Area wrestlers looking forward to taking part in State meet this week

Area wrestlers who qualified during District meets last weekend are excited for the opportunity to be in the spotlight in the Wells Fargo Arena later this week for the State tournament.

For Class 2A Washington senior Trey Van Weelden, this is the third-straight appearance for him.

?It means a lot to me especially because it?s my senior season. You always want it to end on a high note. I?m just glad I was able to make it.?

Making it to State has come with a lot of support. ?The teammates are the one thing that motivates you the most because they are always there and they are pushing you to do the best that you can.

?My dad is one of the coaches. He is always there on me 24-7, motivating me and making sure I know that I can get on the medal stand this year.?

Getting on the medal stand for the second time and getting better than seventh place is Van Weelden?s goal this year. ?I just want to improve from last year,? he says.

Looking back on his high school career Van Weelden says it?s ?been a great experience. It?s something that?s really changed me as a person.

?It?s taught me how to push through hard experiences. Wrestling is a tough sport; it?s the toughest one out there in my opinion.

?It?s grueling and doing it for four years and sticking with it is one of the toughest things you can go through,? he says.

This is the second-straight year for Washington sophomore Tristin Westphal-Edwards to wrestle in the State meet.

?It?s been great for me,? he says. ?Last year didn?t go well, but this year, I?m hoping for better things. I want to go and prove something this year because I was heartbroken at how last year ended.?

Last year when he became part of the team as a freshman the entire team supported him and they are continuing to do that this year.

?Being a young guy, as a freshman, I came in and everybody was supporting me from the start. They told me ?it doesn?t matter what age you are, let?s go get it.?

?The same was true this year. You made it to State last year, so you have to be a leader this year.

?I?ve been working on becoming a leader and the guys in the room just push me constantly and the coaches are always reminding me that I can?t take a day off. Everyone?s support has been wonderful.?

Looking back on the year,Westphal-Edwards notes that he had some losses he shouldn?t have, but ?I?m battling back from those and I think my season?s been pretty good this year.

?Now, I really don?t care what happened during the season because I?m going to State to make something happen.?

Also returning for the second-straight year is senior Austin Hazelett. What is it like for him?

?It?s a great experience to get up to state. I didn?t get to do it my freshman and sophomore years.?

He has a lofty goal for this year, ?I want to be at the top of the medal stand this year.

?It?s a high goal, but you just have to work toward that and try to get there.?

Support from the teammates and coaches has been great Hazelett says.

?They have all helped me and supported me in everything I do.?

Looking back on his time in the wrestling program he says it?s been great.

?We?ve had a bond with everybody and we?re all great friends. It?s been a good experience and fun times.?

Another area wrestler taking part in the State meet for the second-straight year is Class 1A WACO junior Cody Crawford.

?Returning to the state tournament is another big accomplishment for me as an individual wrestler,? he says.

?I am excited to be making the trip back up there and getting paid for all the hard work I put in this year.

?With that being said, I can?t let all of the other distraction at the tournament get in the way of what I?m there to do.

?My job is to show up and wrestle and that?s what I am going to do you can bet on that.?

He has received a great amount of support all season long.

?I have been supported by my whole coaching staff starting with head coach Seth Pugh and our two assistant coaches Gil Martinez and Jason Utter through the whole season,? Crawford says.

?Gil is my main wrestling partner that pushes me to my limtis every day in the room.

?I am very grateful to have these three guys that are willing to help me get to the next level.?

?They have also helped me develop as not only a wrestler, but as a person also.

?My teammates have always been supportive to me in the room and outside the room.

?They continue to support me and do whatever they can do to help me to be successful at the next level.

As far as setting goals, Crawford started before the seaon started.

?I set a few goals this summer,? he says. ?I didn?t only set wrestling goals I also set academic goals and weight-lifting goals.

?The goals that I set for wrestling were to make it back to the State wrestling tournament and to place in the top five of my bracket.

Reflecting on this year in the wrestling program, Crawford says, ?I have enjoyed practicing with our 220-pounder Kade Mckinney every once in a while.

?We were always the dominant weights when we went to wrestling tournaments.

?We grew closer from being neighboring weights and that dominated wrestlers for WACO.?

Washington senior Kyle Anderson is returning to the State meet for the first time in two years and he says ?it feels great to get back up there.?

He says the support from the rest of the team has really been noticable.

?There?s a lot of support in the wrestling room. There?s a high-level of competition because everyone wants to get better. It?s just really good to be around people that want to do that together.?

He has a goal for this year. ?I want to be State champ.?

Now that his time in the wrestling program is almost finished, he offers one piece of advise to those who follow him, ?day in and day out, just keep going.?

Washington?s Karlton Skubal is heading to Des Moines to take part in the meet for first time.

?It feels great,? he says, ?after all that hard work for four years, it?s finally paid off. I?m excited to get there and wrestle.?

Team support has been there for him as well. ?It?s been nothing the best support,? Skubal says.

?The coaches go out of their way to adhere to us. They do everything for us all the time.?

He does have a goal while being in Des Moines: ?The top five.?

The senior has enjoyed his time being with the team.

?We are just a big family,? he says. ?We grew up together. We wrestle together. We?ve always been around each other.

?We always get along pretty well. It?s fun to take the whole team up there and cheer on the other teammates at State.?

Highland sohpomore Cory Stewart is also making his first appearance in the State meet.

?It feels good to qualify for the State meet. I feel like all the work I put in last off season is starting to payoff. I?ve received tons of support from my coaches and teammates.?

For first time State participant Visouth Peterschmidt, he says it ?feels great? to make it to Des Moines.

?It?s really satisfying knowing that all the hard work I put in this season is starting to pay off,? he says.

The individual meets for all wrestlers begin Thursday, Feb. 16.