Offseason work paying off for Lakeside's Wright
Jan. 4—Lucas Eland was one of a handful of Lakeside wrestlers that were not in action at last week's Kenston Invitational tournament.
Still, he and others had to be on hand to support their mat mate King Wright.
Wright took second in the 157-pound bracket, and is 15-2 on the season. The 15 wins has surpassed his victory total from a year ago.
Dragons coach Andrew Horvath calls him the "glue" that connects the Lakeside team.
Wright's friend, Eland, was a match away from going to the last year's state tournament in Columbus. But, seeing the success his friend is having is something he's calling one of the highlights of his career.
"I wouldn't miss this tournament for the world, " Eland said last week. "King is the reason I started wrestling in eighth grade and has been one of my best friends since the time I've known him.
"To see him make the jump and see how much he cares has been a big deal for me. To see the jump he's made has been one of the highlights of my wrestling career."
A year ago, Wright was a sub .500 wrestler who did not make it out of the sectional tournament. This year, the senior is wrestling like someone who could make a run to the state tournament in Columbus.
Asked how the turnaround has happened, Wright said he's simply stronger now — much stronger — as a reason for his turnaround.
"At the end of the year last year, I was technically better than most people I wrestled, I just wasn't strong enough," he said.. "I spent all summer in the weight room, me and my buddies."
All summer is not much of an exaggeration.
Wright said he had to force himself to get into the weight room just about everyday, sometimes multiple times a day to build the strength he needed to have the success he desired.
"It was a lot of discipline," Wright said. "I had to get up early, sometimes I wanted to do something else or just go hang out with my friends. But, then I would think to myself 'I have to get stronger.' I needed to start taking my wrestling seriously."
In Wright's semifinal match against Strongsville's Kaven Gadalah at Kenston, he used the quickness of his hands, along with the improved upper body strength, to wrestle his opponent to the ground for the initial takedown in the match.
Then, from the top position in the second period, after about a minute of a neutral struggle, Wright turned Gadalah for the pin.
"I think being stronger has made me more confident in my technique," Wright said.
Horvath agreed.
"Pound of pound, I think King is the most complete guy we have right now," the coach said. "He's got the technique down. He hit the weight room religiously seven days a week, sometimes three times a day. He lived in the weight room all summer and you can tell. I think that was the one piece he was missing."
What's even more exciting about Wright's success is having is the inspiration he's providing to the entire Dragons team.
"He's always been a guy that everyone has been close with," Horvath said. "Everyone on our team is close, but he's the glue that connects everyone. Everyone is happy because they know how hard he works and they're happy that things are paying off for him."
Wright and the rest of the Lakeside team will host the third annual KP Classic on Saturday.
Along with the Dragons, Saint John, Hawken, Northwest (Albion, Pennsylvania), Painesville Harvey and Riverside, Orange, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin, St. Edward's Green team, Hubbard and Richmond Edison. Hawken may join up with Saint John.
The dual format is different from the typical individual tournament. Instead of wrestlers spread out all over the gym, the team stays together, roots for each other and most importantly everyone stays connected.
"Anytime you can get a kid five matches it's a bonus," Horvath said. "But especially in that environment. The team gets to see that they're an important part of the team, which they are, regardless of their record. And everyone plays a role, it keeps kids interested and involved. That's always a plus.
Wrestling is scheduled to start at 9 a.m.
