By August Zangrilli, Staff Reporter
Junior and wrestling team captain Miles Warkentine steps onto the mat before his match against his opponent from Episcopal Academy. He is suffering from a slight knee injury and is walking with a limp. The whistle blows, and after a short battle, Warkentine pins his opponent in a minute and 52 seconds, securing the victory.
On Jan. 27, the Conestoga wrestling team competed in the Battle of the Buck tournament for the first time. It is an annual wrestling tournament hosted by Central Bucks West High School.
After a day of matches against teams from across Pennsylvania, Warkentine became the first wrestler in Conestoga history to win a first place spot in his weight class. He went into the tournament with an injury and low expectations.
“For Battle of the Buck I was slightly injured, so I chose to wrestle conservatively,” Warkentine said. “Wrestling through my injury was definitely a leap forward. I did not think I could do it, (but) it ended up working out, which I can apply to other things in wrestling.”
Conestoga wrestling head coach Gary Baker said that the Battle of the Buck Tournament is more difficult than other comptetions Conestoga has competed in this year.
“This tournament had some private teams from different parts of the region like Episcopal, Penn Charter and Central Bucks, who we usually don’t see,” Baker said.
Sophomore wrestler Ryan Kramer has known Warkentine for years and feels that the team can learn from his success at Battle of the Buck.
“We take tape of all of our matches. This way, we can look back to what Miles did right and use it so that we can all progress,” Kramer said.
Baker said that Warkentine positively influences the team and has improved exponentially over the years. He sees a bright future for Warkentine ahead.
“Miles is our captain, and he leads by example,” Baker said. “During Battle of the Buck, Miles was going full force, and he definitely made his presence known. He’s an outstanding wrestler, and I’ve coached him since he was little. I’ve watched him develop over the years into becoming the champion that he is now.”
August Zangrilli can be reached at [email protected].
