In most sports, each person has a team by their side to back them up and help them out, but that’s not the case for wrestling. When they play, they look their opponent in the eye and try to figure out their first move. From that moment on, the win depends on them.

“I like knowing that it’s all me out there and no one can lose or win it for me,” Varsity wrestler Harold Ritchie said.

The team this year consists of two returning State wrestlers as well as both new and returning members. Practicing six days a week and fully dedicating themselves all season long, the boys are moving along although they encountered a bit of a rough start by losing to Holt on Dec. 2 by 51-23 margin.

“We are still trying to figure out weight classes right now,” Head coach Harold Ritchie said. “So we still have many missing which will cause us to have to forfeit for them giving the other team six points towards their score.”

With only 14 weight classes and some classes remaining unfilled, the team will have a lot to overcome after the start of this year’s season. Although the team is still working on ironing out the kinks, they pulled through on the Dec. 4, 12-team Parkway South Tournament with a third place finish overall. The Knights were led by Brandon Szuba, Jason Shell and Ritchie, who all went undefeated and took first place in their weight classes. Teammates Sam Stewart and Tom Foley also helped lead the team to success by finishing in second place in their class.

“We try to get better every day, it’s one of our goals,” coach Ritchie said. “At the end of the year all the practice takes care of itself and it’s what leads us to success.”