On Saturday, February 2nd, Hastings High’s wrestling team headed to duals in Kearney and competed against eight other teams. Hastings left with a third-place trophy, which is the highest Hastings High has finished at state duals.
State duals is more of a team tournament rather than an individual tournament. It helps prepare the wrestlers for state by making them work with each other.
“During a dual, only one match can change the outcome, so it forces teams to stay focused in every match. It’s a good way for the boys to come together and wrestle as a team rather than individuals,” coach Andrew Smith said.
Freshman Markus Miller was one of the few freshmen that competed Saturday. Now, the wrestlers are focused on preparing for state.
“We practiced so hard, and now, the next three weeks are so key for us, and we can’t afford to take any breaks,” Miller said.
Looking back on the competition Saturday, junior Damen Pape felt satisfied with his matches, but he saw some things that the team as a whole could improve on.
“As an individual, I feel like I wrestled pretty good. As a team, we did wrestle alright, but I think we were upset because we planned on winning the whole thing,” Pape said.
Some of the wrestlers, including Miller, plan on working towards getting better even after the season ends. The time during the offseason is a perfect opportunity to make real progress and come back the next year ready to compete.
“I know I’ve improved so much since the season started, so I’m just going to keep going to the wrestling room and working my tail off every day, and then it will finally pay off,” Miller said.
