After finishing with a record of 4-5 last year, this year’s wrestling team looks to improve its performance. The Knights have five state placers returning to the team.
“We are going to have a talk as a whole team,” head coach Harold Ritchie said. “But looking at it from my perspective, our main goal should be being in the top ten [teams] in the state. We also need to show improvement on our dual meet; we have not been a good dual meet team the last couple of years.”
Because the team lost many of its star wrestlers to graduation, they will be looking at younger wrestlers to rise to the challenge and fill major gaps in the roster.
“We lost a lot of our good wrestlers last year,” junior Jeff Shell said. “It is going to be tough on us. We are going to have to wait and see who wants to step up and compete at the varsity level.”
Both the under and upperclassmen look to Shell to be the leader of this year’s team. Shell has been to the state tournament twice, and last year he took third.
“Shell is a good wrestler,” senior Eric Voyles said. “He works hard and is tough. I am positive that Shell is going to step up and lead this team.”