|
|||||||||||||
Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Liberty's Gough Falls to Eventual Champion Burbank
Kory Gough's head felt like a popcorn popper Saturday at the Group AAA state wrestling tournament, and it dictated his performance on the mat, leading to a third-place finish at 285 pounds.
In the heavyweight semifinals, the thought that popped to the forefront of the Liberty senior's mind was to toy with his technique, and he lost, 1-0, to defending state champion Jack Burbank of Cox.
In the ensuing consolation semifinals, the thought that popped to the forefront was to avenge that disappointing loss to Burbank, and he won with a shockingly quick pin of James River’s Ryan Powis in 37 seconds.
Lastly, in the consolation final, the thought that popped was somber reflection of how the loss to Burbank ruined his title hopes, and he struggled against Chris Cabe of Chantilly before winning on a miraculous pin with five seconds remaining to secure third place.
“I still had emotions going on from the [Burbank] loss,” Gough said of that third-place match. “I just had so much going through my head. To be honest, I was distracted.”
The 6-foot-6 Gough took a 1-0 lead in the consolation final with an escape midway through the second period, but Cabe tied the score at 1-1 with 25 seconds remaining in the third and appeared to be gaining momentum. That changed quickly, though.
In a flash, Gough pushed Cabe to the mat with less than 10 seconds remaining and pinned him at the 5:55 mark.
“He started to stand up and my foot came in front and caught his ankle and he rolled with me. So it was just luck,” Gough said. “I wasn’t happy with how I wrestled, but…a win’s a win.”
Conversely, against Burbank, Gough gave up an escape point at the end of the second period and never scored himself...See the Wednesday print edition of the Fauquier Times-Democrat for the complete story.
You must be logged in to post a comment.