By Marisa Dawson
The Bennington wrestling community came together on Friday afternoon for an exciting middle school tournament hosted at Bennington South Middle School, where local rivals Bennington Middle School and Bennington South Middle School faced off in a head-to-head dual. Adding to the energy of the event, several members of the Bennington High School wrestling team, fresh off their season, including the recent state tournament, joined their coach to cheer on the young athletes and offer guidance on the mat.
High school head coach Alan Pokorny emphasized the value of this bridge between programs. “I think it means a lot more to the middle schoolers to see these guys that wrestled in high school and have them come out and help them and cheer them on,” he said. “It means a lot to those kids.” Pokorny highlighted how the presence of the older wrestlers fosters long-term connections: “It builds that team chemistry. It starts now and then when these 8th graders and 7th graders get to high school, they’ll recognize some of these guys.”
For the middle school coaches, the high schoolers’ involvement carried deep significance. Dalton Stodieck, coach of Bennington Middle School, noted the admiration the younger wrestlers have for their future teammates. “These guys really look up to a lot of these high schoolers and they got to watch state and for a lot of them, they want to join the high school team and they want to wrestle with those guys next year,” Stodieck said. “So it really does mean a lot for those guys to come out here and support them, because that’s going to be part of their team next year, especially for those eighth graders.”
He added that the intra-district matchup itself served as valuable preparation: “It just gives them a good sense of teamwork because Bennington vs Bennington South, I mean, all those guys, no matter what team they’re on, Bennington or Bennington South, they’re going to be working together next year.” Stodieck praised the intensity he observed, particularly in the middleweight classes: “Once we got to the middleweight classes, we really turned it up… you could really tell from those middleweight classes they really wanted to get wins and they really wanted to go after it… it was really good to see those guys compete together and against each other.”
Hayden Rucker, coach of Bennington South Middle School, also shared the excitement of seeing familiar high school faces return to mentor. “It’s really cool to see some of these faces come back down,” Rucker said, noting how encouraging it was for eighth graders to receive extra support from freshmen and others. He appreciated the effort on display from his team at the match: “They’re working hard. They’re doing their best. I didn’t see anybody giving up.” Rucker viewed the high schoolers’ pointers as key preparation: “It gives them a different experience. And then seeing how some of the high school kids are working, they can give some pointers, get some tips… So it gets them ready and having an understanding.”
One of the high school standouts on hand was Paxton Morgan, a recent state medalist, who made time after a demanding season to connect with the next generation of wrestlers. “It’s just having a blast with these dudes that last year I was with in the practice room,” Morgan shared. “It’s pretty cool to come back and talk to them and cheer them on.” He kept his advice straightforward: “I’m just going back to the basics. It’s all about basics… these guys are pretty advanced… so it’s pretty fun.” Morgan stressed the importance of early integration: “I think it’s really important to get them embraced in the new culture before they’re even in the high school building. So it’s just going to make them feel more welcome next year.”
The event highlighted the strong wrestling tradition in Bennington, where high school success, under the guidance of veteran coach Pokorny, continues to inspire and prepare younger athletes for the future. By bringing the programs together in this way, the tournament not only showcased competitive spirit but also laid the foundation for a seamless transition and lasting team unity.
