He will enter the state tournament with pressure to improve on his fifth-place finish from last season, but without any added pressure of preserving a perfect season. A number of wrestlers will enter undefeated, whether or not they like it. Some people look at you and see you're undefeated and they get intimidated,'' Cupp said. Cupp, who went undefeated en route to a state title last season, said he began thinking about a repeat of perfection when he reached the sectional tournament without a loss. Because the last three weeks is the time to go undefeated, no matter what,'' he said.
Some wrestlers specifically try to avoid that.
Still, Dollaway and his coaches likely will squeeze every last bit of comfort from the underdog status. All season long, guys were gunning for Dollaway. Graham missed the start of the season for academic reasons, then lost his first match in January before reeling off 19 straight wins and qualifying for the district tournament for the fourth time. If people only knew how hard he worked . . . I'm just tickled to death.