Hard Work In Store For Wrestlers After Struggle At EMC
Connor Strange
Co-Editor-in-Chief
The annual EMC wrestling tournament this weekend proved a harsh challenge to Waverly’s wrestlers, who finished in eighth place out of nine teams.
“Honestly, we got our butts kicked,” junior Justin Lawrence said. “But we have a lot of young people, and it was some of the best competition we’ll wrestle all year. There are a lot of good things that we did that we need to improve on. Each meet we go to, it gets better and better.”
Despite the difficulty against the fiercely competitive teams at EMC, head coach Dan Davenport is still happy with the unwavering effort of his wrestlers throughout the competition.
“Our team competed well at the EMC duals, we focused hard on competing this tournament and making opponents work,” Davenport said. “They fought for every point against some very good teams.”
Very good may even be an understatement for the talent from schools like Nebraska City and Gretna, which make Waverly’s a hard conference to win with their dominant performances at EMC and other competitions.
“Eighth out of nine doesn’t sound great, but we’re in one of the toughest conferences in the state for wrestling,” senior Trevor Spath said. “There are a lot of teams in our conference that are one, two and three in the state year after year.”
To go up against teams like that, the wrestlers are beginning to push for more intense practices.
“We need to work harder at practice,” Lawrence said. “A lot of people don’t understand that if you don’t work hard at practice, you’re going to get your butt kicked in a meet. Since EMC, our practices are a lot harder and more physical. We need to get more physical because we’re too nice.”
The tough practices and meets are all made easier by the leaders who help their teammates strive for cooperation and excellence.
“We have fantastic leadership; our seniors, captains and others are all great leaders. We have been focused on positive leadership all year and I think our guys are really starting to come together as a team,” Davenport said.
The team’s cohesiveness is a big factor to future wins in the eyes of the wrestlers.
“As long as we’re supporting each other and keeping people driven to get better,” Spath said, “we’ll get better as a team. We’ve gotten a lot closer over the last few weeks. If someone’s struggling, you’ve got your teammates on the side of the mat to support you.”
Davenport and the team leaders are certain that they’ll begin to wrestle better with the teamwork and dedication the team has shown.
“Being a good wrestler and great person is a lot more than wins and losses,” Davenport said. “We have guys willing to make the sacrifice for their team. They do everything we ask of them and will do everything they can to help the team.”
Though the team’s performance at EMC was not the most successful, they still have a lot of optimism for future competitions and are prepared to put in all the time and effort it takes to win.
