Washington’s holiday layoff was just long enough for coach Chris Penhollow and the Pam Pack wrestlers to step back and focus internally. They had only lost one match at that point, so the idea was to fine tune what had been working so well. Former Pam Pack standout and current Penn State wrestler Devon Van Cura came back and had a chance to work with each wrestler.

They didn’t have too much down time, though. Washington got right back to work on Jan. 3 at the Charger Duals at Ayden-Grifton, where the boys picked up wins over Holmes, Northeastern, Conley and the hosting Chargers.

The Pam Pack recently hosted three 2-A Eastern Plains Conference opponents on Jan. 5. North Johnston and Beddingfield were handled with ease. It was the matchup with a formidable Farmville Central squad that had been circled on the calendar for some time now.

“It’s kind of a two-man race,” Penhollow said. “We shifted a couple of people around and competed really well. There are still some things we need to work on. I was very pleased with the effort. The kids were very much into the match. Coming in, they realized it’s a big match. They wrestled hard and we were lucky to get out of there with a nine-point win.”

One of those things Penhollow wants to work on has to do with the younger wrestlers. They’re learning and growing as part of this elite team. However, sometimes their opponents outmatch them. Penhollow wants to make sure they compete all the way through. Even if they’re going to lose, a loss via decision conceded three fewer points than a loss via fall.

“It’s something that’s a little bit of a hard thing,” he said. “They’ve got to want to fight and push through it. They understand that. The guys are really receptive.”

Washington competed at the River City Tournament last weekend. After winning last year, the plan was for the Pam Pack to repeat as champions. The boys fell short of winning by 12 points. They lost points due to not having a starter at the 138-pound class. There were also some small factors along the way that made the dozen-point difference.

“There are lots of little things that could have happened to push us over the edge,” Penhollow said. “The one big thing that hurt us was not getting points at that weight class. The kids that wrestled did really well. We got six into the finals and two in the consolation finals.”

Jacob Smith, DK Credle and Simeon Pope each placed first in their respective weight classes. Pope was voted the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler.

The Pam Pack travels to Havelock for a much-anticipated rematch. Havelock is Washington’s only loss of the season. There will be plenty of other strong teams in attendance for the tournament, too.

“It’ll be a good trip and good experience for the guys to wrestle some tough teams,” Penhollow said. “We’re a little different team than what (Havelock) saw. That’s kind of what you see as the season goes on, with injuries and this and that.”