Everywhere the members of the Emporia High wrestling team look, they are reminded of the tradition they are expected to uphold.
Banners displaying the State qualifiers and champions from years past — and there are a lot of them — dominate one wall of the wrestling practice room, along with nine plaques displaying the nine seasons in which EHS won the State team title.
On the other side of the room, team pictures of those nine State champion squads overlook the wrestling mats that the current crop of athletes practices on, quietly keeping watch over the wrestling empire they helped create.
Every year, the Emporia High wrestling team is expected to be one of the top teams in the state, because for most of the program’s existence, it has been.
Pressure? Like none other.
“Everybody feels like we have to live up to Emporia’s expectations,” junior Jared Dakin said. “We want to be the best. Everybody here wants to be the best.”
This year’s squad has the makings of one of the better Emporia High teams to come along in quite some time.
The Spartans are young but experienced, budding but battle-tested.
Nine State qualifiers are back from a year ago when EHS sent 11 to the State meet in Wichita, where Emporia finished fifth. Of the nine returning State qualifiers, only one is a senior.
Perhaps not since the 2000 season — the last year the Spartans won the State title — has so much been anticipated from an Emporia High wrestling squad.
“This could be a great team,” said coach Greg Buckbee, himself a State champion at Emporia High in 1983. “Only time will tell. If we can keep everybody healthy and going strong, then there’s no telling how much we can succeed.”
It all starts with the four wrestlers who placed at State last year.
Juniors Sal Tovar and Justin Rose each finished fourth in their respective weight classes at State last year, and each will move up a weight class this season. Rose will compete at 119 pounds while Tovar will move up to 125 pounds.
Tovar, who overcame a nearly dislocated shoulder to place fourth at State last year, said he had been eagerly awaiting the start of the season for quite some time.
“I’ve been excited for this season since last year ended,” Tovar said. “I’m excited to start. I think everyone’s excited to start to see what happens.”
Tovar’s excitement has been apparent so far in practice, as Buckbee said Tovar had been one of the more impressive performers in the preseason.
“Sal is just like a machine right now,” Buckbee said. “He’s very focused on what he wants to accomplish. He knows what he has to do, and he’s looked great.”
Also back is sophomore Mark Kolmer, who was the talk of the coaches at the State meet last year as a freshman. The physically impressive Kolmer took sixth, and though he will wait to start competing until the second semester to fully recover from the rigors of football season, big things are expected out of him in just his second season in the 189-pound class.
Senior Josh Rodriguez will compete in the 215-pound class after placing third in the heavyweight division in Wichita a year ago, but he will not be eligible to compete until the second semester.
Dakin, a junior, also went to State a year ago, as did Tavo Dikin, Zeb Peak, Logan Gaskill and Taylor Lee.
Dakin will move up to 112 pounds, Dikin will jump to 135, Peak will go to 140 and Lee will remain at 145.
With so much returning varsity talent, few spots were available for new faces to occupy.
However, some impressive newcomers have stepped into those spots, led by freshman Chase Sanchez. Sanchez is slated to start the season at 130 pounds after earning the spot over other, more veteran wrestlers.
“He knocked off a returning varsity wrestler to earn that spot,” Buckbee said. “He’s looked pretty tough.”
Tyler Trahoon has received the starting nod at 103 pounds, with Caleb Chiroy (160 pounds), Nathan Rodriguez (171), Ryan Bass (189), Jordan Barr (215) and Lorenzo Serna (HWT) also opening the season as starters.
With so little turnover on this year’s squad, Rose said the Spartans had developed a bond that should help carry them through the season.
“Most of these guys on varsity right now, I’ve wrestled with them since I was 6 or 7, all the way up through high school,” Rose said. “We’ve got a lot of skill, and we should do pretty good.”
Now the task is to prove just how good this year’s team truly is in comparison to several other powerful teams across the state.
Bishop Carroll opens the year ranked No. 1 in Class 5A, followed by Arkansas City at No. 2, Valley Center at No. 3 and Emporia at No. 4.
The Spartans believe they deserve to be mentioned among the state’s best, even going as far as to say they believe fourth might be too low once things shake out.
“They have us at fourth, but I’m sure we are better than that,” Dikin said. “We’ll have a pretty good team and we’ll be gunning for that first-place spot come State.”
The Spartans get an early chance to prove where they’re at, as they open their season Saturday when they travel to the Arkansas City tournament. The tournament will give the Spartans their first test of the season against a higher-ranked squad in second-ranked Arkansas City.
“Hopefully, we can go down there and wrestle with No. 2 Ark City this weekend,” Buckbee said, “and we’ll see where we’re at.”