Boys Wrestling seeks to take down district on home floor
More stories from Tyler Seibold
Senior Brandon Chapin attempts to pin his opponent during the first tournament of the season. Chapin is ranked 14th in the state in his weight class.
The varsity boys wrestling team will host the District 4-6A championship on Thursday, Feb. 8.
The Colts will take on all seven teams in the district in two weeks. The coaches believe Martin will be their toughest competition.
“Martin has a stacked lineup, they have wrestlers come out of the woodworks and just show up on their campus,” coach Casey Hudson said. “They are the top dogs in our district.”
As district approaches, the team is training with meticulous detail to try and perfect their craft before the tournament. In fact, technology has played a huge role in the team’s preparation.
“We watch a lot of film to correct mistakes on the mat, then apply those corrections in live matches,” Hudson said. “Wrestling is sport of constant improvement. You can always learn more about wrestling techniques and strategies.”
So far this season, the Colts have competed in seven tournaments and eight dual meets versus various teams. They have placed in the top 10 in four of those tournaments, including a fourth place finish at the AHS hosted Tom Roman Invite, and have a 6-2 record in dual meets. The coaches are happy with the team’s performance this year.
“The team has progressed significantly since the beginning of the year,” Hudson said. “We lost a senior state qualifier to graduation, and then we lost our returning state qualifier due to a transfer. But with that said, we have built a solid lineup of tough wrestlers who have won a ton of matches for the Colt Wrestling program.”
The team has four wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in the state, each in a different weight class. Juniors Logan Vasquez and Ethan Scroggins represent AHS in the top 20. Seniors Brandon Chapin and Murad Almas are also ranked 14th and 15th respectively. Chapin has also made a significant impact on the team as its captain.
“He has been committed to the AHS program since his first day on campus,” Hudson said of Chapin. “He is willing to do whatever it takes to help his teammates achieve greatness.”
Chapin and the entire Colt wrestling team will look to conquer the District 4-6A championship on Feb. 8, which will be held on campus.
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