Sunday, January 15, 2006 Tue POST PAGE 7 Sports Week Former Lake-Lehman standout has posted an impressive 16-4 record Dragon By DAVE KONOPKI Post Editor att Dragon entered the University of | Pennsylvania © with & high expectations — on and off the wres- tling mat. He’s off to a great start. The former Lake-Lehman stand- out has posted a 164 record during his freshman season as a member of the nationally-ranked Quakers. Drag- on is also an outstanding student who is maintaining a 3.0 grade-point average while studying in the presti- gious Wharton School of Business. “I'm very grateful that I've been given the opportunity to go to this school,” said the son of Matthew and Deborah Dragon of Harveys Lake. “Im trying to make the most of it. Ev- erything — wrestling, life at school, academics — is as good as I hoped it would be. And a lot better.” Dragon cruised through his senior year at Lake-Lehman, winning a state championship and setting the District 2 record with 166 career wins. He’s adjusted well to the phys- ical demands of being a Division I wrestler and he’s on the verge of be- ing nationally-ranked in the 149- pound weight division. “It’s the same style of wrestling as high school, only much more phys- ical,” he said. “And in college, you have to be ready to wrestle in every match. Youre going against guys who were state champions in high school. You have to get tough or you're not going to survive.” Dragon credits much of his early collegiate success to first-year head coach Zeke Jones. The former mem- ber of the United States Wrestling Team coaching staff took over the Quaker program after being the as- sistant head coach at West Virginia for the past seven seasons. “He’s unique,” said Dragon, refer- ring to Jones, an Olympic silver med- alist who also coached the United States freestyle team at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. “He’s quiet at times but he’ll yell, es- pecially when he knows when you're not giving it all. If he sees you're put- ting in time and working hard, he’s very supportive. He’s competed at highest level and he’s been success- ful. He knows what it takes to suc- ceed. You listen to someone like that.” One of the things Jones has been stressing to Dragon is to keep up his intensity during his matches. “You're always attacking. You're al- ways on the go,” he said. “You can be tired or hurt, but you can’t look or act tired or hurt. You have to you're your emotions. And if you see your oppo- nent showing that he’s tired, you go breathing fire at Penn PENN ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS Former Lake-Lehman wrestling standout Matt Dragon is off to an excellent start at the University of Pennsylvania. ¢ ” B Lake-Lehman graduate Matt Dragon competes for the University of Pennsylvania during a recent meet against Penn State at The Palestra in Philadelphia. The former high school state champion is enjoying success on - and off - the mat during his freshman year at Penn. after him.” There certainly has been some ad- justing for Dragon. The 18-year-old recorded a perfect 45-0 record last year and suffered only 11 losses dur- ing his four year high school career. Not everyone is going to be Cael Sanderson and go undefeated for four years,” said Dragon, referring to the former Iowa State star who didn’t lose a match in college. “You're never pleased when you lose, but you have to understand that you're in a big pond with big fish. You have to keep grinding through the tough times. Everyone loses in college.” This weekend Dragon and his Quaker teammates will be compet- ing in the prestigious Virginia Duals, the largest college and high school tournament in the world. Penn en- ters the event ranked 25th in the na- tion in the USA Today/NWCA/In- terMat Division I Coaches Poll. With a couple of wins in the tournament, Dragon could find himself ranked among the elite wrestlers in his weight class. And if he can earn a top-four finish at the upcoming EIWA champion- ships, Dragon can earn a berth in the NCAA Division I championships. “Right now, I'm just taking every match one at a time,” he said. “When I wrestle a ranked opponent — well, actually any opponent, but especial- ly a ranked one — I want to prove my- self. I'm trying to get better and hopefully peak when the EIWA tour- nament is here.” “I want to win EIWAs and make it to nationals. That’s my goal. Nation- als would be a great learning experi- ence. I want to do my best and maybe finish in top eight.” That would be a fitting end to what has been a remarkable freshman year. “Everything I wished for coming in has fit like a puzzle. I'm on a very good team with a very good coach and going to a school with a great academic program. Things are great. I'm very fortunate.” FRESHMAN BASKETBALL o Lake-Lehman, Dallas cruise to wins in junior high girls basketball The two local freshman teams are near the top of the WVC standings The Dallas and Lake-Lehman freshman girls basketball teams each posted a win in the Wyom- ing Valley Conference on Wednesday af- ternoon to re- COMI NG main near the UP NEXT top of the confer- ence standings. Lake-Lehman At Lake-Leh- hosts Nanti- man Gaby 0l- coke Area and ? as Dallas hosts ~~ Shemski scored | Hanover Area 11 points as the at 415 p.m. Black Knights | Monday, Jan. posted a 38-30 16. win against Meyers. At Dallas, the Mountaineers cruised to a win + against Wyoming Area. A final score was not available. The two Back Mountain teams squared off earlier this week, with Lake-Lehman coming away See HOOPS, Page 8 FOR THE POST/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Carly Menzel (14) of Dallas attempts to wrestle the ball away from a Wyoming Area player. win against Meyers. Gaby Olshemski (42) was the leading scorer for Lake-Lehman in a
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