Wrestling

In an environment smothered by high glitz and glamour sports like football and basketball, the hard work and grit of a high school wrestling team often goes unnoticed.

For Head Coach Darren Johnson, this just is not fair.

“Once you go to a wrestling meet, it’s exciting, it is watching a bunch of fights. We can’t get a lot of students to come,” said Johnson.

This could very well be due to wrestling’s complexity; it has a complex point system and rules that are very confusing to the untrained eye. But this year, with hard work and tenacity, Johnson hopes that his team will leave students no choice but to come out in hordes to cheer them on.

Junior Cameron Janda, who hopes to wrestle in 138’s, was praised by Johnson for what he called “a ton of potential,” adding that he is “a great work ethic kid, great character kid.”

Janda had a pretty simple goal for the season: “beat Basha.” This was a hope echoed by Johnson.

Another more broad goal for Janda is to “wrestle hard, bond together, and be the best in our section.”

Senior Adam Ratliff, who plans on wrestling 132’s, added that “if we can get everyone to just work hard every meet and not give up then that will be a good goal for our team.”

With important meets in their opener at Sunnyside (11/22), the annual Puma Duals on December 9 and 10, and an away rivalry match against Basha on January 11, this team will be primed and ready to pounce on every opportunity that presents itself.