Tuesday was the final date on the Otte Blair Middle School wrestling team's schedule.
It's been a good season.
“We don't have the stats completed yet, but this has to be one of the top win-percentage teams since we've been keeping track,” coach Aaron McClain said Monday.
The Bears won an Oakland-Craig tournament, their Blair dual tourney and were 41-10 with 36 pins at a Fort Calhoun event on March 5. Cole Welte, Tannon Bellamy, Hudson Loges, Jakob Gaskill, Blaise Baughman, Griffin Rosterman, Brock Templar, Thomas Chikos and Louis Biffar won their weight classes at the latter event alone, according to trackwrestling.com.
“The thing I like most about this group is the team chemistry,” McClain said. “It doesn't matter if you are a first-year kid looking for your first win or a veteran club wrestler, everyone is cheering for each other and wants to see each other succeed. It's a lot of fun to watch.”
The coach believes his seventh- and eighth-graders have big futures ahead of them. It's been built through work on the mat.
“This group has the most wrestling experience of any group I've coached,” he said. “If everyone keeps working hard to get better, I think you will see a lot of state medals down the road. I'm excited to see how they all turn out.”
