Chojnacky both brought home fourth place.
“They performed well. I want them to wrestle that good or better next week,” Head Coach Ben Ulrick said.
The Red Devils have continued to improve throughout the season. Coach Ulrick pushes the boys to ensure they grow stronger with each and every practice.
Although he admitted he was never going to be totally pleased until everyone won, he couldn’t complain about the turnout at divisionals.
At the State Tournament both Crowe and Chojnacky will have very tough matches to start the weekend off, while Onofrey’s bracket is looking good.
“John’s bracket, I couldn’t have placed it better myself. He’s got a real good chance,” Coach Ulrick said. “He’s got the best chance to place pretty high.”
This will be Onofrey’s third year at state and if things work out he may bring home a medal this year.
“I couldn’t ask for any better attitude out of John,” Coach Ulrick said.
The team is not skipping a beat this week. They will work hard on conditioning, while backing off from live wrestling.
“We’ll be working hard on controlled situations rather than live wrestling – we don’t need an accident to happen,” Coach Ulrick said.
This late in the season an injury could throw the boys off their game, damaging their chances at their last tournament.
The team will leave for Billings on Wednesday morning to make the long trek less stressful.
“I have a great athletic director (Matt Havens) that understands these situations,” Coach Ulrick said. “We’re going to do everything we can to make it as convenient as we can on these wrestlers so they have the best chance of placing.”
The plan is to get a good work out in on Thursday with a lot of conditioning. From there the boys will rest Thursday night and jump straight into the competition on Friday.
Coach Ulrick is beyond excited for the tournament.
“I’ve been coaching here since the mid 90’s off and on and I’ve been head coach for three years. This is the most optimistic I’ve been for the last three years going to Billings,” he said.
The excitement is not only seen in the coach, but it’s also seen in the wrestlers. The tournament will hopefully end the Red Devil’s season on a high note.