Wiesbaden freshman Ricky Pickering, left, squares off against AFNORTH junior Nick Friese in the 138-pound weight class during early Saturday action at Kaiserslautern High School. Kaiserslautern played host to six other schools during one of four sectional wrestling tournaments taking place across Europe this weekend. (Mark Patton/Stars and Stripes)
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — There were grinning faces and those streaked with tears. There was a sense of relief for some and a sense of anxiety for others.
Saturday’s DODDS-Europe Western Sectional wrestling qualifer was filled with emotion.
There was joy for top two finishers in each weight class, who automatically advanced to next weekend’s European championships. Others have fingernails that are likely to get a bit shorter over the weekend as they wait to see if they will be awarded one of the “wild card” spots in the tournament.
“It’s a scary feeling, I’m not gonna lie,” said Kaiserslautern junior Brodie Cutshall, who finished third Saturday in the 120-pound weight class.
Coming into his semifinal match against Baumholder sophomore Brenden Gauthier, Cutshall had every reason to be confident that he could win and advance to the championships. After all, he was sporting a 16-2 regular season record, including four wins earlier this season against Gauthier.
Saturday was a different day, though, as Gauthier mixed up his style frequently to throw Cutshall off. When the final seconds ticked off, Gauthier squeaked by on an 8-6 decision.
“I wanted to beat him, it’s a big weight off my shoulders,” Gauthier said.
The 120-pound championship match continued the drama, as Wiesbaden freshman Dante Thomas jumped off to a 2-0 lead over Gauthier in the opening period. Gauthier recovered with a near pin of the Warriors upstart in the second period and jumped ahead 5-2. The freshman proved too much in the end, though, dominating the final period en route to a 11-7 victory.
Thomas’ teammate, junior Benny Falling, said winning the first match of the day in the 170-pound weight class was key for him.
“You win the first one, it feels like you’re going downhill instead of fighting your way to the top,” Falling said. Falling won every match he wrestled Saturday, capturing the 170-pound crown.
AFNORTH junior Aldon Pagio needed no reminder about how important it was to avoid leaving his fate in someone else’s hands. Pagio finished third in last year’s sectionals, but his season’s body of work wasn’t enough to give him a wild-card spot.
Saturday, he captured the 145-pound category with a victory over Wiesbaden senior John Spiszer in the final, 8-5.
After nursing a knee injury the past two meets and dropping three pounds the 24 hours before Saturday’s match, he said it wasn’t the easiest road to reach his first championship weekend.
“I can’t wait for Europeans to see how it feels,” Pagio said.