Wrestling season is underway and athletes are preparing for upcoming matches with extensive hours of training. With new members on the team, returning wrestlers are ready to see just how far recruits can go to propel the team to state.

“We keep practicing on the mat, running and working out in the weight room,” freshman Reina Sullivan said. “Our coach has us do live wrestling with each other, and we’ve also learned different cradles and pins.”
Many wrestlers have been training since before the season started by doing aerobic activities to stay in shape during the off season.

“I started working out once in awhile and doing Jiu Jitsu,” senior Chance Robinson said. “The new experience is helping with my wrestling technique.”
Other team members continue to put hours into regular training to get ready for the matches they will participate in during the season.

“My main preparation during off season was working out for three and a half hours each day,” sophomore Violet Hall said. “About two hours of that was spent wrestling on the mat.”

Along with hourly training, many wrestlers have worked on the mental aspect of the sport by setting their mind on a goal for the end of the season.

“I want to be state champion or at least regional champion,” sophomore Ethan Humphrey said. “To make it to that level, I am putting as much effort into practice as I can.”

Goals aside, an increase in female wrestlers makes the girls on the team happy. Hall is enjoying watching the newcomers grow and learn as she did last year.

“What’s exciting about this season is that we have a lot of new people, especially girls,” she said. “At the moment we have more girls than boys, and I’m excited to see how they progress throughout the season, along with the people who are returning. Hopefully we will have several team members go to state again.”

The thrill of the win is what keeps Hall in the match and on the mat. The more she is held back, the more she wants to pin her opponent to the mat and take the win for herself.

“I am in wrestling because I love the sport,” Hall said. “I love going on the mat and putting a girl in a cradle, which is one of our wrestling moves, and getting the pin. Having my hand raised in the air, I know I have a short time of 6 minutes to win. My favorite feeling is when I pin the girl within the first minute. That feeling of winning is very thrilling.”

Wrestling provides a different experience for each of the competitors, but for Sullivan, it has given her a sense of belonging and self control.

“I kind of had a problem with being bullied when I was younger, and I moved around a lot,” she said. “I didn’t feel like I was a part of anything, but I wanted to be a part of something good. In the past, when I would play around with my friends and play shove them, it was always too hard, but wrestling has helped me control my strength. The team has really encouraged me and continues to make me feel welcome.”