This year, the Palisade Boys’ wrestling team has been proving their dominance on the mat, and showcasing their true resilience in this season’s epic duals. Each minute spent perfecting their performance has been a representation of the time and effort that each wrestler puts into this sport, and the love and devotion that they carry with them.
This season the team is showcasing their skills and becoming even closer as a team and as a family. Junior Eli Bency comments on the qualities that have been formed on the Palisade wrestling team. “Sometimes wrestling can be hard and not fun, but everyone always finds a way to have fun and laugh,” states Bency. Putting the fun you have in your sport before pressure is a very important component to a successful team, and it is something that keeps the team motivated for each dual and each practice. Bency has wrestled for six years, and the mindset and physical readiness he has created is displayed each time he enters a dual. “Wrestling means a lot to me. It’s something I do with all my friends which has really turned into my family, and it’s kind of been a part of my daily life for months and months now”, Bency comments, “The graduating class this year is full of a lot of my friends and this is going to be my last year getting to wrestle with them, it’s really special to me.”
As well as the experience that this team shows with the amount of seniors that they have, there are also some underclassmen that are showcasing their skills on Varsity, being a beneficial component on the team. Freshman Logan Holland has earned his spot on the Varsity wrestling team this year, and is very proud of the accomplishments that he has achieved throughout his first season as a Bulldog. “My biggest accomplishment this season would have to be getting fourth at Niowat.” The time and devotion is not only showcased through the returning wrestlers but through the younger wrestlers that put their time into setting standards for themselves for their next years of wrestling to come as Bulldog wrestlers.
Each lesson learned and each dual won is evident to everyone at Palisade High School of the devotion to the sport, and it is inspirational to those around. Congratulations on the successful season that the Palisade wrestling team is having this far, and keep up the good work!
