Aiming to pin down a win, wrestling hits the mat

The+wrestling+teams+face+Centennial+and+Lebanon+Trail+in+dual+meets+on+Wednesday.+Despite+being+a+young+team+composed+of+mostly+underclassmen%2C+the+team+is+ready+to+come+out+strong.

The wrestling teams face Centennial and Lebanon Trail in dual meets on Wednesday. Despite being a young team composed of mostly underclassmen, the team is ready to come out strong.

Haley Ward, Sports Editor

Hitting the mat again, the wrestling teams face Centennial and Lebanon Trail in dual meets on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Heritage High School.

“The Rockwall tournament challenged us a ton and allowed us to see what areas we needed to focus on,” co-head coach Justin Koons said. “It’s a quick turnaround having a district dual on Wednesday, only having two days to recover and prepare for our opponents. We really pushed our team Monday, having it being the toughest practice to date, with a long strenuous workout. Conditioning is a huge part of being successful at wrestling, so we needed to make sure we’re prepared for 9 min matches.”

In their first match the Redhawks will go up against Centennial, and Koons believes they have a chance at winning.

“On Wednesday, we go up against Centennial who have been historically good at wrestling. They have a Hall of Fame coach in Coach Jackson who has always put together good teams,” Koons said. “However,  I believe we have a good shot at winning the dual. We placed ahead of them at this past tournament, and although that’s not necessarily a reason we should win, it’s still a motivator for our team. 

The Redhawks will face Lebanon Trial in their second match.

“Our line-up looks strong at the middle to upper weight classes and depending on some matchups early we have a strong chance at pulling it out,” Koons said. “Our other match will be against Lebanon Trail. We’re young and they are too so it should be a good test. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen them compete this year so it’s hard to say how well we match up. Regardless, we’re expecting two tough duals tonight.”

Composed of mainly underclassmen, the team is young, but senior James Ethan Harris believes the team is still going to come out strong.

“Our team is young with a lot of sophomores and freshmen in our lineup, but I am expecting that our team fights really hard against these district opponents and hopefully we come out on top,” Harris said. “Since our last tournament at Rockwall our practices have gotten harder and longer. With our practices we are also studying film.”