The words “What I had I gave what I saved I lost” are painted in the wrestling gym serving as a constant motivator to all Elder wrestlers.

The saying is always there on the wall, but senior wrestlers are more aware of this now more than ever.  Beating Oak Hills 84-0 on senior night gave reason to celebrate and recognize the seniors for their time at Elder, but the wrestlers seem to be focused on what’s ahead of them. Time is running out for seniors as the state tournament and GCL’s approach and they’re locking in.

Senior, Hans “Diesel” Taylor, is a four-year Elder wrestler that comes from a family of tank wrestlers.  He says, “My mindset for my last guaranteed matches of the season is to go as hard as possible and take it all in while I can, even though it’s tough and can suck at times, I’ll miss it.”

He also said practices can’t get too much harder, but they’re preparing by working on technique and little details as the level of competition ramps up.  The seniors’ sense of urgency along with the focus during preparation might be the makings for success in the near future.

John Conners is also a senior, and he is also a long-time wrestler.  He too, had brothers go through the Elder wrestling program and is looking forward to making his final run.  When asked what his expectations for the outcome of this season he responded: “gold”.

It’ll be tough to top last season’s success, but these seniors seem to be set on doing so.  The next couple weeks of this wrestling season will be interesting: maybe we can witness another state placer add his name to the long list of great Elder wrestlers.