Wallace making a big difference for Eagles this season

By Brian Eller - beller@nvdaily.com

BERRYVILLE -- For Rob Wallace, the line between being confident and cocky is a fine one. The key, though, is to try to walk that line.

"I'm optimistic," Wallace says of his strategy. "I think there is a fine line and you've got to find that break-even point. You want to be as confident as you can be, but you need to make sure you're not cocky."

And as Clarke County prepares for the Northern Sectional meet, it's that optimism that's provided success for Wallace and the Eagles. The sectional meet was scheduled to be held today, but has been postponed due to inclement weather, and no make-up date has been set.

This time last year, Wallace wasn't on Clarke County's wrestling team. In fact, he wasn't even living in Virginia. Wallace spent his first two seasons wrestling at Bethlehem High School in Bucks County, Pa. Wallace's family moved to the area last summer, giving Wallace and his brother, William, and chance to join the Eagles squad.

"Having Rob come in this year and his brother, William, is just totally out of the clear blue sky," coach Jon VanSice said. "I mean, this guy has lost two matches all year. He's not ranked No. 1 in the state, but he very easily could be. He's got a tremendous record and has great leadership skills in here. You'd never imagine a guy like this until school starts and they tell you you've got a couple of wrestlers here. I've had a couple of wrestlers before, but nobody that's stuck with it and had such an impact to the team."

Wallace is 38-2 this season, tops among his teammates. On the mat, Wallace says his approach isn't anything special. In order for him to do well, everything just has to come naturally.

"I guess I'm trying to get a feel for what my opponent is trying to do," he said. "But I don't think about it. It's more natural. I don't sit there and think, 'Oh, he's doing that.' I think it's more natural."

Whatever his approach, it's proven successful so far and has the Eagles poised to do great things in the postseason. On Jan. 23, Clarke County wrestled in the district duals match, where the Eagles pulled off the 38-35 upset over rival Strasburg.

To most it seemed like an upset, but not to VanSice and his wrestlers. To them, the result last month is exactly the type that's expected.

"Really it went almost true to form as it should've went," VanSice said. "There really weren't that many changes in there at all. It was almost like you had expected the match to go. They should feel pretty good about how they've been wrestling here lately. In the district duals we beat some teams we hadn't in a while and some teams that are pretty good, I think. So they've got to have a lot of confidence going into this tournament."

Despite the high expectations, Clarke County's victory over the Rams was surprising, as it was just Strasburg's third loss on the season. The two schools will meet again, however, in the sectional tournament, where VanSice knows his team will be ready to continue its successful season, and with the help of guys like Wallace, another win against rival Strasburg.

"Every placing is going to affect the outcome greatly," VanSice said. "Every pin is going to affect the outcome. If you can get those along the way that's probably what's going to win the tournament. It's going to be dog-eat-dog. It's going to be three teams, maybe four teams fighting this thing down to the last match."