The wrestling team is over halfway through their season with a record of 9-5, and 5-0 in their conference. The team is currently preparing for their upcoming home meet and senior night, Feb. 2.
With a new head coach and 16 new wrestlers, the team is looking to improve with strength and conditioning training.
“Our next home meet is going to be a big night for us; we are going against one of our rivals, Parkway North High School,” Head coach Zeke Allison said. “With our team being very young, myself and the other coaches need to make sure that everyone is ready to go.”
Four year wrestling veteran senior Ben Herrmann believes the increase in team size has shaped the morale for the season.
“[The wrestling program] is getting better every year,” Herrmann said. “There are more people in the practice room to train with and there’s more camaraderie with the team.”
With three seniors, seven juniors and five sophomores, the freshmen stands out with 10 new members.
“The wrestling program, since we’ve been here, has grown,” freshman Donald Griffin said. “It’s a lot more freshmen than previous years, and we’ve improved tremendously since day one.”
Allison has high expectations for the freshmen to move further on in their conference.
“Six out of the 10 [freshmen] are on varsity,” Allison said. “This year has been a great freshmen class and we expect big things from them.”
In his first year, junior Terrell Jones learned the skills of the sport and has earned a record of 17-5.
“It’s been a cool season especially since it’s my first,” Jones said. “It’s really easy when you have the strength and aggressiveness for it. Technique is a bonus, but when you have strength and aggressiveness, it makes everything easier.”
With their meet rapidly approaching, Allison is making sure that all of the wrestlers comprehend the importance of this event.
“Our seniors know how big of a night this is for them, and we need to make sure that our underclassmen understand that as well,” Allison said. “If we show up and compete to our highest level, I have no doubt that we will have success.”
The team will wrestle in the north gym at 5 p.m.
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