The sound of powerful thuds hit the mats as cheers and comments fill the gym, while the wrestling teams show off their skills during Meet the Stags night on Nov. 29.
This year, the wrestling team has grown as it welcomes 20 wrestlers to the mat. According to head wrestling coach Ryan Wrigley, he wanted the Meet the Stags night to promote the wrestling team, as both the boys and girls teams have increased since last season.
“We’re a really young team with probably 80-85% of the wrestlers having never wrestled before,” Wrigley said. “Every year is new and exciting with the youth that we have.”
According to Wrigley, last year, the girls wrestling team had one member, senior Christina Arana, but now consists of five girls.
“When you first look at it, you are going to be a little off put,” Arana said. “But being able to form bonds with the people on the team is the best part about it. It doesn’t just become a sport where a singular person tries to win, it’s you putting in the effort and the team supporting you all the way.”
Even with the team being made up of new wrestlers, freshman Meg Joseph said she has already seen her hard work pay off at the Wyandotte Classic.
“I play rugby, and I wanted to find a sport like it,” Joseph said. “I got third in my weight class – it was a very proud moment and made me feel more confident in my wrestling abilities.”
While the majority of the wrestling program is new to the mat this year, junior Baker North returns with state hopes.
“We have a really good chance for one of our wrestlers to get a state championship if he does everything right and that’s our heavyweight, Baker North,” Wrigley said.
According to Baker, the growth in the team this year helped motivate him to push to win state this year, after losing by one point in his final match last season.
“Having a larger team is awesome since the energy level is high and motivates the team to push through difficult situations in matches,” North said.
For Wrigley his main priority is to help everyone improve no matter their current skill level.
“I preach to the team to get better every day, and that goes for me too,” Wrigley said. “I’m not a big wins and losses guy. I’m really big on self-improvement and just getting better every day. If you do those things, the wins will eventually come.”