Not only did the Panorama Panther wrestling team send a whopping 8 individual wrestlers to the upcoming district 7 tournament on Saturday, but as a team their first place finish at the sectional 13 tournament awarded them a spot in the regional dual meet in Logan tonight.
It’s a chance for the team as a whole to continue on as a collective unit as they will get the opportunities to face off against the likes of AHSTW and potentially get a crack at class 1A’s 7th ranked Logan-Magnolia. The Panthers come in on a bit of a hot streak in dual play with a mark of 16-5 with three dual meet sweeps on the season. The Panthers as a team have certainly left there mark and will aim to continually do so, something that few teams are granted this time of year.
Dual meet regional play not only gives Panorama the chance to continue on with their success, but as head coach Jason Kirtley told Raccoon Valley Radio, it does so much more.
“I think it gives kids opportunities who don’t have opportunities to wrestle further into the post season. It gives them more practice time, gives them more mat time, they get to be a part of something bigger than they have before. A lot of them are freshmen, I even had a foreign exchange student make it on so just the experience that those guys are taking heat, taking it back to the Czech Republic not only helps us grow but helps our sport grow. It’s a good experience for them being that young that going forward we only loose two so we’ll know what to do when we get there,” explained coach Kirtley.
Coach Kirtley and his Panther wrestling squad will hit the dual regional scene tonight in Logan and commencing against AHSTW beginning at 6:00 pm.