Wrestlers 4A State Runner-Up
The boys’ wrestling team participated in the Class 4A State Tournament in Salina on February 24-25. The team took 9 wrestlers to state and came home with two state champions and the second-place team trophy. The first state champion is Freshman Julio Aguirre at 120 lbs. and the second state champion is Senior Bronx Wood at 215 lbs. During the season, the team earned a total of three first-place tournament wins, two second place tournament finishes, and one fifth place finish. They also won the AVCTL Division IV Championship by going undefeated in duals; this is the first time this has happened in the history of the wrestling program. Head Coach Chris Saferite stated, “This year was a good year for us. We set high goals and high expectations; we fell a little short of the goal of being state champions but came in as the state runner-up. There were some ups and downs throughout the season, but we finished well and on a positive note. We scored the 5th most points in 4A history and will return a lot of those points next year. We ended the season with two state champions in Julio Aguirre and Bronx Wood, two second-place finishes with Johnny Leck and Damon Ingram, two third-place finishes with Adam Bilby and Milan Colvin, and one fifth-place finish with Rhett Briggs. Our kids and coaches are proud of what we did, and they worked their tails off for that finish. Now, we have to come back and be more hungry next year.” Sophomore Johnny Leck also stated, “We ended the season okay. We fell short of our season-long goal, but we will be back”. Also, Senior State Champion Bronx Wood said, “We had a great team. We didn’t finish how we wanted to finish as the state runner-up this year, but the team will be back next year! I can’t wait to come in and help the guys achieve that goal next year.”