Listening to Three 6 Mafia through his iPod in his hoodie and sweat pants, senior Bryan Hawkins stretches and mentally prepares for the match ahead of him.

He listens to Coach Harold Ritchie’s words of encouragement.

“Don’t worry about the other guy,” Ritchie tells his wrestlers. “Go wrestle your match, give 100 percent, and you will do fine.”

A bit of nervousness, a bit of adrenaline, and a bit of excitement pump through Hawkins’ veins as he contemplates his match ahead of him.

Hawkins started wrestling in eighth grade when Coach Ritchie had come to Hollenbeck, Hawkins’ middle school, to recruit for the Junior Knights wrestling team. Through his determination and hard work to become a more skill full wrestler, Hawkins fell in love with the sport.

“I like the individual competition,” Hawkins said. “I like knowing it’s all on you. If you win, it’s all you. If you lose, you have no one to blame but yourself.”

Hawkins has really stepped it up this year and has become a leader.

“He is practicing focused and with intensity,” Ritchie said. “He is showing a lot of improvement since last year. He is a lot more confident in all parts of his game. Things he struggled with before are now sinking in.”

Hawkins spends six days a week practicing with the team where he focuses on improving his technique for his next match. High hopes flow through his body as he remembers his season last year.

Hawkins placed third in Districts and had made it to state. He seemed to be going strong until he hit the State Competition. At State he lost both of his matches and did not place.

However, Hawkins plans on going to State and placing this year. Others, also, believe that Hawkins will do very well this season.

“I really think he is going to surprise people,” Ritchie said. “It is not going to be so much of an ‘awesome’ type thing for him. He has been there and he will be ready to go this year.”

The team participated in the Patriot Classic Tournament at Parkway South on Dec. 2. There were 12 schools and each wrestler competed in six matches. The team has been preparing for this tournament working on consistency, work ethic, and attitude. The team placed fifth in the tournament with Chris Nicholas winning all six matches and placing first in the tournament.

Hawkins won all his matches except his last match, which placed him at second in the tournament.

“I didn’t wrestle my best, but I tried to focus on my technique and wrestle smart,” Hawkins said. “It was a good tournament and something to build on.”