Pain is now, pride is forever

The Keystone Oaks Wrestling team has started off their season strong with a win at a tournament at Carrick.

The team has high hopes to maintain the drive they have to win, and use it to their advantage during the upcoming matches. They have many goals for this season hoping to achieve every single one of them.

“My goals for this season are to become section champion as an individual and as a team,” said senior Luke Garda.

Wrestling is mentally and physically challenging and can be extremely tough on the players. The practices for them can be so draining, leaving them in pain and exhaustion. Many use this as motivation to get better each and every day.

To keep it as fair as possible, each wrestler is put in their own weight class. Many of them try the best they can to be as low as possible to compete with kids who are not as strong or as big. This increases their chances of winning and having a better season.

As it is a very tough sport to participate and compete in, most people start at a younger age, leaving them at a much bigger advantage. Most players start off young from friends or family members who have also played the sport.

“I have probably been wrestling since I could walk since I was surrounded by the culture immediately. This is due to the fact that my father and uncles on both sides of my family wrestled into college, and my older cousins also were into wrestling at the time. Although I was always involved with wrestling during my younger years, I didn’t start competing until i was ten years old,” said sophomore Mark Hutchin.

With that being said, this sport is very challenging but can rewarding in many ways too. These athletes not only make a bond with each other and become close with their teammates, but in the end get to experience a sport like no other.