Over the past four years the Argyle wrestling program has grown exponentially by doubling the amount of male wrestlers, as well as creating a new female team. With the help of both Coach Morse, and several of the senior wrestlers, the program has had great success this year and left a lasting impact on Argyle ISD.
“I was part of the first girls’ wrestling team,” senior wrestler Emilia Hernandez said. “I think it is an honor honestly to be there when the team was first starting through all the trials and tribulations. It definitely wasn’t always easy.”
While Argyle is very athletically well-rounded it was a challenge to find athletes willing to give up their other sports in order to pursue a new one that didn’t include any guarantees. However, the program became an outlet for several second or third-string athletes in different sports looking to compete more regularly.
“As a freshman I was noticeably undersized and became interested in wrestling because I had a chance to make the team,” senior wrestler Logan Murdock said. “A lot of other sports only want the big 6 ‘5 guys for their size, but with perseverance anyone can become a wrestler.”
Although wrestlers do compete based on their weight they are also trained to master several different skill sets. A wrestler has to have the endurance of a cross-country runner at the same time as having the strength of a football player, which is no easy task.
“The preparation I would say is more mental than physical,” Hernandez said. “Yes, you do need the more physical ability to go out on the mat and wrestle and fight, but you also need the mental readiness of being able to put yourself in the position of ‘I’m about to use everything I’ve worked on for the past week.’”
Preparing for a meet looks different for every sport but the difference with wrestling is the tedious everyday tasks to cut and bulk depending on the season, and then go out and practice specific techniques to beat certain opponents.
“I think that the mental challenges of wrestling definitely translate into the real world, ” Murdock said. “Because whenever you’re in wrestling, you’re cutting weight, you’re bulking, you’re doing all that. That’s adversity, and then whenever you’re going through adversity, you’re having to go out and still perform to the best of your ability.”
Over the past four years the wrestling team has expanded more than ever, and created a women’s wrestling program at the middle school level, and the women’s team placed more during this school year than in the past two combined.
“Placing first at District as a team was an honor,” Hernandez said. “And to get there for us was a huge ordeal. It was like history in the making, and then real quick we turned around the following week at regionals and placed third. It’s just really hard to explain the feeling of achievement you get from that.”
Similar to that of the Lady Eagles’ success, the men’s team has accomplished just as much in the past three years. Not only have they placed in district consecutively but they have also competed at region, and have had several wrestlers place from 1st to 6th.
“I made it a thing this year, that as a team before every single match, we always pray,” Murdock said. “At District I prayed, and then we ended up coming together as a team and making it for Mr. Gibson, that we are going to go out and compete for him. It really brought us together as a team, and gave a lot of the guys a confidence boost.”
As the year comes to an end both Hernandez and Murdock hope to leave a lasting impact on both the program and the community around it. Wrestling has molded them into the people they are today by pushing them to new lengths and teaching them life lessons. They are thankful to their coaches, teammates, and family for supporting them through their wrestling career.
“I’m just really proud of how far we have all come, not just in wrestling but as the class of 2024,” Hernandez said. “We’ve been through basically all of it. We’ve been through COVID, we’ve been through ice storms, we’ve been through changing schools, you name it, we’ve been through it. I really believe that’s what has made our class so incredible, and that’s what’s gonna lead to all of our successes.”
