Searcy (LP) The Searcy Wrestling Team is about to go to Little Rock to the compete in the state championship at UALR. This is the last major event of the season and by far the most important. Each and every wrestler on the team is tense, motivated, and maybe even a little nervous.

The team expects to do very well in the tournament and Coach Evans says they expect to place fifth place or higher. Several of the wrestlers believe that they are capable of placing first and taking the gold. Justin Vaughn, Wallace Roberson, Caleb Freeman, Jordan Slaughter, and Ryan Kleypas all want to place first in the tournament. This ,however, will not come easy for anybody. Each wrestler will have to fight for every point gained and each match will be a battle. State is where the best of the best come to claim the title that they all believe should be sitting on their shelves in their rooms. For some, this is their last chance at the title.

Senior Jordan Slaughter already has one State Championship under his belt and is more than ready to take another. Wallace Roberson, despite his agonizing shoulder injury, is ready to go to war with anybody standing in his way. Caleb Freeman, in this past week, has practiced with more focus and intensity than anybody else. Justin Vaughn plans to make it to the top, but he admits that he is nervous. This nervousness, however, will be the relentless energy that propels him to the gold. There are some newer wrestlers on the team that plan to leave their mark on state. “If the whole team meats their individual goals,” says Coach Evans, “we will at least be tied for second.” No matter what, the team will go do what Searcy Wrestlers do every time: they will give 110% effort until the whistle blows.