The young men of the Gloucester Dukes’ varsity wrestling team are finding individual success despite gaps in their heavier weight classes.
“We’ve got a young team, mostly freshmen and sophomores, but this is a great group of kids,” said head coach John Glockner. “In terms of the team aspect and the kids supporting each other, this is the best we’ve been in a few years.”
The Dukes have a plethora of wrestlers to send into contests in the 132-158-pound weight classes; however, they lack many higher weight contestants. In matches this results in essentially spotting their opponents a lead of up to 24 points, as any class that can’t field a wrestler results in a six-point forfeit for the Dukes.
Despite this, Gloucester still defeated two of the three teams they faced in their opening meet. Hampton and Kecoughtan were no match for the mettle of the Dukes, but Bethel was able to defeat the hometown wrestlers.
In their subsequent Peninsul...