Coaches Comments:

The district tournament is always bitter/sweet. It was very sweet for our 6 qualifiers 5 of which were in the finals and the 3 that claimed District championships. It was bitter for the kids we left at home. I really feel like we have some guys who are capable of winning matches at state that did not make it through our district. Some of it was our fault by not wrestling aggressive enough and smart enough. Some of our other misfortune came at the hands of other wrestlers beating quality guys and we draw them coming back through. Hopefully these events will motivate these guys for next year. The only positive thing is we have all of these guys back for 1 or 2 more years.

Looking forward to state. I really think we have a solid group of guys and it is still good to hear our state qualifiers talking about a big finish this week. As we know anything can happen at the Qwest. Our goal is to take one match at a time and stay focused. We have great leadership in Dusty and John both making the finals last year. Klay also seems very focused and has his sights set on a high medal. Esgardo was our manager last year, and while he did not qualify, he spent time down on the floor and the Qwest should not be a shock to him as he makes his bid for a medal. David and Easton are our rookies. While David has a sub par record, he is a much better wrestler than his record shows and I hope wrestlers look past him. Easton, our freshman, has really turned it up this last few weeks. While being seeded 7th his last two tournaments he has managed to knock off #2,#3,#1 at Lexington and #2,#3 and nearly #1 at Districts. He is a gamer, and has wrestled in a lot of big tournaments, and I wouldn't count him out.

What will it take to have a top 3 finish? I think it will take 5 medals and at least 2 in the finals with another 3rd or 4th. And yes, I think we are capable of this. If we can get a couple of breaks and wrestle up to our ability it should be a fun tournament.

Go Warriors! Coach Kasik