It’s the most wonderful time of the year—not only because Christmas is a week away, but because the wrestling season is finally here. And let me tell you, it’s been eventful.
To begin the season, wrestling had three straight weeks of three-hour practices (not including Sundays). We bled, we sweat, and we shed tears. But most importantly, we improved tremendously, instilling in the freshmen—and some sophomores who were oblivious last year—a core foundation of skill that will hopefully last for the next four years.
We opened the year with a tri against De Smet and St. Francis Borgia, triumphing over De Smet 48–26 and Borgia 36–24. We then wrestled at the John Burroughs tournament, working hard and placing sixth out of 13 teams overall—an impressive feat considering our roster of just 14 wrestlers. Individually, I was the champion at 132 lbs, Brendan Top placed second at 157, Cullen Blumeyer placed third at 113, and Max Cross placed fourth at 106.
We then jumped right back into the action, beginning on Wednesday the 17th when the Ravens wrestled a quad and defeated Hancock 60–18, Bishop DuBourg 60–6, and Westminster 41–12. We immediately followed that day with another quad, defeating Clayton 45–12 and narrowly defeating Parkway Central 27–24. Unfortunately, we received our first team loss of the year against Hazelwood East in a narrow 23–33 defeat. We wrestled tough and fought valiantly, and it certainly was a night to remember.
Most especially, the earth quaked as the heavyweights shook. Jacob Kupper wrestled an exhibition match against Hazelwood East, facing someone 160 lbs heavier than him and still achieving his first victory of the season. In his 12-minute triple-overtime match, Gavin Gittemeier showed us what it means to be a true warrior as he strained every fiber of his being to score three critical points, allowing us to defeat Parkway Central.
Then came Saturday, when the varsity team split from the JV team. Varsity wrestled at the Orchard Farm Tournament, and JV competed at the CBC JV Tournament. Varsity wrestled valiantly: I secured third place at 132, suffering my first—and it shall be my only—loss of the season to St. Charles High School. Brendan and Charlie both placed fourth as well.
At the CBC JV Tournament, the boys earned more precious metals. “Filthy” Frank Schieter struck gold at 132, and Jacob Kupper earned silver at 285.
UNKINDESSS is having an excellent season so far. We have earned many medals, beaten many teams, and are preparing to dominate the district tournament.
We need support. Hockey is awesome, but so is wrestling—show up to both. Watch us fold people into pretzels… or we will fold you into pretzels. Follow us on Instagram if you can’t make the meets.
