Sports

Goochland wrestling starts off 7-1

Nick Vandeloecht/File Photo

Goochland junior Reese Vincent reacts after pinning Amelia’s Caleb O’Brien in the Bulldogs’ tri meet at Cumberland High School on Jan. 11. Vincent holds a perfect 8-0 record going into the second half of Goochland’s 2021-22 season.

By Robby Fletcher Sports Editor

A few weeks back, Goochland wrestling head coach Jeremy Wampler said something to his staff that would form the basic theme built around this year’s group of promising wrestlers that have led the Bulldogs to a 7-1 record going into winter break.

“It’s time.”

In his second season as head coach, or as he calls it “Year one, part two,” Wampler has seen his seasoned team — consisting of 17 juniors and seniors — develop into legitimate threats in the Jefferson District, and now he believes they’re ready to take the next step.

Last season, coach Wampler told his group that they needed to prioritize aggression on the mats not just with the opponent, but with each other if they wanted to truly dominate. Iron sharpens iron as they say, and with this year’s team, the iron is looking mighty sharp.

“This group wants to wrestle, and they want to wrestle mean,” he said.

So far this season, the mean streak in the Bulldogs has been evident. They’ve taken down teams like L.C. Bird, Hermitage and Fluvanna County with relative ease, with the lone loss coming against Cosby on Dec. 17. Even then, they still beat the three other schools they had to face that day.

There have been plenty of student-athletes who have taken a leap this year, Wampler says, including junior Reese Vincent at 160 pounds, who is a perfect 8-0 on the year with five pins.

After a sophomore season where Vincent showed plenty of promise alongside some struggles against certain opponents, Wampler says he’s taken the necessary steps to improve on his talent and the results are speaking for themselves.

“There were definitely some moments where I could tell he was frustrated, and to see him fight through all that and keep working this year, he’s earned a couple of really impressive wins against guys that he should be beating,” coach Wampler said.

Vincent is coming off one of his best wins of his wrestling career in Goochland’s matchup with Fluvanna County. Facing off against senior David Taylor, Vincent played a smart and patient match with his foe, and came away with a crucial 6-4 decision to remain perfect on the season.

Another wrestler that has shown a lot of improvement is senior Alex Rosenbaum, who is also a perfect 8-0 to start the season. Rosenbaum, competing in the 285-pound weight class, has five pins so far this season and has demonstrated major strides in his wrestling ability, Wampler says.

The success of this Bulldogs team has been built through a steady process by this coaching staff to develop trust and chemistry within the group over the last few seasons. With so much experience built within the fabric of this team’s identity, coach Wampler believes Goochland has all the makings of a great team that will only continue to get better as the season progresses.

“It’s the necessary mix of what you need on a wrestling team,” he said. “We have a couple guys who do an amazing job leading the group. Different people have naturally stepped into different roles, there’s no single leader.”

And as the program trends upward, the pipeline beneath it has continued to strengthen. Wampler says that Goochland’s middle school-age club team has over 20 athletes learning the sport, with competitive exhibition matches soon on the horizon.

“We’re growing as a program and whatever I can do to help in the Goochland community, I’d love to continue to do that,” he said.

Bulldogs search for consistency after holiday invitational

By Robby Fletcher Sports Editor

After losing two games as the host team of the Goochland Holiday Basketball Invitational, the Bulldogs are using this time off to find themselves as they jump into the second half of the season.

While there have been games where things seem to be moving in the right direction for Goochland — like in their nine-point win against Narrows on Dec. 18 — there are also games where they’ve struggled to keep up with their opponents.

While the holiday tournament opener against New Kent was somewhere in between, with the team scoring 51 points and moving the ball well despite losing by nine, the second game against William Monroe falls more in line with the latter as they lost 61-23 to end the tournament.

“I knew going in they were a solid basketball team,” head coach Preston Gordon said about William Monroe. “They just play fundamental basketball, they take care of the ball and boy can they shoot it.”

Even in a 38-point loss, there were still glimpses of the potential the Bulldogs (3-4) have shown this season. They started out with three straight makes from the field, two from J.J. Cox and one a pick-andpop jumper from senior center De’Andre Robinson, but the Dragons quickly shut down the interior and forced the Bulldogs to play around the perimeter.

Things never improved offensively, with the team scoring less than 10 points in each quarter of the game. Regardless, in situations like that, the team still needs to fight, which coach Gordon says they did up until the end.

Those have been key talking points for coach Gordon and his staff this season, and while they’re not where he wants them to be in those areas, he is confident that his roster of student-athletes have the talent and dedication to overcome these obstacles and right the ship.

“Our guys are capable of playing a whole lot better, and I’ve got to figure out a way to get them to play better,” he said.

Going into the break, there have been some positives so far this season. Cox and fellow senior J.D. Mills have been a reliable backcourt tandem, with both showing confidence shooting from the perimeter. Robinson and junior forward Justin Morton have also left an impression in the frontcourt as two of the team’s reliable rebounders under the basket.

With 13 regular seasongames left and five days until they’re back on the floor after a two-week break, the Bulldogs will be looking to get over the .500 hump and back to their winning ways.

Photo by Robby Fletcher

Senior guard Darius Carroll crosses over to his right hand while trying to get past William Monroe guard Ja’Quis Carpenter in the first quarter of Goochland’s 61-23 loss at home on Dec. 22. The game was the second in two days for the Bulldogs.