Freshman Wyatt Dannegger throughout his whole life has never been the biggest guy on the team, but his passion is unmatched. With not being the biggest guy it has led him to some disadvantages, including in his sport of wrestling. Despite this, Dannegger doesn’t let this affect him. He’s been wrestling for eight years and has picked up a lot of moves throughout that time. This led him to making varsity as a freshman.

“I knew a long time ago [he was ready for varsity],” head coach Chris Brown said. “When he was still in late grade school his technique was great.”

“[It’s] a little bit different from my normal practice with them being a little bit longer,” Dannegger said. “But ultimately, they’ve been good.”

With these new difficult practices, Dannegger has noticed many benefits. They’ve helped prepare him for his matches and put him in a better position to win.

“I think my practice partners have got me to where I need to be to win my matches,” Dannegger said.

Not only does these practices benefit him, but Dannegger is also able to help his practice partners get prepared for their own matches as well.

“He’s really good and been wrestling for a long time,” junior Isabelle Apple said. “He knows more than me so he helps me a lot.”

Dannegger has been able to use all his skills he’s learned throughout the years to benefit him this year. He continued dominance throughout the season, winning districts along with qualifying for state. Dannegger did not let the pressure of being a freshman on varsity succeed him.

“I honestly did not feel too much pressure because I expected to be wrestling on varsity this year since I’ve been wrestling so long,” Dannegger said.

There are many different weight classes in wrestling. Dannegger is in very unique one at 106 pounds. At his weight class other kids are sometimes up to 10 pounds heavier than him. This can bring some disadvantages, but Brown knows Dannegger can still win these matches with correct technique.

“He’s learning how to not get stuck underneath the bigger kids and try to put as much weight on them as he can on them,” Brown said. “His skill set allows him to do a lot of techniques to stay out of those positions he might get squished.”

Dannegger doesn’t always get matches since some teams don’t have a person in Dannegger’s weight class to wrestle against. When he does though, he tries to make the most out of it to help benefit the team to win matches.

“He wins the majority of his matches so he scores us a lot of points, and he usually wins by pin so that’s more points,” Apple said.

The first year can be crucial for an athlete, and can help benefit the rest of the years they have on the team. Dannegger was able to have a strong showing his first year with a record of 38-7 and qualified for state. He was able to set a standard for his years to come.

“I think freshman year is setting the stage for the rest of my career,” Dannegger said.