A lot of people like watching wrestling meets, but does everybody know what goes on behind the scenes? The AHS wrestling program has been going smoothly over the years but has undergone some changes that not everyone knows about.

 At the end of the season last year head coach, Tim Duff and other assistant coaches had to face a hard decision. Our wrestling team has been conjoined with the Cam district (Atlantic-Cam Wrestling) for decades. Last year, Coach Duff made the controversial decision to cut Cam from the program since we would have gone 3A if we stayed together. 

In our current season, Assistant Coach Jesse McCann says “I believe we have done well! We had to battle a lot to win duels but we always competed. We might have not reached our high-expectation goals but we were close and still improving.” The tournament placings consist of, Council Bluffs Classic – 23/41

1. Joe Fitch Humoldt – 2/8
2. Rollin Dyer – 6/17
3. Marion Invitational – 3/15
4. JJ Harris – 3/28
5. Hawkeye 10 2/11

“The toughest competition we’ve had this year was Creston,” McCann said. “Creston is always a tough one! This is where I believe we underperformed. If we were to wrestle them now it would be more competitive. The best tournament I felt we had collectively as a group was either John J or Hawkeye Ten. We had a lot of kids step up and win matches that would be called upsets according to their original seeds.”

Our best individual records throughout the season consist of Sophomores Aiden Smith with 31/10 and Evan Sorensen with 33/9. Three of our wrestlers this year hit a big milestone when they achieved their 100 wins, including seniors Brenden Casey, Jarrett Armstrong, and Easton O’brien. Currently the wrestling team fills all of the 14 weight classes.

The coaches expectations for going into districts are always high. McCann said, “As coaches, we always expect or want every kid to make it to State. That is our goal and drive to make the best team possible and put our best kids out there. I believe we have a chance to win Districts as a team if everyone plays their part. I also believe we can have half of the team make it to State if they put their mind to it. Our student-athletes need to believe they can and go out and achieve their goals.”