Going to state is never easy, and that is no exception to A-Town wrestling. Over the years many young talented athletes have had the privilege of competing at the state level but never getting the recognition they deserve. Who are some of Arlington’s state wrestlers and what does it take to get there?
Wrestling is a scary sport to get into, it involves a bunch of technical work, endurance, and strength. All of these skills make it intimidating for newcomers to join the sport, while it’s easier for others due to their background.
“I’ve done wrestling since I was like five because my dad did wrestling so he had me try it and I liked it since then,” said Jaxson Clasby (‘28) a previous first year state competitor. “The hardest part for people is definitely sticking with it because they’ll have a couple of hard practices and they kind of base it off of that, so they lose the factor of actually enjoying it” Clasby Said.
Being good at any sport requires work, hard work isn’t always at practice as for our state wrestlers, it is a necessity to train outside of practices in order to maintain and build fitness to achieve success towards state.
“After every practice, 95 percent of them is coming out dripping in sweat. They’re rough… You’re doing a lot in the off-season, or just outside of the gym. If you want to be a good wrestler, you’re lifting, cutting weight, eating good, you’re going to bed pretty early so you can get good sleep, ” said Quintion Parsons (‘27). “And then grades are the other big one too, If you just don’t think about doing it, you just don’t procrastinate, just like do what you do and then move on” Said Parsons
Staying focused with your diet and academics is key to your success, but you can also apply this to goals, focusing on what you need to achieve to be successful.
“Goals are really important, it keeps your eyes open on the prize and what you want. Good partners and friends that have the same goals so they can keep you in check and so you can keep them in check too.” said Micheal Baxter (‘28) Last year’s freshman state wrestler placing one spot off the podium. “If you don’t have a goal you won’t be motivated, you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish.” Baxter Said.
Things that these wrestlers have in common are the willingness to have sacrifice. In order to achieve their goals they set priorities and make sacrifices that are essential to success.
“You’re sacrificing your Saturdays, you have no Saturdays during the season. And then the next day you have to bounce back and do your homework,” said Parsons. “A lot of times I will be asked, oh can you go hang out with us? Or something, but I’ll be like I can’t, I have practice or a workout or something,” said Baxter.
Many people often overlook what it takes to be good at wrestling and downplay the athletic and technical aspects of the sport. To these athletes wrestling is a major part of their life, and every student should be able to recognize that.
“They don’t really give it enough credit until they actually try the sport, I don’t think they realize how mentally and physically challenging it is… Keep your eyes on the main goal, whatever that is for you because it changes for every person, you just want to do everything you can to reach that goal,” Clasby said.
