Photos by Heather Belcher
The taste of disappointment can be a huge motivator in athletics.
Last year at this time, the wrestlers from Woodrow Wilson were relishing their first regional victory since 1989 and had high hopes for a strong finish at the state wrestling tournament in Huntington.
The three days in Huntington did not go quite as expected for the Flying Eagles.
Sure, there were special moments such as freshman J.J. Bailes winning the state title at 113 pounds becoming the first individual champion for Woodrow since 1999.
Ethan Osborne had a strong showing at 152, dropping a tight 1-0 decision in the title match with DI commit Patrick Johnson from Spring Mills to finish runner-up.
Jay Jones and Jackson Evans were third at 195 and 285 respectively, while Garrett Johnson was fourth at 106 pounds.
Overall the Flying Eagles finished sixth as a team, just 16 points out of the top-four teams, but going in, the boys from Beckley expected a better result.
This year Woodrow Wilson finds itself basically in the same position heading into this weekend’s big event.
The Flying Eagles are once again Class AAA Region 3 champions and, just like last year, will have 12 wrestlers competing at the state tournament.
In his fourth year at the helm, head coach Matt Osborne is hoping the lessons learned last year will pay big dividends this year.
“For me as a coach, last year was about learning how to have them peak, get healthy and get their mindset where they feel like they can beat anybody,” Osborne said. “A lot of our guys have split with the top guys this year, so they have to feel like they can win. I think that all comes from coaching and confidence. Hopefully that comes together on my end.”
The high level of success for the Flying Eagles under Osborne’s tutelage has been no accident.
“Wrestling is a culture and kind of a way of life. You can’t just mess around with it in the off-season. You don’t have to dedicate every minute in the off-season, but there is a technique about it,” Osborne said. “If you can do things right in the off-season then you get that much better and it is fun. This is such a brutal sport and it is hard to keep it fun sometimes, but they have to fall in love with it.”
Woodrow Wilson has walked away this year as team champions of the Bruce Niday Classic at Spring Valley, the West Virginia Army National Guard Duals and the Fallen Heroes Tournament, while finishing fourth at the prestigious Indian Classic in Tennessee.
Making Woodrow Wilson’s accomplishments even more impressive this year is that fact that the Flying Eagles have had some issues to deal with in the two upper weight classes.
“We have been really successful without having a heavyweight,” Osborne said. “My 215 is really a 175. We have to poke him full of water, so he can weigh in and make 215. He can’t be eligible for 175. He is 40 pounds lighter than everyone else and has overcome a lot. He has battle confidence all year, but then he goes out and qualifies for states.”
“We have maxed out our schedule with 60-some matches,” Osborne went on to say. “Because we have been successful, we were able to compete at the regional, quad and state duals which picks you up six or seven more matches.”
Of the 12 state qualifiers, seven of them are sophomores that have taken the high school scene by storm.
Garrett Johnson and Tyler Roark won regional titles last weekend, while fellow sophomores Bailes, Jacob Meadows and Landon Jones finished runner-up. Vance Neal and Jacob Reeves placed third.
“This (sophomore) group was together at Park during the Covid year and weren’t allowed to leave the county,” Osborne said. “Nobody knew how good they were and nobody told them they weren’t supposed to be good at high school wrestling. They just took off. They are used to winning and they get after it.”
Osborne believes Bailes (137), Roark (126) and Johnson (106) are among five wrestlers that have a strong shot at reaching the finals this year.
“I think Garrett is going to win a state championship. He has been believing it too with the way he works. Tyler has a good chance after looking at his bracket. He is going to have some tough matches, but none that he is not capable of winning. He will have a really tough finals match as long as he can get there,” Osborne said. “It looks like J.J. will be back against (regional champion Matthew) McAfee. Those are the two clear cut guys.”
Junior Troy Harris (138) and the coaches’ son, senior Ethan Osborne (157), are the two upperclassmen that have a strong chance to make the finals Saturday night.
“Troy I think can be there and Ethan could be in the finals. Him and Dom (Parker from University) are No. 1 and No. 2,” Osborne said. “Those are the five guys can make it the finals.”
Senior Jay Jones was a strong contender last year, but faces a brutal road to the finals this year.
“We really thought Jay could be in the finals at 175, but it turns out that 175 is the hardest,” Osborne said. “In the semis he will likely get Gage Wright (from Parkersburg South). Gage Wright has won everything. He is in the national rankings and he is going to go wherever he wants to.”
“We were hoping that Jay would end up on Luca Felix’s side of the bracket,” Osborne continued. “His dad was a world team member, so he is tough too, but we felt like Jay would have had a better chance with him. I think Jay will still go all-state. He has had a great year.”
Defending state champion Spring Mills will be strong again this year, along with University, Wheeling Park and Parkersburg South in the team competition.
A team title for Woodrow Wilson is not out of the question if some matches can fall on the positive side for the Flying Eagles.
“Confidence is everything in wrestling,” Osborne said. “I have been impressed with this team. All that is left is for them to do it. They have put in all of the work, now they just need to let that work show.”
The state wrestling tournament starts Thursday evening and continues through the championships Saturday night at Mountain Health Arena in Huntington.
