Wrestling season is in full-force with practice starting last week and the team is excited to take on another year of competition. 

The team has started practicing in anticipation for their first match against Boone High School on Dec. 1. The meet is at home and starts at 6:30 p.m. 

Senior Brandon Freeman and Junior Cole Halupnick are both trying to prepare their skills for the season, but also lose weight for their perspective classes. 

Freeman explains that he is “cutting more weight than I ever have to go to 106, which I haven’t been at since my freshman year… because I am cutting so much weight, I have to lose it in a healthy way, which is about 1.5 pounds per week so my diet is more of eating less in a day, eating smaller meals and eating right, so my body can get used to going to a lighter weight.”

Halupnick has a different tactic to lose weight for the season, “I have started a diet plan with Ekin Nutrition so they give me certain macros to hit and I have to hit those every day to lose the weight needed to get down to 138lbs.”

While losing weight is a big part of getting ready for the wrestling season, the athletes also have to put the work in during practice to reach their goals of making it to the state competition. 

Because Halupnick is still recovering from a knee surgery, he is focusing on improving his feet technique and conditioning. Conversely, Freeman focuses on giving his all during the entire match the hopes that it will help him on the mat. 

While dieting and practicing are both givens when it comes to wrestling, Freeman does not think a lot of people realize, “how much you’re putting out there on the mat when you step out for a match. You’re putting your body on the line, and everyone is watching you and it’s not a team sport it’s you vs. the other guy. And if you lose it’s humiliating to see that your opponent was just better than you and you put all the work in just to fall short sometimes. Losing in wrestling feels a lot worse than losing at everything else.” 

Make sure to support the North Polk Wrestling Team by attending their matches! You can view their schedule on the North Polk Website or on gobound.com.