◆ Duel format tournament will feature teams from Wyoming, Idaho and Utah.
The wait for the Winter season is finally over and the events can begin. For Star Valley Wrestling, that means the Braves Brawl, a duel-format tournament that means that at any given time a Brave will be out on the mat.
In addition, some familiar teams such as Cokeville and Sugar-Salem will be competing and making for an opportunity for grapplers to get a fistful of quality matches in less than 24 hours.
One element that will also be in play is the fact that teams from Idaho such as the Diggers and the Grizzlies out of Logan, have already begun their season. Coach Eddie Clark stated that just means the Braves can only focus on what they can.
“We’re just worried about ourselves,” he said. “We’re working on skills. It’s a lot of teaching early and a lot of refining late [in the season]. There’s a lot of technique and getting into shape and getting them ready to compete.”
The Brawl has turned into a staple for some of the top teams in the region because they know the quality of wrestling will be high and that it will extend throughout both the varsity and junior varsity brackets. One of the top teams this weekend will be the Sugar-Salem Diggers who won the Idaho 3A title last season.
“Sugar is always good,” Clark added. They are the returning state champs. Shelley always has good kids. Some of the teams may not have the depth that we have but they have quality kids. We don’t focus on them right now; it’s more about us.”
As evidenced by the ten wrestle-offs that took place on Tuesday, some of the top competition the Braves will face will be in their own room.
“We’re not quite as deep as we were a year ago but we’re still deep so we’re fighting for jobs,” Clark emphasized. “Most of them have been competing for three weeks in Idaho. They have two tournaments under their belt before we even see them. That’s probably the bigger challenge for us right now is that we are behind everybody else. They’ve already had a chance to see what they need to work on and we have no idea.”
Whatever the Braves may lack in matches for far in the 2019-20 campaign will likely be countered by the culture of the program.
“The biggest thing is that these kids are very upbeat this year,” Clark said of his wrestlers. “The feel in the room is super. The kids are working hard and it’s all positive. “
The matches at the Brawl will begin at 3:01 p.m. on Friday afternoon with four rounds scheduled. The final three rounds will begin on Saturday at 9:30 a.m.
• Coverage
The Star Valley duels will be shown by SVI Media here at svinews.com.
