The De Soto High School Wrestling team began its season at the Spring Hill High School Dual Tournament on Dec. 1.

The team ended the day with an overall record of 1-4 but with great potential against many tough teams.

“We took some lumps, but we had some wins. I think we had five guys who went 3-2 so we came out with winning records. We are mostly sophomores and juniors,” head coach Shannon Sawner said.

The team began the tournament with a victory, defeating Sumner Academy in the opening dual 72-12. The Wildcats then fell to Basehor-Linwood in their second dual with a close score of 45-36. After that, the team fell to Chanute in the third dual 72-9. Sante Fe Trail defeated DHS in 76-7 in the  fourth dual. In the final dual of the tournament, DHS fell to Holton 63-15.

Senior Evan Werner competed at the tournament, and feels it was the best he has wrestled at a tournament and that the season is off to a good start. He also believes that although the competition at Spring Hill was difficult, it was a learning experience for everyone involved, especially the new underclassmen.

“There were a lot of tough teams,” Werner said. “We wrestle a lot of small schools and those are always better at wrestling for some reason, so a lot of the kids were really tough, and it was a good learning experience for the younger kids.”

Sawner sees a lot of potential in this season’s new wrestlers and is looking forward to seeing them continue to improve with experience.

“I really like their [the new wrestlers’] athleticism, and they’re learning fast. It’s just a matter of repetition and what we call mat time. They just need competition time to improve,”  Sawner said.

The DHS wrestling season will continue into February, when the State meet state occurs. After the Spring Hill Dual Tournament, it is evident that the team is off to a competitive  start and will only continue to improve with practice.