Every sport is about the team and supporting teammates in action

Sports like cross country, golf, wrestling, tennis and track and field are unique in that while athletes are competing as part of a team, they have the opportunity to win individual titles as well.

At the Region 7 wrestling tournament Saturday at McCreary Central, Corbin’s Seth Huff reached the championship match in the 215-pound weight class.

Whitley County’s Anthony Colmus finished third in the 138-pound weight class. As a result, both will be among those competing at the semi-state tournament next weekend in Lexington.

It is interesting to watch events like this and see the team dynamic.

Granted, Saturday dragged on with a lot of downtime between matches. I got there to take pictures at 9:30 that morning and they still were going when I finally called it a day at 7:30 p.m.

As the day wore on and wrestlers were eliminated from their respective tournaments, I noticed a distinct difference among the teams.

The number of wrestlers remaining at the venue steadily decreased as it continued.

There were a few notable exceptions. The teams from Boyle County and Madison Central appeared to remain in force. When one of the wrestlers from either school was on one of the three mats, teammates were nearby and engaged in the action.

Whenever one of the Madison Central wrestlers got his opponent on his back, chants of, “Pin, pin, pin…” would erupt from the group of teammates.

A wrestler who went out early, likely, doesn’t want to sit in the gym the rest of the day on a Saturday when his or her day and season are done.

I’m sure that is the case in the other sports I mentioned.

And what works for one team may not work for another.

But the fact that Madison Central and Boyle County finished first and second in the team standings in the tournament may have other teams looking at what they are doing to have that success.

One thing I will give the Corbin team credit for is that there was no doubt which wrestlers and coaches made up the team. Each one was sporting a red sweatshirt denoting them as members of, “The Original Corbin Wrestling.” 

Bubby’s Barbecue sponsored the shirts.

During multiple Corbin matches, teammates were gathered near the mat to watch, though they weren’t as vocal.

It surprised me that both Corbin and Whitley County were like that given how vocal both benches were when the teams competed head-to-head over the last couple of weeks.

Hopefully, that will improve in 2022-23.

Over on the basketball court, Corbin will play host to the 50th District Tournament beginning Monday when the girls take to the floor.

The draw to determine whether Corbin or South Laurel will go in as the top seed has still not occurred so it remains to be seen which will face three seed Whitley County and which will face four seed Williamsburg.

On the boys’ side, South Laurel goes in as the top seed and will open against Williamsburg, while Corbin will face Whitley County.

Those games will take place Tuesday night with South and Williamsburg tipping off at 6 and Corbin and Whitley County tipping off at 7:30

The opening rounds of the district tournaments are some of the best basketball as it is win or go home.

The underdogs in those games have nothing to lose. They are expected to lose and end the season. With no tomorrow, put it all on the line, pull out all the stops and try to catch lightening in a bottle. It is their game seven of the NBA finals

In the 2017 50th District Tournament, Corbin upset Whitley County in the opening round in a two-three matchup.

In 2015, third seeded Corbin upset second seed Whitley County in the boys’ tournament.

The district winner and runner-up will advance to the 13th Region Tournament scheduled to begin Feb. 28 at The Arena.

The last time a four beat a one in the 50th District was 2014 when Williamsburg knocked off South Laurel and then went on to win the 13th Region.

That was a unique situation as the Yellow Jackets had struggled throughout the season without Skylar Griffith who was out with an injury.

Griffith returned in time for the district tournament and the Jackets caught fire.

While the tournament bracket has not yet been set, the teams know their potential paths should they reach the Sweet 16 in Lexington.

On the boys’ side, the 13th Region winner will open as the final game of the first day, playing the 15th Region champion at 8:30 p.m. on March 16.

The winner will get the winner of the matchup between the 14th and 10th regions at 1:30 p.m. on March 18.

On the girls’ side, the 13th Region champion will open the state tournament at 6 p.m. on March 10 against the 10th Region winner.

The winner will go on to face the winner of the opening round game between the seventh and eighth region champions at 8:30 p.m. on March 11.