As the winter sports season is getting closer to a conclusion, the wrestling team will be competing to qualify for state in their next tournament. Currently they are getting themselves ready to be in their best shape to end a successful season. As of Feb. 11, Travis Hodges came in second place in the district tournament and earned a trip to state. He’ll compete in the next tournament in Des Moines on Feb 14th.

“Well, the end of the season tourneys are right around the corner so our plans include getting the wrestlers in the best possible position to be successful in postseason,” wrestling coach James Weisrock said.

The district tournament was held on Feb. 9 for all schools in the district to compete to qualify for the state tournament. To prepare for this, the wrestlers had been training every day.

“A typical practice lasts for about two hours. 15 minutes warm up, 30 minutes neutral position technique, 15 minutes of bottom position technique, 15 minutes of top position technique. Then usually some sort of live wrestling for 30-45 minutes and then cardio for 15-20 minutes,” Weisrock said.

To qualify for state, the wrestling team must be first or second in their weight class. They have eight members of the team that went to district to compete.

“Me and a couple of other guys got a shot to go to state, so I’m ready,” senior Wesley Eisenbacher said. “This year I plan on placing top two so I can go to state.”

With their intense daily workouts, the wrestling team had their work pay off at the district level so they could be able to move on to state.

“Watching the kids work really hard to achieve their goals is definitely my favorite part,” assistant coach Bryce Lightner said. ”Just watching them work hard to achieve a goal that they want.”