On Saturday, November 1, the Raiders wrestling team kicked off the season at the Falcon Open in Wichita, Kansas.
The team was looking to get momentum rolling early after their 7-3 team record from the 2024-25 campaign, and results from Saturday’s competition looked promising. In the elite division, sophomore Ethan Skogland and senior Johnny Burnette both put up 3-2 records, with Skogland ending the meeting with 2 major decisions. Senior Noah Parmelee went 2-2 on the day with one major decision. In the amateur division, the Raiders found more success, with Logan Ash finishing third after a 4-1 record. Joel Arias was 4-2 and Taye Jordan was 3-2.
“I thought the first competition went well,” Parmelee said. “It is a good baseline to see where we are and how much we can improve as a team. There were a lot of good things that happened, but it is a very long season, and there are many things to work on.”
Johnny Burnette agreed. “A lot of people were trying to score points instead of just waiting around for something to happen,” Burnette said. “That was good to see. I think it helped put into perspective for some of the guys how much they still have to improve.”
While yearly change is inevitable in collegiate sports, some years bring more changes than others.
“I do not think there has been anything crazy that has changed from last year,” Burnette said. “We have a lot more people with similar goals on the team than we have in the past. Hopefully that keeps people improving down the road because nothing really matters until conference.”
A high level of importance is put on the postseason, with the team hoping to come out on top at the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) meeting in February. To get there, however, will require focusing on the process and preparation rather than on any particular outcome.
“We obviously want to see success in duals and strive to win our conference, but we are more worried about what is right in front of us,” Parmelee said. “We are more concerned about how to improve each day rather than staring at an end result.”
“Everyone just has to be in the moment in practice and use the time we have to get better,” Burnette said. “We don’t need to make crazy jumps, just get 1% better each day.”
Up next, the Raiders will host their first wrestling matches of the season on November 13 against Buena Vista.
