South Lakes placed third in Rumble in the Jungle, a tournament held at Edison High School on Jan. 4-5, earning them their second wrestling trophy in school history (the first one came last year in the Cavalier Classic at Woodson).
“I thought that the wrestlers on our team did everything possible in order to get us in position to get third place,” senior captain Michael Shoebottom said. “I was very proud of my team.”
Some wrestlers that placed included: Chris Maginniss – first place at 145 lbs, Josh Forrest – first place at 182 lbs, Michael Shoebottom – second place at 170 lbs, Colby Laxton – fifth place at 195 lbs, and Alex Smurda – fifth place heavyweight.
South Lakes waited until one last match, captain Josh Forrest v. Nick Hoy, who won Regionals last year in the 182-weight class.
“I was excited because I always talk about history with our team and how we have only won one tournament and never won a district championship,” Forrest said. “Last year we won the Cavalier Classic when I had a concussion, which disappointed me that I couldn’t be a part of our team’s first tournament win ever. I liked having the spotlight on me and the team was counting on me to win.”
Forrest anticipated a hard match.
“This guy was stronger than me, and I knew it,” Forrest said. “I knew it would be a tough fight.”
Forrest went on to win the match 6-2 with two takedowns and two nearfall (backpoints), giving wrestling enough points to take home third place in Rumble in the Jungle.
“It felt great but you need to give credit to other guys like Chris [Maginniss], Michael [Shoebottom], Colby [Laxton], Alex [Smurda], and the rest of varsity.” Forrest said. “I’m seeing players from JV improve throughout the season too.”
Coach Bruce Hall looks forward to the rest of the season and hopes that his freshmen can perform well on varsity.
“It was nice to place but we have to look forward to the district tournament,” Hall said. “Everyone just has to come out and wrestle and do their job. We have a bunch of freshmen wrestling varsity this year; it’s a good young team.
