Creek Valley wrestling: From the ground up

LODGEPOLE — Maybe when practice began earlier this month, members of the inaugural Creek Valley High School wrestling team didn’t know a crossface from a crossbow.

That’s understandable, given the lack of experience from a group of five — yep, count ‘em, five — young men who will be just getting their feet wet on Saturday at Mullen.

However, Storm coach and athletics director Todd Westover isn’t taking this venture lightly, or trying to form some-type of small-school freakshow.

Westover is all-in for developing a wrestling program, and it’s up to the numbers to prove him out in an entire school system which hardly approaches 200 total students.

“I told the kids not to come out, if they didn’t plan on working hard,” Westover said.

Apparently there’s no problem there, as no one has walked away yet.

For the time being, Westover’s team will go the mats with just five wrestlers, nine short of a complete starting lineup.

Creek Valley High School’s enrollment for 2012-13 is but 59 students strong, so the turnout ratio, especially when compared to that of basketball, is sensible.

It all begins at 155 pounds with junior Seth Saf, followed by sophomore 175-pounder Ragan Courter, 195-pound junior Isaac Grant, and ends with junior Mason Low and senior Gunnar Hodges both tipping the scales at 220 pounds.

Hodges and Low will have weekly wrestle-offs for the 220-pound spot, with the loser being bumped up to heavyweight and being outclassed in terms of size.

While CV won’t be able to contend for team titles once the postseason arrives, Saf, Courter, Grant, Low and Hodges can compete as individuals, and will have the opportunity to advance to state.

Before those opportunities present themselves, let there be no doubt: Creek Valley’s wrestlers will go through a slew of growing pains this winter.

A couple of the CV wrestlers did participate in youth wrestling, but that seasoning is more of a distant memory.

“The kids are going to make mistakes,” Westover said. “The thing is, the kids wouldn’t be making the types of mistakes had they been wrestling for 10 years. Some of the things they are picking up now, they should have learned in second and third grade. It’s impossible to teach instinct techniques in a year’s time.”

Westover knows there is no time to look back on mat time missed, and his “Iron Five” will get to see its mistakes in the video room.

At times, those sessions may be like watching a short film. There’s no question many of the CV bouts will be of the quick-pin variety, so improvement is a requirement in extending a match.

“To be in motion for six minutes takes a lot of conditioning,” Westover said. “So, we have to be in shape, like our opponent. My philosophy is not to let a mistake beat you twice.

“One can learn more in this sport from losing a bout, and I’d rather have a kid that knows little, or a little, than have a kid who thinks they know everything.

“And, I see it, I won’t have any bad habits to break,” Westover said.

Westover has quarter-century’s worth of coaching under his belt, including stints at Burwell, Central City, Tecumseh and Fairbury. Westover was on Burwell’s staff when the Longhorns won the Class D state championship in 1993, and was runnerup the year before.

This time around, he’s starting from scratch with a team that will make school history Saturday morning, just by getting on the bus.

“This is the first year for Creek Valley High School to have wrestling,” the coach said. “Neither school in the consolidation (Lodgepole and Chappell) has ever offered it.”

Westover doesn’t hold back that his grapplers have caught some ribbing for daring to be different. Perhaps a few schoolmates offer up a chuckle or two when the Storm are rolling around in their singlets during practice, but their coach has their backs.

“There are gong to be good times and there will be a lot of bad times,” Westover said, :and, I am sure some of the guys have caught some heat at school, for going out for a new sport that some aren’t familiar with. Still, I’m proud that they are stepping out and taking part.”

Help is on the way for the program, according to Westover, as a good-sized group of grade-school wrestlers will be in the ranks next year.

“We’ll get eight, nine kids out of eighth grade, and that will help,” Westover said.

As long as the interest grows, Creek Valley’s wrestling success should be trending in stride.

Perhaps Westover put it best when summarizing the immediate future, one that’s chock-full of promise and lessons to be learned:

“We’re going to be young for a long, long time.”