The wrestling team just had a match Tuesday, February 17 against rival school, the Seminole Warhawks. OHS won the match after Seminole gave up four forfeits. Alex Saltzman, 10th grade, said, “Even though I didn’t really get to wrestle, winning from a forfeit is actually pretty funny.” Tim, 10th grade, Bailey Taylor 11th grade, Jacob Mathews 11th grade, Ben Wagner 12th grade, Alex Saltzman 10th grade, Joe Hiznay 11th grade, Preston Archuleta 11th grade, and Jimmy Waechter 12th grade, all pulled wins for their teams. The point system goes like this: one point for an escape, two points for a takedown, two points for a reversal, two points for a near fall, and an automatic win if a team member is winning by sixteen points.

Though wrestling isn’t a big sport at Osceola, considering there were less than twenty people in the stands during the meet, the team has been off to a great start. “It’s been an up and down year,” Coach Smalley said. “We’ve had a good amount of individual success at tournaments. We’ve also faced some adversity but have been made better by it.” The team practices every day after school and their next meet will be a district championship at Mitchell High School.

“We’ve only got Districts, Regionals, and States left this year, but we’re hoping to put up good results at Districts and take a large number of wrestlers to Regionals,” Coach Smalley said. “If things go our way, hopefully we get some State Qualifiers as well.”

Wrestling may not be very popular amongst most students at Osceola, but those who do enjoy it and play for the team give it their all. “I like it because it keeps me in shape,” Logan Kleinhans, 10th grade, said. “I like being with all of my friends and it’s just fun overall.”

The team heads to Mitchell February 26 for their district tournament. Kyle Terepka, 9th grade, said, “No matter who wins or loses, you both still go out there and give it all you’ve got.”