[Stardust]

Adversity is nothing new to the Calloway County wrestling team. In five short months, they’ve seen plenty. Still, despite opening the year with a young, unproven roster and being dealt a harrowing blow days later with talented sophomore Isaiah Frank’s broken wrist, winning has become a habit for the boys in blue this season. When they take the mat Friday night for the regional tournament at Caldwell County, expectations won’t change.
Boasting two top seeds and a handful of other contenders will do that to you.
“Obviously, going in with two guys seeded No. 1, we expect at least two regional championships,” head coach Dickie Walls said. “We really expect to have a shot with Nick, Isaiah, Chris and Christian (as well) and I think we have a good shot at the heavyweight also so we're definitely expecting two to six guys. We'll just see how we come out and wrestle. Friday night can really set us up for Saturday (though). If we go in Friday and pull off two wins, then that means we come back in Saturday in the semifinals. If you can make it to the semifinals, it's a whole lot easier punching that ticket to state (because) even if you lose, you only have one more match to win to get (there).”
That said, at least one wrestler in particular feels just as confident about his chances. With only one loss this season, he should. Still, Charlie Courtney doesn’t mix words when talking about how he expects the tournament to pan out.
“I have every intention of going there and taking first place,” Courtney said. “Really, there is no one in the region that's given me too terribly much competition. I foresee them stepping up their game a little bit but nothing I can't take care of.”
After last season’s finish, which saw him fail to place at the state tournament, Courtney said he put in plenty of time over the summer to make sure it wouldn’t happen again. Still, he admits he didn’t see this kind of season coming.
“I expected to do well (this season) because I put in a lot of work over the summer,” Courtney said, “but I wasn't expecting to only lose one match and not lose a single match to anyone in the state. It's been a nice season and I think all my hard work has really paid off. Last year I didn't place (at the state tournament) but this year I feel alot more capable. I feel like my chances are very good.”
Courtney and Wilson aren’t the only boosts the Lakers will get this weekend though as the biggest may come from a player who only wrestled in his first tournament of the year 11 days ago - Isaiah Frank.
“(The coaches) know who Isaiah is and the caliber kid he is but he came back in full force,” Walls said. “I think we're sitting pretty good at 132 with him. He definitely has a good shot. We took a hit at 152 and 160 when we lost Austin Holstrom and Rustin Burkeen to concussions but getting Isaiah back helps quite a bit. Getting Andrew (Lee) on the mat for good has really been a boost for us as well. When we started out the year this was a really young team and we didn't know what to expect, but I expected big things out of them and they have not disappointed. I don't anticipate them starting to disappoint this week either.”

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[Stardust]

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Charlie Courtney
Calloway County’s Charlie Courtney will look to cash in a return ticket to the state tournament this weekend.