In the recent trip to the State competition, Spartan wrestlers were unfortunately defeated; however, the girls’ team’s efforts were better received, making it further in the tournament than the boys’ team. This result came as a shock, as the best performances came from primarily non-senior wrestlers. The physicality often associated with wrestling is only a portion of the efforts that athletes put in to master the sport, as a majority of the talent comes from wrestlers’ mentality: the grit, perseverance, and determination that define their spirit. However, this loss has not erased the passion that our wrestlers have; it has only emboldened their resolve and made them hungrier for their next chance at the championship.
Wrestling coach and biology teacher Brian Bitney felt every up and down from each of his wrestlers’ match results, whether it be a win or loss, he gave every emotion back to his athletes. This emotional whiplash creates a stressful weekend; furthermore, the mentality of wrestlers was impacted by the performances of their counterparts, providing either encouragement or dread depending on how they wrestled. Bitney’s reciprocation of these emotions presented momentum shifts, some significant enough to change the outcome of matches. In this way, the team is brought closer together and uplifted through each other’s successes.
“A momentum can be felt throughout the tournament, when your teammates are winning, it propels other athletes to continue to win and to rise up and feel the confidence and energy,” Bitney said. “Although the opposite can occur too. When your teammates lose, and you have to step out on the mat after watching three teammates have their season ended, it’s very difficult to remain positive and perform to the best of your ability.”
One of the biggest success stories from the state tournament was sophomore Kaitlyn Sparkman, a wrestler who exceeded expectations. In spite of being ranked lower than some of her opponents, she performed well and fought to the end, learning a lot about the effort required to win out in State. Along with some of her teammates, like sophomore Addison Holtgrewe and junior Halen Phillips, Sparkman had an inspiring performance, given that many of their opponents were seniors and had more experience with tournaments such as these. As close as she came to winning, it is no wonder that Sparkman was encouraged to continue working hard and make a deeper run at state next season.
“Going into the tournament, my only expectation for myself was to do better than last year, and I was able to do that,” Sparkman said. “Next year, I’m determined to win my last match. For my teammates, like [Phillips] was in the finals this year and didn’t qualify for state last season, so there has been a lot of growth in our wrestlers.”
Beyond the success that the girls’ team had with their development and young roster, the boys’ team experienced detrimental losses. Being composed primarily of seniors, wrestlers who have had success in previous years, expectations were high going into their final tournament. One such wrestler, senior Garo Sams, believed that he would be able to place in State, as he has in previous years. Unfortunately, this goal was not achieved, and with no plans to wrestle in college, his career ended on a disappointing note. Sams, however, feels that he did the best he could with the competition being as stiff as it was.
“Sometimes, our mindsets aren’t in the right place, and it’s hard to re-focus when your opponent is simply a better wrestler,” said Sams. “It comes down to mentality, and our wrestlers that did well were able to concentrate and keep their spirits up to wrestle at their best.”
