By working hard and doing what they were coached to do, the wrestling team met their goal and three wrestlers made it all the way to state. Congrats to senior captain Brandon Speir, senior Michael McCray, and sophomore Tyler Young for being state qualifiers.
The state tournament was a double elimination process, meaning that if two matches were lost the wrestler couldn’t place. McCray doubled out, and Speir and Young lost their first match, won their second, and then lost the third.
“I gave it my all, and I felt pretty prepared going into it,” Speir said. “I think it was just the person I was wrestling; the first match the guy I lost to ended up winning state.”
Going into the state tournament Young was pretty confident that he and his teammates would do well.
“I dropped a weight class this year so state would be easier,” Young said. When asked if he planned to go to state, Young said, “Yes, that’s my full intention, I pursue winning state this year.”
The team had a good year, and Speir’s record was 17-14; McCray’s was 16-14; and Young’s was 23-8. Ricky Smith was also a regional qualifier. All year the wrestlers focused, didn’t give up, and even developed a new team moto.
“Kaizen, that’s one of our new team motos,” McCray said. “It’s Japanese for continuous improvement. It’s about always just working to get better.”