For Junior Jason Trushcheff, wrestling started at an early age. In 3rd grade, Trushcheff was learning the ropes at the local YMCA.

Now he is wrestling at 160 pounds and is one of a handful of upperclassman on the varsity roster. But he doesn’t mind taking a major leadership role as a experience varsity wrestler.

“(You get) more respect as an upperclassman. (Underclassman) listen to what you have to say, and you can be a teacher as well as a teammate,” Trushcheff said.

Summertime is when Trushcheff trains for wrestling season: running on the streets, lifting in the weight room and playing other sports – Trushcheff started as Linebacker for the football team – were all things Trushcheff said help prepare him for the wrestling season.

The wrestling team also attended a team camp at the University of Northern Iowa in which individual competitors wrestled about 20 matches over the 5 days of the camp.

All of that hard work is now paying off for Trushcheff, who is 19-5 for the season. But the work isn’t going to end anytime soon for him or his teammates.

Practices are hard and hot, Trushcheff explained. Describing them, he says, “You work ‘til you can barely walk out.”

The practices aren’t all conditioning however; they are roughly divided in half. The first half for technique work and the second half is for strength and conditioning training.

Hard practices are just an obstacle that comes with success. And success, for Trushcheff, is defined by a chance at competing in the wrestling state tournament.

Much like other sports, the wrestling season could be separated into two parts, the regular season and districts. How you perform in the regular season affects seeding in districts.

This year’s districts will be held in Sioux City, and come with some steep competition for Trushcheff. The currently ranked #1 wrestler in the state goes to Sioux City and wrestles at Trushcheff’s weight, 160.

With all the competition and hard work, Trushcheff isn’t worried. The top two finishers at districts go to state, and Trushcheff plans on being one of those two. “I’m just going to keep working hard and doing the best I can,” Trushcheff said.