With very little time before their district tournament hosted here on Feb. 7, both wrestling teams are preparing to pound the mats hard in anticipation of the postseason.

GIRLS

Led by their undefeated reigning state champ, senior Brittany Marshall, the girls team has dominated their competition with an 11-3 duel record this season and have had a strong showing in the tournament season.

“The chances of a repeat of last year happening?” Marshall said. “Well, you’ll just have to wait and see.”

Marshall is seeking a second state title at a higher weight class this year than last, going up from 170 to 185, a challenging feat. This should be no problem for her, said head coach Joe Daniel.

“She’s where she needs to be,” Daniel said. “It’s mental for her, she’s got a good place right now and as long she stays there, I think we’ll be good.”

Marshall isn’t the only one that Daniel has high hopes on the road to state this year.

Junior Jezebel Garcia at 138 is having a breakout season with a 21-14 season record and medaling at different tournaments this year.

“When she was a freshman, she was injured; she was the only one in her weight class,” Daniel said. “Last year, she had a rough go. But she’s really come around this year.”

Overall Daniel said he is very confident in his team and their abilities to continue with the momentum they built up this year.

“They’ve all shown at some point in this season that they can handle the tough competition,” Daniel said. “They just put together a good last month like I know that they can, there’s no reason why they don’t finish up strong.”

BOYS

The boys’ wrestling team has been a force to be reckoned with this season, boasting a 20-9 overall record. And with the district meet looming, the team is feeling the pressure. Head coach Noel Peterson is realistic about his team, but is expecting nothing but their best on Feb. 7.

“It’s been a pretty good season,” Peterson said. “I think we’re going to be competitive. I don’t know if we can win it, but it’s our intention to go out there and if everyone wrestles their ‘A’ game, we should be right in contention with winning district.”

The wrestlers themselves are ready for the postseason. Senior Quinn Bauer is confident in the team’s success in the coming weeks.

“We’re one of the better teams,” Bauer said. “We should take first in a lot of weight classes.”

The school still has yet to produce a boys state champion, but some wrestlers with an opportunity to change that are juniors JoJo Yeoboah at 138 and Chris Hamill at 170, and seniors Xavier Franklin at 126 and George Haskins at 135.

Hamill has been a beast this year, devouring his competition, compiling a record of 37-3. This comes as no surprise to his teammates.

“He’s been wrestling since he was really young,” Bauer said. “He’s had a lot of success.”

Peterson is ready to face Flower Mound again after a tough loss.

“Flower Mound gave us a good thumping,” Peterson said. “We didn’t wrestle well and we’ll do better when we see them in district.”