Everything in sports has cycles.
Teams go through their proverbial ups and their proverbial downs.
Of course, some programs manage to stay on top longer than others, but generally speaking all good things must come to an end.
It happened with the Oak Glen wrestling program and its decade-plus of dominance with head coach Larry Shaw.
Now, Point Pleasant is the two-time defending Class AA/A state mat champions and it doesn't look like anyone is going to have a chance to knock them off their perch before they move into the Class AAA ranks next winter.
One thing which really has been tough to watch is the demise of wrestling programs in general.
Although we still have a plethora of great coaches, even here in the Mid-Ohio Valley, there is just a total lack of participation in a lot of schools from potential student-athletes.
When going through some of the regional pairings for this Saturday's mat tournaments, it was obvious the same problem was going on as has been the case for the past several years. There just isn't the same number of kids competing as before.
"There are a handful of classes with just five kids in them," Williamstown head coach Dennie Uhl said of the Class AA/A, Region I mat pairings. "We're one of the bigger teams in the region and we only fill 12 classes.
"It's just a numbers game. Kids aren't coming out and it's kind of sad. Wrestling is a great sport and kids aren't really wanting to work at this point."
What can teams or programs do about this?
Even though Parkersburg South appears as though it's going to reign king in the Class AAA ranks for a fourth straight year, everyone knows it takes a community effort from the lower ranks to high school to make things be successful.
While rival Parkersburg is in what Big Reds fans would consider a down cycle, it wasn't that long ago when PHS was the toast of the Class AAA ranks.
"I've always said you can't compete statewide unless you have all the classes filled up," coach Uhl added. "We started the year with them all full. We've lost some kids and I feel lucky to have 12 when I see some of the other teams.
"St. Marys was a powerhouse for a long time and they are way down. They have like seven or eight kids and Lester Hughart works his butt off and is a good coach."
One program which is trying to get itself back into what was once a familiar position on the state scene as a top tier squad is Wirt County's mat team. The Tigers haven't had a state champion since Josh Cross in 2000.
Obviously, the same holds true for Calhoun County and mat boss Mike Stump, whose team has nine wrestlers, five of whom are seeded for Saturday's regional, but none higher than a third seed.
"I really think things will be better," Stump said of the future. "Like I told them, I know one is going to go (to state) and that's me."
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com
