Perhaps the most important part of wrestling is the mental aspect. Four time National Champion John Smith said: “The sport of wrestling is at least 90% mental.” Wrestlers have different strategies of mentally preparing themselves for their matches.
“If I know anything about my opponent, I put together a game plan on how to win. I set up drill my shots and my moves to make sure I am ready and warmed up,” Pelfrey said. “It is important for me to set my mind on beating my opponent.”
“The most important lesson I teach my wrestlers is that you don’t wake up a winner, and you don’t just start winning,” Coach Cody Parks said. “In order to become a winner, a wrestler must develop a very hard work ethic, and a strong belief in himself to accomplish victory.”
Another interesting part of the wrestling is the leader boards. The leader boards illustrate which wrestlers stand out in certain categories. Junior Sawyer Like has taken the leading position in 7 of the team’s leader boards, including Most Wins, and Most Team Points. Other wrestlers that are leading in at least one leader board are: Anthony Fitchett holds the record for Most Falls. Dylan O’dell holds the record for Most Takedowns and Most Reversals. Trevor Watson holds the record for Most Escapes.
Coach Parks was asked about how he was going to prepare for the upcoming State tournament, which is held at the end of the season, and is the most important tournament of the year. The wrestlers that place at the State tournament are given the respected status of a “State Placer.”
“We just completed our peaking phase, and we will now focus on lactic acid workouts, where everything is quick and explosive”, said Head Coach Parks. “The wrestlers need to feel fast, strong, healthy, and mentally prepared going into the final tournaments.”
The Kansas State wrestling tournament is held at the end of the wrestling season every year in Wichita. Southwest entered the State tournament with 10 state qualifiers. Out of the 10 state qualifiers from Southwest, there were 3 State placers. At 106, freshman Marty Verhaeghe placed 6th and finished his season with a of 33-14 record. At 132, junior Sawyer Like took 2nd place, coming one point short in his last match in the state finals. Sawyer ended his season with a 41-5 record. At 152, senior Matt McWhorter took 3rd place, defeating his opponent that he fell short to in the regional finals the week before. McWhorter ended his season with a 23-5 record.
“In almost every other sport, you need to rely on other people to be successful, and you can pass the blame,” Coach Parks said. “Wrestling is the only sport where you completely control winning. In wrestling, when you get down, you have to rely on yourself, and learn to take responsibility for your own mistakes.”