The goal every wrestling season is to peak come February.
That’s when the postseason rolls around, culminating in the individual state finals at State Farm Center in Champaign (Feb. 20-22, 2020) and the dual team state meet at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington (Feb. 29, 2020) during consecutive weekends.
But getting to that point features plenty of practices, dual meets, tournaments and more hard work for all the wrestlers involved.
SJO wrestling coach Richard Vetter, back for his 11th season in charge of the program, knows what the next few months will entail.
“The guys are eager to compete against someone who is not a member of our team,” Vetter said. “Practicing against the same people for several weeks starts to get old, and they want someone new to face off against.”
SJO had its first action of the season this past Saturday in Danville, defeating Urbana 35-5 but losing 61-6 to LeRoy/Tri-Valley and 48-12 to Danville. The Spartans get back in action on Tuesday night with a triangular in Sidell against Oakwood/Salt Fork and Clifton Central. Action is slated to start at 6 p.m.
The majority of the regular season will see the Spartans wrestle away from St. Joseph. This Saturday, SJO will compete at the Petersburg PORTA Invitational, the first tournament of the season. Other tournaments on the docket are the Unity Invitational (8 a.m., Dec. 21), the Rumble in the Land of Lincoln (Dec. 27-28 in Springfield) and the Illini Prairie Conference Meet in Pontiac (Jan. 17-18).
SJO will also wrestle in Gibson City on Dec. 17 against GCMS/Fisher and Heyworth in a triangular, at Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin/Armstrong-Potomac on Jan. 9, at the Robinson Duals on Jan. 11 and at El Paso-Gridley on Jan. 23 in a triangular that also features Clinton.
That means SJO won’t wrestle at home until the Spartans host a meet on Jan. 25 against Argenta-Oreana, Carlyle, Cumberland, Hoopeston Area, St. Thomas More and Westville/Georgetown-Ridge Farm.
“Our guys handle our schedule really well,” Vetter said. “Due to us going to more triangular and quad matches, we don’t have very many home matches each year. Some of our triangular and quad matches rotate locations and some stay at the same place each year. This has become the norm for our wrestling team.”
But even though SJO doesn’t have many home matches — SJO will also welcome in Hoopeston Area and Judah Christian in a triangular match on Jan. 30 — during the regular season, the Spartans will host a Class 1A regional meet set for Feb. 8.
“The nice thing about hosting a regional is that you don’t have to travel,” Vetter said. “This is the one time a year that travel can hurt a team. At the end of the season, being able to sleep in your own bed and then not having to get up early to travel to a rival school is very beneficial. Not only that, but with the state tournament being hosted in Champaign, we will only have to travel, potentially, one weekend out of three. Other teams are not always that lucky.”
The Spartans have one returning state qualifier in junior AJ Wagner, who qualified last season at 106 pounds. Now a junior, Wagner is slated to fill a key role on this year’s Spartans’ roster, which consists of 14 athletes.
“AJ has had a strong start to the season in the practice room,” Vetter said. “Him and his partner, Isaiah Moore, have really been pushing each other, and it will be good to see their hard work paying off on the mat. Both of those guys have high expectations for themselves. We as a coaching staff are eager to see them achieve those expectations.”
Trevon Carr and Brodie Sullivan are the only seniors on SJO’s roster, which also features juniors Isaiah Immke, Max Shonkwiler and Wagner. Sophomores Chase Chapman, Austin Cotter, Matthew Falls, Conrad Miller, Moore and Keaton Nolan, along with freshmen Owen Birt, Joseph Gherna, Austin Kofoot and Christopher Newman are also in the mix to see time on the mat.
“To start the season, we will have guys competing in nine of the 14 weight classes, with the hope of filling 11 of the 14 weight classes once the hydration testing allows guys to drop,” Vetter said. “A successful season for our program and our guys as individuals are seeing members of the team reach their goals. We have spent a lot of time talking about the things that you can control on the wrestling mat and in life in general. The things that we can ultimately control are: effort, attitude and aggressiveness. Keeping those things in mind has allowed our guy to focus more on the process than the outcomes. If they master the process, the outcomes will take care of itself. Success for us is to understand and master the process.”
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