Flowers wrestler has long, successful day
Shelton plays in all-star football game, wins wrestling tournament on Saturday
It started at 8 a.m. in Fort Washington with the 20th Annual Pigskin Jamboree football recruiting fair and concluded at 9 p.m. in Indian Head at the Lackey Wrestling Tournament. In between, Shelton started on the offensive line for the Prince George's team in the Chick-Fil-A Challenge all-star football game at North Point High School in Waldorf and won a championship in the 275-pound weight class at the wrestling tournament.
Needless to say, Shelton was a bit exhausted by the time the day was over.
"It was a pretty good experience to do those things and come out on top," he said Wednesday as the Flowers wrestling team took on Gwynn Park. "But it was tiring doing all those things in one day."
Shelton recuperated over the weekend, and on Wednesday he earned an 8-4 decision against Gwynn Park's Trey Seymour. Flowers won the match, 66-10, though the two teams only contested five of the 14 weight classes, as both had gaps in their lineups.
Shelton said Seymour is the toughest wrestler he has faced so far, and he expects to see him again later this season. But the senior said he won't be looking ahead to future matches. Instead, he will be taking it one match at a time as he prepares for the postseason and another shot at the state tournament.
"I want to do way better at states this year," said Shelton, who was knocked out of the double-elimination state tournament after three matches last year. "I want to get off to a good start and not play around with anyone. I don't want anyone beating me in the third period because I am feeling tired."
Flowers coach Odist Felder said Shelton can have a great year if he avoids the senioritis bug and remains focused.
"He has got some big goals and he seems to have the right mentality," he said. "Hopefully as the season goes along he can get in a groove, but it's not going to be easy."
Ascene Jacques (189 pounds) and Fadar Samson (215) both earned victories for Flowers on Wednesday. Jacques was a 12-6 winner against Dion Curtis, while Samson pinned George Wilkerson in 1 minute, 37 seconds.
Flowers held a narrow 12-10 lead after the five matches were contested. Gwynn Park didn't have any wrestlers in the remaining weight classes, so the Yellow Jackets were forced to forfeit.
Tariq Thomas (130) and Kenny Williams (171) both picked up victories for Gwynn Park. Thomas earned a 7-3 win against against Tobi Akinsanya, while Williams pinned Julian Watson at the 3:08 mark. Williams was trailing 5-0 in the first period and 11-8 before the pinfall.
Yellow Jackets' coach Brandyn Hardnett said his team has shown improvement this season.
"Our motto this season is push the tempo and we did a good job of that," he said. "We have shown a lot of improvement and we are working toward the postseason. We want to be at peak condition at that time."