Wrestling Team Starts Season Prepared to Grow as a Team

The boys wrestling team started their season in November practicing in the Fieldhouse. Their first meet was on Dec. 9 against West Bend East and the team lost 12-64. Following CDC rules, all wrestlers are required to wear masks while near each other. This has forced the athletes to adapt to these changes to be able to continue with their season.

Senior wrestler Alex Bognar said while wrestling with masks is a big difference from last season, there are still some similarities this year.

“The close continuity of the entire team [is the same], kids from freshman to seniors all coming together to form one team,” Bognar said.

Practices this season are similar to past years with the exception of COVID protocols. In order to practice safely, the team has sectioned off separate socially-distanced squares on the mats so the wrestlers aren’t getting too close to people who aren’t their partners. Each wrestler only wrestles one other wrestler for a whole week as a way to further prevent the spread of COVID.

Despite all these changes, Bognar feels this season is off to a good start.

“We are just doing everything we can, managing school and athletes getting quarantined, but we are mature and fight through to have a successful season,” Bognar said.

Practices aren’t the only thing that’s different this season. Senior wrestler Tyler Klein said meets are what has changed the most.

“We miss the fans the most,” Klein said. “The energy they bring to our dual meets were huge. Now with limited seating it is hard to get the energy of the dual high.”

The team this year is dominated by underclassmen. With a total of 30 wrestlers, underclassmen take up two-thirds of the team, leaving only 10 juniors and seniors participating. Coach Corey McCauley sees this as an opportunity to grow as a team.

“We’re a very young team, dominated by freshmen and sophomores,” McCauley said. “So it’s going to be a growing year, but I’m excited to see where it takes us.”