Travis Goss Places
5th At The
NHSCA National Open Wrestling Championships.
Cousin, Kyle Goss
Finishes In The Top 10.
Lancer
wrestler, Travis Goss nabbed 5th place at the National High
School Coaches Association Wrestling tournament which was held
at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, VA. July 1-3. 1,400 wrestlers
from 36 states participated in the grueling 3 day event. The
top 8 wrestlers in each class were awarded All-American status.
Travis
competed in the middle school division at 170 lbs. in a field
of 31 wrestlers. He won a hard fought 4-0 decision over Brian
Ledford of North Carolina in the opening round. Goss held a
slim 1-0 lead going into the final period, but wore his opponent
down and scored back points in the final 40 seconds.
He
then beat Josh Lee of Indiana by an 8-1 count to make the quarter-finals.
In the quarter-final round, Goss scored a takedown, an ecape
and back points to pull out a 6-1 win over Georgia's Raymond
Marvin to guarantee himself a medal.
In
the semi-finals he ran into eventual champion, Nathan Lee of
Arizona. Lee proved to be a tough customer as he scored three
takedowns and back points to run up the score. Travis could
only manage one takedown and two escapes as he came out on the
short end of a 14-4 score.
Goss
lost a 3-1 lead and the chance to wrestle for 3rd place in his
next match against Mike Lowrance of Georgia. Lowrance scored
a takedown at the end of the 2nd period to tie the score. Goss
then cut Lowrance loose, to go for the winning takedown, but
Lowrance went into defensive mode and pulled out a 4-3 decision.
Travis
faced Corey Morrison of Ohio in the 5th-6th place wrestle off
and racked up a convincing 8-3 win to nail down 5th place. Medaling
at this tournament was especially satisfying for Travis, since
he just missed placing at AAU Nationals earlier this year.
Kyle
Goss, who competed in the 145 lbs. middle school division, also
wrestled very well in the tournament. Kyle, only an 8th grader,
narrowly missed the medal round, but managed to finish in the
top ten, in a field of 37 wrestlers.
Kyle
pinned Virginia's Mark Van Pelt in the 3rd period, in the opening
round. Goss had a big lead when he attempted a spladle and missed
it. He ended up on his back briefly, but fought out of it and
got the fall. In the second round he decked Keith Schlecht of
Washington with an underhook and half nelson at the 1:54 mark.
In
the quarter-finals, Kyle put up a good fight but lost to eventual
champ, Colby Alberts of Minnesota. He then faced 7th placer
Corey Lacey of Arizona in a do or die situation. Kyle needed
a win to make a trip to the podium, but came out on the short
end of a hard fought 8-2 decision.
07/05/02
