Weighing in at 160 pounds junior Luke Hanson stood with his hand held high in victory as he helped coast the wrestling to place in a tournament at Jay, Okla. Last year the team only won one tournament, and already they have two under their belt this season.
“Since we have a full time coach we learn a lot more and train harder because he has more time than a volunteer coach does,” said Junior Dylan Collins.
In early December, the team competed in an NWA team tournament held at Har-Ber and an individual tournament in Gentry. At the NWA tournament they made it to the semifinals and placed sixth out of 16 teams.
Varsity and JV both traveled down to Gentry, where 14 varsity wrestlers placed and two JV wrestlers did as well.
“Coach Nika is definitely a big part of it. He knows what he’s doing and he stays on us and makes sure we are constantly getting better,” said Hanson.
In addition to success at both tournaments, the team also placed second in Jay, Okla.
“We need to keep doing what we are doing to be successful, but we do need an assistant coach,” said Collins.