Coming off of a year of division, county and regional championships, the wrestling team is taking another stab at the one goal that got away: the state championship.
“Although we graduated five very important and successful seniors from last year’s team we have a very experienced group of seniors coming back,” head coach Derek Manon said.
Outside of the varsity season, many of the players wrestle together in Beltway Leagues and Mat Clubs. Manon says that because the seniors know each other so well, their strong team dynamic will help them succeed this season.
“They’ve developed that camaraderie over the years,” he said. “And anytime you have a group like that they push themselves that much harder for each other.”
This year, seniors Mike (130 lb-135 lb) and Eric Harder (140-145), Andrew Follmann (152-160), and heavyweight Ned Daryoush will carry the team. It also returns four state qualifiers, with the likes of Eric and Follmann who placed 3rd and 4th in the tournament, respectively.
Even coming off of an undefeated season, the team can still improve and needs to work hard in order to maintain their caliber.
“We’ve got to get used to winning those close matches against tough competition,” Manon said. “If we get a couple of those to swing our way, we are going to like where we are at the end of the year.”
Alex Hysong, a returning starter, agrees that the team has the potential to claim the state title. “I believe that the team fully expects to build, as we have every year,” Hysong said, “and hopefully bring back the state title that we have been so close to these past three years.”
With eleven matches in the season, Wootton and Magruder will be the team’s toughest competition. The Vikes will take them on in a tri-match Dec. 18. The annual Bethesda tri-match with WJ and BCC on Feb. 5 is another big date on the schedule.
“The Battle of Bethesda match is always good,” Eric said. “We have won it three years in a row, but it should be a good match.”
The team will face Kennedy Dec. 9 in its season opener.
