The boys and girls wrestling team traveled out to Grain Valley High School for a dual on Jan. 5, 2022. The boys wrestling team defeated the Grain Valley boys 39-38 in a very high paced dual. The girls wrestling team also defeated the Eagles 60-9. Senior Stevie Gabb helped boost the team points with a pin over his opponent Andrew Czeschin with forty seconds remaining in the first period in the 285 pound weight class. Gabb believes that wrestling is a team effort. 

“Most people think that wrestling is a solo sport, but we all push each other to be the best that we can be,” Gabb said in a Snapchat interview. “If everyone wouldn’t have done there(their) job then we might have lost.”

The team also had help from senior Nathan Noda who pinned his opponent Kollin Hanshuld in the second period in the 145 pound weight class. Freshman Grayson Moore also pinned his opponent, Kaden Crandall, in the 138 pound match. Senior Dylan Reed went on to pin his opponent Tyler Groves within a minute of his 132 pound match, leading the team with the fastest pin in the dual. Reed feels like the team performed perfectly on and off the mat.

“As a team we did great,” Reed said in a Snapchat interview. “We did so many things right that to me it definitely cancels out the bad. We all wrestled hard and cheered for all of our teammates, Lady Indians included. We all did great and handled wins and losses very professionally, better than I have seen this team react in all of my four years of high school wrestling.”

The Eagles had a total of six forfeits against the girls team, leading the Lady Indians to another dual win on the season. Sophomore Bridgett Baker thinks that even though the team won, there’s still more work to be done. 

“It’s nice to know that working together as a team making each other better pays off,” Baker said in a Snapchat interview. “We can either improve and learn from these experiences or we can be proud and still learn something from it.”

Freshman Colby Gray came from behind to secure the dual win for the Indians with a 3-2 score over Brock Smith in the 126 pound weight class. The wrestling teams will host the Raytown Bluejays for a dual on Jan. 11, 2022.