On school mornings wrestling head coach Ryan Wrigley can be found running laps around the track. From 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. Wrigley runs about seven miles every day in preparation for the Kansas Rails to Trails Extravaganza, 50-mile race, that he will be competing in this upcoming October.

As a coach, Wrigley has taken what he physically and mentally goes through in his training to try and motivate his athletes to push themselves more every day.

“It’s the focus and drive to get better every day,” Wrigley said. “That is something I say in the wrestling room. What do we do today to get better for tomorrow? It can be a fraction of a percentage better. It doesn’t matter how much better- as long as it was progress.”

For the past few years, Wrigley has set a goal for himself to work towards every year. Last year, his challenge was hiking 500 miles and his ultimate goal is for when he turns 50, he wants to hike the Appalachian Trail.

“Regardless of if you are training for a 100-mile race, a 2000-mile hike, or an A on a paper – it’s the commitment and dedication that you put into it,” Wrigley said. “The trials and tribulations that I go through in that training – what lessons do I learn from that and how can I bring that into my everyday life.”