Wrestlers tap out another season

The girls wrestling team is looking forward to nationals this year after “training through hell.”

Practice consists of about two hours of warm up runs, weight room exercises, and mock wrestling matches. On top of all this, the girls still have achieved a 3.63 team GPA.

“Our girls work hard as hard if not harder than the boys. I’m proud of every single one of them. I give them bonus points for not giving up, for accepting their roles on this small team, and for always giving their best effort. We may not be number one on the charts, but I believe our girls deserve more credit,” said coach Dennis Solise.

Six of seven wrestlers have been injured this season, and some of them have even quit the team because of their injuries. Rebecca Busch hurt her knee while senior Shashana Markus hurt her back. Junior Pam Crosby dislocated her shoulder but still offers support for the team.

“Injuries don’t give reason to abandon your team. You push all that aside and come out spirited no matter what. I didn’t quit the team, and I wouldn’t want to if I could,” said Crosby, who is, the “spiritual guru” on the team according to coach Solise.

Whether it has been all seven wrestlers, or just a few, the girls have placed exceptionally well in every tournament. A couple weeks ago they placed fifth overall in a tournament in southern California against with only six wrestlers, who were competing with about 300 wrestlers.

Unfortunately the girls wrestling team will have to do without some critical wrestlers because of the injuries in the upcoming tournaments. Their had a tournament on Feb. 5 and they have competition through Feb. 26.

“I’ve wrestled since eighth grade and have loved every aspect of the game. This season was fun and I will work to improve for next year to stay on top of my game,” said Busch.