With the fall sports coming to end that means one thing. Winter sports are on the come up, especially wrestling. A lot has changed for the wrestling program as previous head coach, Coach Roush, has stepped down. This has given the opportunity to Coach Branson, after only being with the program for a year, to be the newest head coach of the prestigious Elder wrestling program. I had the opportunity to talk to a few guys from the wrestling team about the upcoming season.
Colin Broxterman
Colin is currently a senior and has been in the varsity lineup for all four of his years at Elder. He was also a captain this past season and is going to be one for this upcoming season. Colin started his career at 106 and then the past two years have been at 113. He plans on going to 126 or 120. His goal is 120 but he says it will not be an easy cut for him. Colin really likes how Coach Branson has come in and really changed the culture of the program. He keeps the more guys consistently in the wrestling room and helps them improve their skill.
Coach Branson is really invested in the team and pushes them to get better every single day. Branson does not seem to really want to change the program that different from Roush, but just from a different perspective. Colin main goal for the team in for them to win the GCL, last time the Panthers did this was in the 2022-2023 season, and for the team to finish top 10 in the state. His personal goal is to win state. While Colin was at 113, he placed 6th in state back-to-back years. Most of the varsity lineup from last year graduated, so it is going to look almost completely different.
Colin does not see this as a challenge and still thinks they are going to have a really good team. They have a lot of freshmen that are going to come in day one and make an impact at the varsity level. They also have a few solid returners from the varsity lineup last year. Overall, he does not see this much as a challenge and has the confidence they will still have a good season.
Carson Mahaffey
Carson is currently a junior and was a part of the varsity lineup last year. Carson last year started the season wrestling at 165, he then went to 157 and eventually made the hard cut all the way down to 150. For the upcoming season Carson plans to eventually start at 175 and then cut down to 165. Carson likes the move of Coach Branson stepping up as the head coach. Coach Roush will still be a part of the program as an assistant coach. He likes how Branson is a young coach that keeps the wrestlers accountable. Branson makes sure that they are ready when it comes to match time.
Carson thinks Branson will challenge them more at practice, mentally and physically. Carson’s goal for the end of the season is to be state qualify coming up short last year with an injury in districts. The comeback from this injury has been really well for Carson. He has taken many physical theory classes and has been lifting all offseason to build up muscle around his injury and help build up his overall strength. Overall, he is ready for this upcoming season, cutting weight the right way and staying away from injury.
Seb Hignite
Seb is currently a senior and was a part of the varsity lineup last year. Seb was the heavyweight for the panther’s varsity wrestling team. For this upcoming season Seb plans to start off the season wrestling heavyweight but be on the lower side and plans to cut down to 215 for the postseason. He thinks Coach Branson is a good coach and has a similar coaching style to Coach Roush. Seb’s overall goal is to place at state. If you did not know Seb is the starting center for the Panther football team. So, if the Panthers make it all the way to state, wrestling will already be back in action. This will cause the football players to miss the first tournament, Elder duals, and all the preseason practices, making it hard to cut to their desired weight class. This will cause football players to miss around 4-5 matches.
In conclusion, Panther wrestling is looking like they have another great season. It seems like most of the wrestlers like Coach Branson and what he brings to the program.
