Junior John Huntley is the only current wrestling captain among all of the other senior captains for this year.

A captain is chosen for a specific team by first submitting an application regarding leadership, which then leads into a team vote deciding if the whole teams supports that person becoming a captain or not.

“I think it’s one of the greatest sports there is. With that said, in my opinion, it’s also one of the toughest. It teaches you about exercise, diet, overcoming obstacles, and how to be mentally tough. It’s definitely shaped who I am as a person, and has influenced who and where I hope to be in my future,” explained Huntley.

Huntley thoroughly enjoys the sport, but not simply the competitive aspect of it, but the whole of it, training and all. This is all made possible by Coach Oswald, a math teacher at Stillwater Area High School.

“My goal is to build young men into tough competitors and better students. We teach technique, strategy, weight training, and conditioning,” said Oswald.

Oswald is an aspiring coach and not only shows a passion for coaching kids, while teaching them too, but he also shows a love for the sport itself.

“I love wrestling. It develops self discipline and demands hard work. It provides a competition based on size so athletes of all sizes can compete against someone their size,” said Oswald.

Huntley being voted in as a captain, as the only junior captain, gives him a big responsibility to live up to the other senior captains. However, this does not bother him, showing his courage and love for the sport not letting those things bother him.

Asking what he thought of being the only junior on the team, Huntley said, “It really doesn’t affect me that much. I don’t consider myself any better than anyone else on the team, whether their younger or older. You don’t have to be a Captain to be a leader, but it’s a good experience leading the team.”

Huntley and the team’s other captains will be leading the wrestling team into a great season. The season started around early November and will be finishing sometime around February.