Pain is temporary

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(Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen) Southeast Whitfield wrestler Lester Paucay, top, works on tilts with drilling partner Tyler Brown during practice Monday. Pau-cay, a senior 152-pounder, and the Raiders are preparing for the Class 4A state duals, which start Thursday in Macon.

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January 9, 2013

Pain is temporary

Injured Raider wrestler wins while hurt

Devin Golden devingolden@daltoncitizen.com The Dalton Daily Citizen Wed Jan 09, 2013, 06:11 AM EST

Southeast Whitfield senior wrest-ler Lester Paucay said he wasn’t bothered by his injuries. Raiders coach Michael Herndon doesn’t agree.

No matter whom you believe, the 152-pounder won all four of his matches Saturday at the Area 7-4A duals while hampered with an injured right wrist and left thumb. Despite medical tape everywhere, Paucay was instrumental in the Raiders’ push to a runner-up finish and the program’s first trip to the state duals, which begin Thursday in Macon.

Paucay said he jammed his wrist in a match against Union Grove two weeks ago and had a lingering thumb injury from the week prior. He also had his right thumb taped up to keep opponents from knowing he was injured in a specific area.

However, he claims it didn’t bother him that much, something his coach and teammates say simply can’t be true.

“No, it really didn’t hurt that much,” Paucay said. “When I was wrestling one guy, I had him in a cradle and he started pulling it. It kind of hurt, but it wasn’t that bad.”

How much should a wrist or thumb injury affect a wrestler? Herndon said it’s everything, especially for Paucay’s style. A limp wrist or immobile thumb makes a wrestler unable to grip strong enough for certain moves, including cradles, which are used to earn near-fall points and pins. From the standing neutral position, having what wrestlers refer to as hand control is also key in setting up takedowns.

“Grip is everything in wrestling,” Herndon said. “I could tell from watching him wrestle this weekend. His go-to move is the cradle, which is all grips and holding on. Usually what that other guy does is he’s grabbing the wrist and thumb to try and break the grip. I could tell he was in pain, but he held on.”

Paucay is 29-5 in his final high school wrestling season, and the past four wins may have been the most important — and most painful.

In Southeast’s push through Saturday’s wrestlebacks — the Raiders beat Cass in their only dual Friday, then lost to eventual champion Gilmer in Saturday morning’s championship semifinals, leaving their only option for making state a second-place area finish — Paucay won each of his matches against Northwest Whitfield, Cass and LaFayette. He also won against Cass on Friday; he didn’t take the mat against Gilmer.

Despite being modest about his injury-plagued accomplishments, he gave in a little.

“It just hurts when I land on (the wrist),” Paucay said. “I could still grip with (the left) hand.”

For Herndon, Paucay’s modest approach is just much of the same from one of his five senior leaders. Jesus Dominguez (113), Aaron Thomas (126), Carlos Fraire (220) and Jose Martir (285) are the others.

“He would be the kid to do that,” Herndon said. “He’s a great kid, smart kid and great student. ... Especially with his go-to move being the cradle, it is all about grip. I’d say it definitely affects him.”

In the second meeting with Cass, Southeast trailed 30-15 with three weight classes left. The first was Paucay. His pin gave the Raiders six points and started a three-match run of pins — Tanner Acosta (160) and Austin Allen (170) followed — to give Southeast its 33-30 comeback victory.

While Allen was the hero of the day for finishing the job, even he couldn’t overlook what Paucay went through.

“It’s extremely difficult,” Allen said of his teammate’s injury-plagued wins. “It’s bad with one thumb, because you can’t grip anything. Whenever it’s wrapped up like that, it’s stuck. You can’t move it. You’re gripping with four fingers.”

And Paucay’s effort is one of the things that has changed about Southeast’s wrestling program. What used to be a team that looked toward area traditionals at this point in the schedule — because it had been eliminated at area duals — now is gunning for team-wide accomplishments.

“Leadership. We went from a bunch of kids who said, ‘I’m going to work hard for myself because these other guys won’t get me to where I want to go,’ to ‘I want to help make the team better,’” Allen said.

When the Raiders head to the Macon Centreplex for their Class 4A first-round matchup against Marist at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Paucay and every other starter on the team is expected to compete, regardless of any injuries still lingering.

“We’ve got a bunch of tough kids,” Herndon said. “They’ve all got so many stories.”

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Pain is temporary

Injured Raider wrestler wins while hurt

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