On February 24th, five athletes from Fallston’s wrestling team went to regionals with one winning overall and participating in states. Congratulations to Madi Cox, Aiden Fodel, Nate Cotto, Jackson Cosola, and Joey Lutz for their hard work this season, and an extra shoutout to Madi Cox for making it to States.
There are three ways to qualify for regionals: winning each match throughout the season, qualifying through the points you have earned, or placing in the top four in counties.
If a wrestler does qualify through counties, they are put into the pigtail round in regionals, which is an extra match they have to win before wrestling in the normal matches.
At regionals, an athlete can only lose one match. If they lose one, they are put into a consolation bracket where they compete against others for third place.
Regional Results
Joey Lutz
Round 1 – 22-9
Aiden Fodel placed 6th
Round 1 – 21-12
Consolation bracket round 1 – 21-12
Jackson Cosola
Round 1 – 17-14
Nate Cotto
Round 1 – 20-12
Senior captain Nate Cotto said, “Wrestling being over has made me see the changes it’s made to my life, it has made me more committed to hard work.” While not all of the regional qualifiers made it to the state tournament, they certainly learned that hard work pays off.
Madi Cox, now the Regional Champion, was the third seed going into regionals and ended up winning each match, rightfully earning the esteemed title. “I didn’t expect to win regionals at all,” said Cox. “I thought that I was just going to get third place like my seeding said.”
Her first match was against a student from Eastern Tech, seeded second in the region. Madi pinned her in three minutes and 52 seconds in the second period for the win, putting her in the finals match with a four to one score.
Already guaranteed a spot in States, Madi was off to the next round. Having weigh-ins at 7:30 a.m., she patiently had to wait until 5 p.m. to compete. “In the 9 hours that I was waiting, I actually left the school and went to play in my club team’s soccer game and then went back to regionals and took first place,” said Cox.
The finals match was against the first seed where she won by a pin in the second period with a two-to-two score. “I was so excited and happy, even surprised, that I took first place,” said Cox. “I couldn’t stop smiling afterwards.”
States took place last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at The Snow Place Arena.
Winning the regional meant Madi had a bye the first round, going against whoever won the first round. Cox went against the winner, beating them nine to three. “I left that night feeling happy and accomplished,” said Cox.
The next day, Cox competed in the quarterfinals but unfortunately lost by a pin. “She was very good and aggressive,” said Cox. “I made quite a few mistakes, but I will learn from them and continue to get better.” Going into the consolation bracket for third place, Cox lost closely by points in the end.
“I had a great second year and I learned so much from my coaches and teammates throughout the season,” ended Cox.
While the wrestling season is over, the team is already looking forward to next season!
