Seeking state championships, nine members of the wresting team, five girls and four boys, are in Cypress for the state tournament Friday and Saturday at the Berry Center.

For some wrestlers, like senior Jordan Robison, state is something that happens every year, but that doesn’t mean it gets easier.

“The most nerve wracking thing about competing at state is that this is it, the only tournament that really matters,” Robison said. “I have to be my best this weekend no matter what.”

Robison, the defending state champion at 152-pounds, is seeking to be the school’s first two-time state champion.  

“This being my last run at state is really making me nervous,” Robison said. “It determines for the rest of my life whether or not I’ll be able to call myself a two time state champ. I just wanna do the best I can and if I do, then I know I won’t be disappointed.”
But for others, like sophomore Chrystal Raine, the state tournament is a brand new experience.

“I’m so proud of myself and my team, my coaches and my family are so proud of me. I’m just really excited to go and see how I match up with the girls,” Raine said. “This weekend I have big expectations for myself. I’m going to go in, wrestle hard and bring home a medal.”

To do that, Raine will have to win at least three matches against opponents she has likely never seen.

“The hardest part about wrestling is at such a high level is that different schools teach different things and they might know something that I don’t know and I may know something that they don’t,” Raine said. “But it’s also the mental side of it, you see your brackets and first you think of the worst that could happen but you can’t do that because you’ll think about that while you’re wrestling and it’ll mess you up a lot and that’s not good.”

Taking over in the middle of the season made things a bit more challenging for head coach Cody Bridwell.

“Coming into a great team like this one is a great blessing but also a very difficult task with the time crunch getting to know each wrestler and their strengths and weaknesses,” Bridwell said. “Their advancement to state is a testimony to their resilience and hard work as a team.”

The girls’ team is coming off the 5A-Region II championship, with the boys’ finishing 5th, leaving both teams poised for a strong showing at state.

“My expectation of my wrestlers is the absolute best no matter the situation,” Bridwell said. “In every state tournament there are surprises. Some good. Some bad. I tell them no matter what, finish to the best of your ability and let the chips fall where they may. I also remind them that they’ve worked too hard and too long not to do well at this point in the season. They are primed for the best performance of their high school careers.”

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