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Chad Cox likes to think of it as his senior year, the potential capstone to the building blocks he’s slowly piled up during the last four seasons as Battery Creek High School’s wrestling coach.
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“All those kids who are seniors now were freshman when I started, so this is our senior year and I’m going to be judged based on their performance,” Cox said. “If we don’t win, it’s nobody’s fault but mine.”
In other words, there’s very little room left for excuses. Whether it’s the Dolphins’ move to a tough Region 8-AAA featuring Bluffton and Hilton Head Island high schools, or their No. 12 preseason ranking in the SCMat.com standings, Cox and his wrestlers are confident that a trip to the Class 3-A state final isn’t far from their reach.
That’s because 10 starters, including one state qualifier in Tyler Ellis, return to a Battery Creek squad that went 17-9 and reached the third round of the Class 4-A playoffs last season.
“I expect some tough matches, but I think we’re going to have a really good year,” said David Miller, a 152-pounder who missed qualifying for state by just a few points in 2007. “People are going to come in a think we’re nothing, and then we’ll go out and show them.
“But we’ve got to take it one step at a time, go to practice every day and wrestle hard in matches.”
Last year, the first step turned into a stumble, as the Dolphins fell to Stratford, creating whispers that it could be a rebuilding year for the young squad.
But a few months later, Battery Creek had topped the same Stratford squad three times, the last of which was a 38-36 win that pushed the Dolphins into the third round of the playoffs.
“Don’t get me wrong, I care about how we start,” Cox said, “but I judge my performance as a coach not on wins and losses, but on our improvement from the beginning of the year to the end of the year — that’s what matters to me.”
Along with Ellis and Miller, some of the onus will be on proven wrestlers like John Perry at 103 pounds, Tieler Schabbing at 140 pounds, Luke Johnson at 160 pounds and Questell Scott at 145 pounds.
But it’s the development of Battery Creek’s younger core that could make the difference between a three-point loss and a six-point win. This evolution should be made easier by the Dolphins’ wealth of experience — albeit not in Region 8-AAAA, but one that’s just as tough as their new surroundings in Class 3-A.
“A lot of times, it’s not the core guys who win matches for you,” Cox said. “It’s a lot of pressure for those role players to perform and right now, that’s our emphasis in practice.
“If you get those younger kids better, you’re able to give those older kids the swift kick that they need every now and then. You can’t count on the seniors winning every time.”
Still, it’s the evolution of the fourth-year wrestlers that’s positioned the Dolphins to compete, which is why Ellis isn’t giving him or his teammates any slack this season.
“I think we’re going to have to push a little harder,” Ellis said, “but that’s what we’re going to have to do anyway so we can make sure we come out on top this year.”
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