A booming crowd reacts to every sprawl, shot, and takedown, as the boys’ and girls’ wrestling teams compete in the 6A Wrestling State Championship Feb. 13 and 14 at the Jack Stephens Center. The boys’ team finished in sixth place with five wrestlers making all-state, two state finalists, and one state champion. The girls finished as state runner-ups, with nine wrestlers making all-state, four state finalists, and one state champion. Leading up to the state tournament, the team worked hard at practice to improve their skills, but some teammates, like senior Layne Hattenhauer, attribute their performance to the team’s culture.
“The culture on the wrestling team is unlike any other team, unlike any other sport. There is no environment that I’ve ever been a part of that is anything like the wrestling team,” Hattenhauer said. “We’re so colorful–there’s people of every ethnicity, with totally different personalities, different hobbies, things they like, and it all meshes so well.”
This support translates onto the mat for senior Micah Profitt, and the environment encourages him to proudly represent his team and beyond.
“It feels like family. I feel like everybody connects really well with each other. I feel like there’s a unique connection with every single person on the team,” Profitt said. “I feel like there’s more support behind me, like there’s no division. I’m wrestling for the boys’ team; I’m wrestling for the girls’ team. I’m wrestling for, honestly, Little Rock too, and as a whole, Central Arkansas; this area is underrepresented for the sport.”
Sophomore Oliver Vesecky has felt the impact of the team’s culture. Even as a second-year wrestler, he has seen how the team’s support positively impacts his performance.
“Everybody is for each other. Like [during] everybody’s matches, everybody’s always there–watching each other, giving each other advice,” Vesecky said. “It impacts how I perform in a very plausible way. It allows me to be much more confident and wrestle and just be happy.”
While the wrestling team provides support during matches, those connections also overflow to life outside of the mat. Junior Olivia Johnson, who has wrestled for three years, has made many connections and close friends through the sport.
“During matches, all of my teammates and my friends are rooting me on all the time. They never give up on me. I hear them on the side of the mat yelling things,” Johnson said. “Then, off the mat, they’re the same way, like cheering me on. Always there for me.”
Hattenhauer has also seen the impacts wrestling has had on their life outside of the sport. After joining at the end of their freshman year, they found their place among the large crowds.
“As a freshman, I felt so lost because I wasn’t a part of anything, and being a part of the Central wrestling team gave me purpose, but also made me feel like I had a home. I had a place here, and I stopped walking through the hallway with my head down,” Hattenhauer said. “It gave me a reason to come to school every single day.”
The team’s culture has carried them through a long season consisting of numerous tournaments and conference duals. This all led up to the state championship, where the teams had 14 girls and 12 boys qualify.
“Going to state was so exciting. Once you can pull yourself out of a place of just anxiety and fear about all the people there, all of the sounds, smells, sights, everything, then it’s so much fun. It’s so much fun to just go out there and compete in my final match,” Hattenhauer said.
After three grueling matches, Hattenhauer defended their state title, placing first in the 120-lb. weight class.
“It felt so good to just completely exert myself and leave it all out there, because that’s what I wanted to do,” Hattenhauer said.
Winning his first state title, Profitt placed first in the 150-lb. weight class after years of dedication to the sport.
“I was like, ‘He wants that title as bad as I want it, but he doesn’t want it more.’ And, you know, at some point, there was a little doubt that entered my consciousness, but I locked in,” Profitt said. “I didn’t even know I won. I just looked over and I saw my friends cheering, and I was like, ‘Wait, I actually just won, like I just won state.’”
Even with so many matches going on, the team made it a point to watch their teammates’ matches and support them.
“We had a lot of placers and a lot of finalists, and I was so happy for them. I was on the side of the mat every single time, cheering for them. And, you know, it just filled me up with joy, because I really do love my team. So anytime they won, I was like, ‘Wow, like, I know them. That’s my friend,’” Johnson said.
With two state champions, the other team members have a lot to look up to. Watching their peers win has encouraged them to work harder and push themselves to new heights.
“Watching several of my teammates win state is always really cool. It’s cool to see them succeed,” Vesecky said. “It makes me feel like I can do it because I know them, and it makes me feel good for them.”
Hattenhauer hopes that their win will not only inspire their teammates, but also live on to inspire future wrestlers.
“There will be people after me who see my name on the board and my picture on the wall, and that drives them to be better; that drives them to reach higher,” Hattenhauer said.
After pouring so much into their season, they are now realizing what they’ve gained from the hard work.
“It’s taught me how to fight, how to keep going, and it’s taught me just how to get better at something in general,” Profitt said.
While the seniors look ahead to graduation, rising teammates look up to this year’s leadership for guidance. One goal for Johnson is to pay forward the lessons she learned from this year’s seniors.
“[My goal is to] just help everybody else because [the seniors] helped me. And I’m going to take that and have that helping nature–help everybody who wants to be on the team or new freshmen that want to wrestle. I’m gonna try to be like, ‘You’re welcome on the team; anytime you can come to me and ask me any question–It’s no problem,’” said Johnson.
