Wrestling Looks for a Good Start
By Dylan Monahan
In the past Eudora has had success in the wrestling program, working hard and competing like it’s the last time they will ever get to wrestle. Last season though, the Cardinals did not have much success, but that is not to say that no one worked hard to reach their goals. The team started out big, with enough athletes to fill every weight class. As the season went on, the team started losing wrestlers. That didn’t stop the Cardinals from working hard. One wrestler, Thaius Boyd, who graduated last year, went to state. He did not make it to the second day of the tournament. Boyd lost his first two matches and was beaten out of the tournament. This year, the Cards look to place high as a team at regionals and take multiple kids to state.
The Cards started their season off strong with a good first practice on Monday, Nov. 18. With high expectations comes hard work, blood, and sweat. Because of the small team, all the wrestlers will try to make their presence known. One student who looks to do that is sophomore Noah Kennedy. Kennedy has wrestled for roughly eleven years and has high expectations for himself and the rest of the team.
“All of the wrestlers get more individual focus from the coaches with the smaller team, which is a good thing, but we lose most of our duals. It’s really just a bittersweet thing,” said Kennedy.
As Kennedy said, the coaches do have more focus on athletes. Small numbers may not be ideal, but it comes with positive aspects.
“Having a smaller amount of wrestlers means that we will get a lot accomplished in a shorter amount of time. It also means that we will be able to have a lot of individual teaching time and as needed, we can go at a slower pace,” said Coach Byron Mays.
The individual focus from all of the coaches allows each athlete to accomplish their goals. With that being said, athletes in every sport have personal goals. They work hard every day to achieve their goals and sometimes they just feel like giving up. They don’t because they know that there are bumps in the road.
“My lowest goal this year is to make it to state. But my highest goal, that I have been working on and will continue working on, is to win state,” said Kennedy
The wrestlers recently started their season. Their next competition is the annual Eudora Tournament of Champions on Friday, Dec. 16 and Saturday, Dec. 17.
