Spring season makes for unique match environment for Cameron High wrestling
CAMERON, W.Va (BVM) — The spring has brought a lot of new opportunities for high school athletes across the county. With a number of fall and winter sports seeing their seasons delayed or moved completely to the spring, many athletes have endured seasons unlike any other. The case is no different for Cameron High School’s wrestling program as the team has competed in a new spring wrestling season, a big adjustment from the typical winter timeframe where snow and ice are common.
Taking advantage of the change of seasons and more favorable weather conditions, Cameron head wrestling coach Tim Jones felt he had an idea for a one-of-a-kind wrestling experience this year. Eyeing the football team’s brand new turf field, installed this past summer, Jones felt it would be the perfect environment for a wrestling meet.
“We just got the new turf put on the field this year and we kind of joked about it because we can see the football field from our wrestling room,” Jones said. “As the weather started getting nicer we actually started to get serious about the idea. It kind of just snowballed from there.”
After discussing the idea with members of the school administration, the idea was approved and the Dragons hosted a tri-match featuring Cameron, John Marshall High School and Hundred High School on Dragon field March 30.
When the decision was finalized, Jones could sense an excitement around his team. With the team handling a difficult year filled with different hurdles and strange, empty gymnasiums, the change seemed like a welcomed one to all participants.
“It was a really tough year for our kids because the atmosphere and the energy in the gyms just wasn’t there as opposed to normal years when there’s a lot of yelling and screaming,” Jones said. “When we let the kids know they were kind of shocked. A few of them were really excited off the bat. We would go on the field, run some drills and running or whatever so they started visualizing the mats being out there and they were excited the few days leading up to it.”
The different surroundings also sparked a different energy around the team. With the gathering being considered an outside event, the team was able to draw a more sizable crowd for the match compared to some other more restrictive matches during the season due to the ongoing pandemic.
“When we advertised it on the team’s Facebook page we got a huge response,” Jones said. “A lot of the people that were there were not able to see a match all year because a lot of places aren’t allowing fans so it was really neat for the fans to come and create a really cool atmosphere.”
For the wrestlers, the environment created an energy that they had not been accustomed to during the entire campaign, but that also made for a more fun event.
“I don’t think the kids realized how energized the atmosphere would be until it actually all came together because the crowd just kept coming in,” Jones said. “It kind of created a nervous feeling for the kids in a good way. It really heightened the level of the competition and their excitement by having more fans there. … When we got the mats set up out there they were kind of walking around and they couldn’t stop smiling.”
On the mat, Dragon field history was made as Cameron’s Isaiah Bryan pinned Hundred’s Melissa Csecsi in the first match of the game, becoming the first person regardless of sport to score a point in the new stadium. Although the Dragons’ football team did play the 2021 season, they were not able to play any home games over the campaign creating the most distinctive of opportunities for the wrestling team.
“At first I thought, ‘Is the football coach going to be upset?’ because I’m sure he’d want to be the first one on that field, but of course he was very supportive and thought it was a great idea,” Jones said. “It was neat seeing the first varsity sport held on the field was us.”
In addition to the historic on-field achievement, Cameron’s Ian Bush also reached a milestone on the turf field when he pinned John Marshall’s Dylan Cox, marking his 100th career victory with the program.
“He’s a special kid,” Jones said. “He’s the hardest worker in the room and out of the room in the classroom. He’s every coaches’ dream to be honest. For him to get that 100th win it’s not only special for him anyway, but to be able to do it on the football field it’s kind of magical it worked out the way it did this year.”
Overall, the John Marshall Monarchs came away from the event with two victories, beating host Cameron 66-15 and visiting Hundred 66-6. The Dragons would split the event as they would also beat Hundred 42-12.
Though a special event that was able to draw a crowd, it is likely that this will be the lone exception for the Dragons to host such a match in the future. With the pandemic hopefully ending by next year’s campaign, the team will return to its more typical indoor, winter matches. However, the memories of this match will live on for those who got to participate in and enjoy the unique circumstances. For Jones, that is what he wanted most out of the experience, regardless of wins or losses.
“It’s definitely a memory that’s going to last forever for sure,” Jones said. “I just think it is something that the community can look at and smile at this year. For the kids, it’s something that they’ll remember forever. It’s going to leave an impression in the community for a long time.”
