In the third period of a wrestling match, the sweat trickles down your forehead. You feel tired and at times, ready to throw in the towel.
Elyria’s Isaac Green knew the stakes of his 132-pound dual match against Avon’s Trey Daugherty Jan. 5 at Elyria’s Northwood Middle School. It was late in the final period with the two wrestlers knotted up at three points apiece.
The senior had to wrestle up against Daugherty by a weight class or two as the Pioneers filled out their lineup. Less than a minute remained and Green was in the bottom position.
One escape point. That’s all he’d need to win the match and give Elyria three team points via decision.
The whistle blew and Green planted his right foot and then stood up with his left, moving forward and near the boundary of the mat while Daugherty held on for dear life. That grip gave out just long enough for Green’s right wrist to come free as he turned to face Daugherty near the Elyria bench. Green won the match, 4-3.
His victory there kept the momentum in Elyria’s corner in what turned out to be a 39-32 final score, with the Pioneers edging the Eagles to stay undefeated in conference duals ahead of a Jan. 10 dual with Avon Lake.
132: Isaac Green vs Trey Daugherty
Green wins a tight match with a late escape, earning a 4-3 decision@WrestlingElyria 21@AvonWrestlingOH 5@MJournalSports pic.twitter.com/1rwlLQ5mVV
— Sean Fitzgerald (@fitzonsportsbsr) January 6, 2024
Compared to a year ago, Green’s confidence has grown and he’s done a better job at hitting certain moves in matches. From 3-1 to 3-3 and prevailing 4-3, Green remained technically sound in his technique despite the wear of going six full minutes of mat time.
“I went to a lot of camps this year with coach (Erik) Burnett and (coach) Jack (Gillespie),” Green said. “They showed me a lot of technique and moves that would be good (to use) with my body type. They helped me through it all and I put it all together. That’s what I was working on the whole summer, that’s all I was there for.”
“Isaac’s wrestling more on the edge now,” Elyria senior Connor Holm said.
“These guys are starting to understand you can make a mistake but you can make up for that mistake after. You have time. They’re all good enough where they can make up for it. They just have to be there mentally and they’ll do it.”
Matches like the Jan. 5 dual against Daugherty are the kind of wins Green will need to pull out to advance through the sectional and district rounds and move through the state bracket — Tough, gritty and on the edge.
“I tried to keep my composure there at the end. I was getting a little tired,” Green acknowledged. “Trey is a good guy, he was trying to push the pace at the end. I saw him try to get in my face and try to hand-fight, looking for a big move. I was just trying to fight and hang on there at the end — try to see what opens up and close the match even more. I just held on.”
