Saturday, January 10, 2009 -Calhoun County’s Aaron Yoak (left) wraps up George Washington’s Ryan Shank during the second day of competition at the Pat Vance Invitational wrestling meet at Nitro. Yoak won the match 7-4.
Dunbar, 26-0 and ranked second in Class AAA, pinned Calhoun County's Nick Stevens, who is No. 4 in AA, to capture the 112-pound weight class championship at the 39th Pat Vance Invitational at Nitro High.
Dunbar finished fourth as a freshman at last year's state tournament with a 40-14 mark.
"I've pretty much dominated most of my opponents,'' said Dunbar. "I'm pretty surprised. I expected at least a loss by now. Last year I was a light 112-pounder, but now I'm a heavier 12.
"I'm just bigger than [my opponents]. I have more muscle [and] less fat. I lifted during the offseason and started up early this year. [I have] the ability to move [my opponents] easier, just get leverage, push them over and get it.''
This weekend's 22-team meet was Dunbar's first exposure to some of Class AAA's top competition. He had previously competed in duals at Hurricane, St. Albans and Point Pleasant.
"He has a lot of potential this year,'' said first-year Nitro coach Lisa Shiltz. "I really look for him to place high [at the state tournament]. [There's] a lot of tough kids in this state in some of the regions up north.''
Shiltz said Dunbar has the desire and drive that is needed to ascend to the highest level.
"He puts in a lot of time,'' she said. "He's at every practice, he comes early, he stays on weight and he works hard for it. He's always wanted it even since [he was at Andrew Jackson Middle School]. On his own time, he does lots of workouts at home.
"He's a very serious person. He makes straight A's and he's very driven. If his weight gets even a little bit close he's in there running on the treadmill. He never slows down. You get some kids that never want to run and he's not one of them. He's always running. He'll be the first one in line and you'll never get past him.''
Shiltz said Dunbar has a well-thought-out approach for every match.
Nitro's Matt Dunbar is no longer a pushover.
The sophomore has added experience and strength to his already impressive array of skills, which have helped him to a fast start to the season.
Dunbar, 26-0 and ranked second in Class AAA, pinned Calhoun County's Nick Stevens, who is No. 4 in AA, to capture the 112-pound weight class championship at the 39th Pat Vance Invitational at Nitro High.
Dunbar finished fourth as a freshman at last year's state tournament with a 40-14 mark.
"I've pretty much dominated most of my opponents,'' said Dunbar. "I'm pretty surprised. I expected at least a loss by now. Last year I was a light 112-pounder, but now I'm a heavier 12.
"I'm just bigger than [my opponents]. I have more muscle [and] less fat. I lifted during the offseason and started up early this year. [I have] the ability to move [my opponents] easier, just get leverage, push them over and get it.''
This weekend's 22-team meet was Dunbar's first exposure to some of Class AAA's top competition. He had previously competed in duals at Hurricane, St. Albans and Point Pleasant.
"He has a lot of potential this year,'' said first-year Nitro coach Lisa Shiltz. "I really look for him to place high [at the state tournament]. [There's] a lot of tough kids in this state in some of the regions up north.''
Shiltz said Dunbar has the desire and drive that is needed to ascend to the highest level.
"He puts in a lot of time,'' she said. "He's at every practice, he comes early, he stays on weight and he works hard for it. He's always wanted it even since [he was at Andrew Jackson Middle School]. On his own time, he does lots of workouts at home.
"He's a very serious person. He makes straight A's and he's very driven. If his weight gets even a little bit close he's in there running on the treadmill. He never slows down. You get some kids that never want to run and he's not one of them. He's always running. He'll be the first one in line and you'll never get past him.''
Shiltz said Dunbar has a well-thought-out approach for every match.
"He knows what he has to do,'' she said. "He knows the moves and he really doesn't have to think about it. He has a plan and he knows what he's going to do for a wrestler.''
Dunbar hopes to keep the string of state champions going at Nitro. The Wildcats have had at least one individual state champion the past 10 seasons and produced 20 overall.
"Finals are what I want,'' he said matter-of-factly.
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Shiltz has 20 wrestlers out this year and is seeing steady improvement. Nitro was in 12th place after Friday's opening day of the Pat Vance.
"The team's looking good,'' she said. "I've seen a tremendous improvement in the boys in this tournament. Most of them made it three rounds and didn't get pinned.
"I was very proud of them. At the very beginning they would get pinned immediately. Now, we don't have that issue. They're making it to the second [and] third periods without any difficulty. We've been working on techniques and they've come a long way.''
Shiltz was an assistant coach at Andrew Jackson Middle the last couple of years.
"I had boys that practiced every day over Christmas break,'' she said. "The ones with the dedication I've seen huge improvements. If we can keep working, we're going to have a phenomenal team.''
Wildcats junior Sam Dunbar, Matt's older brother who now competes at 130, finished fourth at 125 at last year's state tournament. Cody Parcelluzzi (119), Zach Sizemore (125), J.T. Flint (145), Seth Craven (152) and Chris Sayre (189) are also promising grapplers.
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