The wrestling season is officially in full swing. The boys have been dominating the mat and crushing opponents since the season started on November 30th. 

Freshman Gordon Hulbert, who just began wrestling at the first of the season, has been enjoying his time on the team. 

“My favorite part is definitely daily practices, I love practicing with my friends and having fun with them and the rest of the team and I can’t wait for the next three years,” Hulbert said. 

In most sports, the teams are distinctly separated between freshman–or “C-Team”–junior varsity and varsity. However, because wrestling is dependent on weight class, the boys tend to bounce around a lot, which can put some pressure on the ones that are newer to the sport. 

Senior Spencer Flemming–who has been wrestling since the seventh grade–says that the biggest thing you can do to help the younger ones, specifically the ones that bounce around a lot, is to just simply be there for them. 

“And just talking to those guys I’m like, yeah, when they lose, they’re sad. But in reality, maybe they’re not supposed to win. And you have to be like, listen, you made it this far in a tournament. You’re only a freshman. That’s a big deal. And I want you to know that I’m really proud of you. And we love you. And I tell them about my first varsity experience. My first varsity experience, I wrestled with the returning state champ and got absolutely destroyed. So I come in with a lot of these guys with no expectations, just do your absolute best and put everything you have in the sport and then they’ll come back to you.” Spencer said. 

Being the youngest kid on the team, especially on a higher level team, is nerve racking for everyone, but in wrestling, they try to make the transitions as easy as possible. The team really hits home on the importance of staying motivated and pushing boundaries, because not only does it benefit the individual, but the entire team too.