by Maleny Mireles
New Prairie High School’s wrestling team builds strength in experience and numbers. The 2A Northern Conference team is coached by Bobby Whitenack and assisted by Jim Schwingendorf, Brad Freestone, Clayton King, Josh Bolakowski, Jake Pinter and Andrew Mays.
With the season just beginning, the high school’s team holds a strong 7-1 record after their 48-22 loss to Jimtown.
Matching the team’s record, senior captain Grant Johnson holds an individual record of 7-1. In the weekend of December 1st, Johnson walked away with a match win in the tournament, but his opponent was not able to walk away due to a broken knee from the match.
“I like the competitiveness and the individual aspect of the sport because what you put in it is what you get out of it,” said Johnson.
With 10 years shared experience, senior captain Brayden Ruiz was awarded Sectional champion, 2-time Semi-State qualifier, and 2nd team all conference in his high school career.
As wrestlers, both Johnson and Ruiz agreed maintaining weight was not a simple task. Sacrifices on holidays are made and the hardest being on Thanksgiving. Some wrestlers even find it easier to avoid any food or drink days prior to weigh in.
For the love of the sport, though, wrestlers find that the sacrifices are worth it.
In his 12 years of wrestling, senior Austin Lesniak continued his career all four years of high school, despite tearing his ACL before conference his freshman year.
“Fitness is key and also working hard at practice,” advised Lesniak.
To appreciate the hard work, the coaches award one person on the team with the team belt. The belt is awarded to the person who has a great performance at practice or a meet.
The team belt has been awarded to Javier Padilla, Grant Johnson, Tristan Balmer, and the current holder, Brayden Ruiz so far this season.