The boys wrestling team traveled to the Mid-America Center in Iowa to compete in the Council Bluffs Wrestling Classic Friday, Dec. 9. The team placed 21st overall out of 41 teams. 

The team had three members placing in the top 10. Junior Dillon Cooper placed 2nd in the 126-pound weight class, freshman Christopher Wash placed fifth in the 220-pound weight class and junior Maddox Casella placed eighth in the 138-pound weight class.

Cooper had a great tournament but fell short in the finals match which caused him to place second. He holds himself to high standards. 

“Apart from my finals match, I dominated all opponents no matter the position,” Cooper said. “However, I didn’t get the result I was looking for so it’s time to get back in the room and get to work.”

Although junior Robert Hickman did not get the result he had hoped for. He believes that the tournament was an opportunity to hone his skills. 

“I definitely could have done better, but it’s early in the season,” Hickman said. “There is a lot of time and many practices until the state meet, and that’s when you really need to be at your best. There are some things that I learned from the tournament that I need to work on in order to be wrestling at my best later in the season.”

The team faced tough competition with schools from six different states competing at the Council Bluffs Wrestling Classic. Cooper is proud to see that the team never gave up.

“In my eyes, the team had a great tournament in terms of effort,” Cooper said. “I didn’t see anyone give up, including when we were down late in matches. We went down swinging.”

Junior Colin McAlister is excited to see how the team will shape up before state.

“There is a lot of room to improve but we have a lot of season left,” McAlister said. “Our team looks really solid right now and I can’t wait to see where we are at state.”