Many new faces on wrestling team
Numbers are up for the Whitefish High
School wrestling team this season, with 22 kids coming out for the
first day of practice — seven more than last year. While first-year
coach Ryan Boyle is energized about the high turnout, he notes that
this team is one of the youngest in recent memory.
Only two seniors are on the squad —
Grady Floyd and exchange student Marcelo Theodoro — and neither of
them have a single dual under their belt.
“We have a ton of new faces and a lot
of young guys,” Boyle said. “A lot of sophomores and handful of
juniors and freshmen.”
Still, Boyle knows that anything can
happen throughout the season and anticipates these raw grapples
will surprise a few teams.
“I think we have a lot of athletes in
the room,” Boyle said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what they
have on the mat. We’ll see in our first dual. If they catch on like
I think they can, they’ll surprise some people.”
Most of the wrestlers are still
learning the nuts and bolts of wrestling, Boyle said, from how to
start a match, to take downs and escapes.
“We’re just trying to get the basics
down real well,” he said.
Without a traditional veteran leader in
the locker room, a handful of returning wrestlers are stepping up
and filling the void. Robby Neff, Wolfe Zinke, Andrew Timmons and
Domonic Sargent all wrestled last season and are helping show their
new teammates the ropes.
“These guys that were here last year
have stepped up and are doing the little things,” Boyle said. “It’s
good to see.”
Zinke, a sophomore, is the lone
returning wrestler who went to the Class A state tournament last
year. He and a few others are seeking individual achievements.
“The experienced kids want to place at
the divisional tournament and make state,” Boyle said. “Then again,
a lot of these kids just want to win a match.”
As a team, Whitefish’s goal is to make
it through the season with a nearly full roster. Currently, they’ll
fill 13 of the 15 weight classes.
“We’re not shooting for the moon,”
Boyle said. “I think kids are excited and want to have fun, and
right now, we’re having fun.”
Whitefish opens the season Friday, Dec.
3, at Columbia Falls.