Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} “It’s a great day to be alive,” is the wrestling team’s motto. Every day, whether it’s at conditioning, practice, or a match, they always say it and joke around. “My expectations are very high. I feel that we’ll have a good season with many wins. I feel that we have a very experienced team with a lot of starters returning,” said the team captain Zeke Stroupe. He is optimistic about how the team’s record will turn out this season. Stroupe isn’t the only person who believes that the team will go far. Coach Jim Covert is very supportive of his team, and does his best to get them to WPIALs where they can show how hard they’ve worked. “All of our practices are pretty intense, they have to work,” Coach Covert said. While in conditioning the team “trains like Rocky Balboa,” said Sophomore Boe Bonzo. The wrestling team conditions hard so that they can do well this season. “We push ourselves to the limit as much as we can just about every day, and we have a few kids that are looking to make it to regionals and possibly states,” Stroupe said. Even though the team lost graduate Tyler Helch, they also received some new members. “Starters and a few freshmen are coming up. I hope the freshmen will step up in key moments. We know that they will try hard, and that’s all we can ask for,” Stroupe said. The teams’ expectations are high, and the boys plan on meeting them. “We’ve got some good guys. I think we’re going to do pretty well,” said Sophomore Kurt Kitzman. There is also a junior high team and it is looking to “get as many kids as possible and win,” said their coach, John Patterson. On the junior high team, there are not only boys, but there are also two girls, Taryn Rider and Sam Ruckert, who have been wrestling since last year. The first match is Dec. 15, and the team needs all of the support they can get from the crowd. Instead of sitting around and doing nothing, go out support the wrestling team during some of their key matches.