Varsity Wrestlers Sam Richie, Tyler Smith and Brendan Hatchel competed in the State wrestling competition in Columbia, MO on Feb. 16, 17 and 18. The results of this competition are not available as of press time, but they are available on FHNtoday.com.

Junior Jeremiah Reed was also supposed to wrestle at State; however, an injury during his last match kept him from competing. Since he couldn’t compete, Reed settled for supporting his team on the sidelines.

“I feel pretty sorry for him,” Smith said. “He was just one match away from going to State and that was the one he got hurt on.”

It was in the last match before State, which was Districts on Feb. 10 and 11, that Reed was injured. During his final match, he was knocked unconscious, and he received second place by injury default.

“I would have beat him if not for that because I beat him once before,” Reed said.

Despite Reeds injury, FHN placed six out of 14 schools at Districts. With 99 points, the FHN Wrestling team was 100 points behind first-place McCluer North. In their respective weight classes, Smith placed first, Ritchie placed second and Hatchel placed third.

“We definitely had some good individual success, but we didn’t pull through as a team as we would’ve liked to,” coach Chris Brown said.

This individual success is what junior Chad Moore attributes to any group success the Wrestling team has had during the season. He says that when the teams individual members succeed, the entire team did better in their matches.

“It can take one person to inspire the entire team,” Moore said. “It gives you confidence, just knowing that you are going to win.”