SARATOGA SPRINGS — Last season, the Saratoga varsity wrestling team struggled to overcome Burnt Hills and Ballston Spa. This year, the Blue Streaks have already beaten them both, and are in the conversation for one of the best teams in Section 2.
The success has come in the midst of a new weight descent plan rule that has altered coaches’ strategies. “The new descent plan thing is really interesting because it kind of ties coaches’ hands on how strategic they can get going into the dual meets,” said Saratoga wrestling coach Jake Zanetti. “Everybody is impacted by that.”
The rule is a bit complicated. “They’re only allowed to lose 1.5% of their body fat each week of the season,” Zanetti explained. “So even if a kid is actually weighing the weight class, if his individual descent plan doesn’t allow him to be eligible for that, even though he’s legitimately weighing it, he can’t wrestle it.”
Despite the curveball, the Blue Streaks have already garnered nearly a dozen victories about a third of the way through the season. One tough matchup that saw Saratoga lose a criteria tiebreaker came against Queensbury earlier this month. The Blue Streaks were tied with Queensbury 30 to 30, but were credited with a loss because their opponents won one more individual match.
“Queensbury kind of came out of nowhere,” Zanetti said. “They’re looking at the number one seed going into the Section 2 duals.”
The next time the two teams meet, Saratoga may have an ace up its sleeve with the return of standout Taylor Beaury, who has been sidelined with injuries. Beaury met with doctors this week to determine a timeline for his return.
As Zanetti awaits word on Beaury’s health, the Blue Streaks have two challenging tournaments ahead of them. The Windsor Christmas Tournament begins December 28, and the Saratoga Invitational starts January 6.
“January is going to be a long grinder,” Zanetti said. But the Blue Streaks are used to that. They were “grinding all summer long, all offseason,” Zanetti said.
