On January 17, 2024, the Fair Grove School Board voted for the high school to gain a wrestling program, and the sport has piqued a lot of interest from students.
Athletic Director Damon Seiger stated, “The interest was honestly a surprise as over 100 students combined (boys and girls) said they would possibly be interested.” Many students have leaned into learning more about wrestling as the school begins to set up a program.
Shayla Haddock (10), has looked into potentially being one of the new wrestlers at Fair Grove. Haddock said, “I was interested in wrestling because I know that it is a sport that will keep you in shape, and it seems fun. It is in the winter, so it is good for those of us that don’t play basketball that want a winter sport.” Fair Grove currently only offers girls and boys basketball during winter. The wrestling team could be an opportunity for non winter athletes to get involved during the colder months.
Bill Voorhis, Fair Grove high school football coach and former Glendale wrestling coach, is in support of the new program, he included “Wrestling will help support all of the other programs, it gives some students who perhaps don’t play other sports an avenue to compete at something for Fair Grove and also gives all of the athletes who don’t play basketball, some team to be on during the winter season.”
Haddock is wanting to be successful during her first season. She’s begun lifting in the weightroom and watching matches to learn more about the sport. Haddock also has high hopes for the program as a whole, and said, “My hope for this program is that we get enough people to be successful, and to have a winning season. Those are high expectations, but Fair Grove has plenty of athletes that will be able to pick up the sport quickly.”
Shelby Haskins (11), has also shown some interest in potentially wrestling. Haskins has been preparing by watching technique videos and starting workouts specifically for wrestling. He’s also been looking to others for motivation, he explained “The one thing that is making me interested in wrestling is that I’ve been told that I can be good at it and that has motivated me.”
Cole Johnston, Fair Grove agriculture teacher and FFA advisor, has shown some interest in the wrestling team. “With anything new there will be obvious growing pains and it takes time to find success. With that being said, I think we have current students that are excited about the opportunity this sport gives them and many who could find success early on in the building of this program on both the boys and girls side,” stated Johnston.
As the winter sports season is coming to a close, future wrestlers have a year to prepare for their first season. Seiger’s expectations for the new program are no different than all of the other existing sports, he said, “My hope and goals will be no different than I have for our other athletic programs. I expect our athletes to compete at a high level knowing they will be led by a great group of coaches and a community that supports them.”
