When it comes down to strategy, strength and focus, wrestling is a sport that requires one of the toughest mindsets.
Sophomore Jack Murphy described the intensity wrestling requires. Despite the great physical and mental strength of these wrestlers, the team has some challenges ahead of them.
The team only consists of eight people, three of which are underclassmen and one who is completely new to the sport.
Regardless of the few wrestlers who are still new to the sport, their progress is largely acknowledged and appreciated by their upperclassmen.
Captains Braden Dick and Chris Sullivan said they saw the great hearts of the wrestlers and how they are doing much to succeed.
“It might not be pretty, but I think as the season progresses, there will be a lot of improvement being shown,” Dick said.
Along with the challenge of having a small team, the wrestlers also face the challenge of maintaining a particular weight to fit their class.
In wrestling, the team is divided into weight classes. Depending on the wrestler, they may have to drop or gain weight to get into a specific class.
Senior co-captain Sullivan had the tremendous cut of going from 150 pounds to 130.
“Some of it was muscle weight that I dropped, which wasn’t a good idea,” he said.
Sullivan said that his experience trying to drop a weight class had a more impactful effect towards him than most.
“It’s taught me to see how much I can last on just a slice of bread and some meat for like a week,” Sullivan said.
With a more extreme diet compared to many of his teammates, he said, he’s adjusted his nutrition and learned how to deal with difficulties attached.
“Before matches is when I usually have the most carbs,” Sullivan said. “I’ll eat a tiny bowl of pasta on rice.”
With much previous knowledge ranging from weight maintenance to moves on the mat, the upperclassmen are ready to head into competition.
“We all have a very interesting skill set that I believe will throw off some opponents because most teams and wrestlers don’t ever see those moves,” Dick said.
Dick said he is excited to see how things turn out and describes how at the end of the day , they are a team and even though things get difficult, they continue to impress each other in many different ways.
“Once you get onto the mat, everything just goes away because you’re worried about the coach
yelling at you to go faster, wanting you to go better–not so much if you’re hungry or have the energy for it,” Dick said.
