The Latrobe girls wrestling team has an uphill battle heading into its third season as a program, but things got off to a promising start at the annual Powerade tournament last weekend.
Elizabeth Kantoris, the lone senior on the five-person squad, earned a sixth-place finish at 235 pounds, going 3-3 with two pins and a decision. She lost to Buckhannon-Upshur’s (W.Va.) Abby Radabaugh, the top seed and eventual champion in her weight class, in the second round before working her way through the consolation bracket to earn a spot on the podium.
“She’s been a pretty solid performer for me,” coach Rich Ludwig said. “We’re into our third season now. So our first year, we knew absolutely nothing, and it was difficult for the girls because if you don’t know anything, you get beaten up and nobody likes to get beaten up. But they are beginning to grasp the fundamentals, and that’s what they need to do.”
Kantoris pinned Plum’s Katrina Sallinger in 1:02 in the first round to kick-start her tournament. She then picked up her next two victories in the consolation bracket. First, she pinned Plum’s Lilly Marchezak in 4:07 after falling behind in the second period. A high-scoring affair against Kiski Area’s Harley Smith followed as Kantoris recorded two takedowns and a nearfall on her way to a 13-6 decision.
The Wildcats grappler lost her final two matches of the tournament but battled through both to secure a medal in a tournament that brings together some of the best wrestlers in the region. Ludwig said he was proud of the way Santoris competed in all of her matches.
“She got behind a couple times, and when you get behind a couple times, you have a tendency to throw the towel in and she did not,” Ludwig said. “She kept fighting and got a chance. In fact, she got a couple of pins that way.”
The season now continues for the Wildcats, who are a club team. After 15 wrestlers came out for the team last year, Ludwig said numbers have dwindled this year, which makes things difficult.
Wrestling against full teams in dual meets presents a challenge for Latrobe. The Wildcats normally will be trailing in a match before it even begins. However, Ludwig said his wrestlers continue to show up with a desire to compete despite the odds in front of them.
For example, the Wildcats are set to wrestle in the North Allegheny Duals tournament Saturday, which will feature seven girls teams from around the Western Pennsylvania area. Despite being shorthanded, Ludwig said his team has never backed down.
“We have five girls and there are 13 weight classes, so if they have a full team, then you’re going to be giving up a lot of points in forfeits,” Ludwig said. “But they still want to go, and they still want to compete, so that’s a good sign. They realized it was going to be an uphill battle, but they still wanted to compete.”
Their low numbers also present challenges in practice. Normally, teammates of similar weight classes can match up in practice to work on their skills. However, the Wildcats have wrestlers in the 100-, 118-, 155-, 190- and 235-pound weight classes. So Ludwig and the Wildcats have had to get creative to find ways to continue developing.
That has consisted of focusing on fundamentals by watching videos and working from the bottom up to gain experience on the mat.
“You’re only going to learn if you have a good partner, but if your partner is way out of your weight class, it’s tough,” Ludwig said. “We have a lot of obstacles to overcome, but we’re working on it. It is what it is, nothing is going to change until we get more people in the room.”
The key to overcoming that obstacle, Ludwig said, will be creating a junior high program that increases interest in the sport and filters wrestlers into the varsity program. Latrobe has seen its numbers fluctuate, but the Wildcats continue to have aspirations to create a proud program.
“We love wrestling,” Ludwig said. “I basically said, these girls deserve that chance.”
Following the North Allegheny Duals tournament, the Wildcats will celebrate Kantoris on Tuesday for senior night when they host Burrell.