by Reid Nichols and Laeni Pelzer

The wrestling room has a new look. On November 10, AHS wrestlers, accompanied by coaches, hung up new motivational banners and installed exercise equipment in the AHS multipurpose room. Since head wrestling coach Tim Duff was hired as the Trojans’ wrestling coach, they have brought home over 100 dual team wins in the last 9 years. To honor this success, Duff decided it was time to hang up banners to motivate the athletes and show the team’s success from the past.

Assistant head coach and PE teacher Drew Duff said that the posters and other equipment were purchased by the Little Trojans Wrestling program to celebrate the great tradition of Atlantic/Cam wrestling.

One of the new banners hung up across the entire east wall of the room says “The Quest for Distinction.”  When asked what the quest for distinction meant to him, freshman Zac Stork said, “It feels like a mission to be noticed as the Atlantic wrestling team.”

Freshman Nate Mowen had a more individual look at it. He said the quote gave him motivation “to work harder than anybody else in the state of Iowa.”

The room is also sporting five new 8×4 feet life-size posters picturing the 5 Atlantic/Cam state champions. Freshman Drake Roller said that the posters made him want to be up there some day.  Stork said, “It’s inspiring. It really makes you want to drive to get your own poster.”  Mowen said that the posters push him to be better in the wrestling room.

The wrestling team also hung up the new state dual team banners from the last three years to “celebrate” the past years of the program. Freshman Nate Mowen said,  “It’s pretty cool. You get that feeling of wrestling spirit down deep in your soul screaming to come out, and in (the wrestling room) it does.”