It is Friday night and senior Mitchell Schertz is not at home studying. He stands under the bright, field lights and listens to the enthusiastic, proud cheers of his friends and family in the nearby stands. He stays focused on the game plays and glances at the scoreboard. His coach blows the whistle and calls him in. He lines up with his team, bends down to position and looks at his opponent through his helmet.

Then the scene changes to an indoor gymnasium. The cheers continue, but echo in the smaller space. Instead of marked grass beneath him, large foam mats cover the floor. He wears less padding, but his head is still covered by a smaller, cloth-like helmet. His coach calls him in. He bends down to position and looks again at his opponent.

As Schertz finishes his last year at Stillwater Area High School, he was announced captain of the football team and captain of the wrestling team. He has played football for eight years, but wrestling for only three years. He is undecided on his college, but plans to continue playing football.

“I liked that people always came to me for answers and that I usually knew everything that was going on. I liked the leadership,” said Schertz.

After a rough football season, it is unpredictable how this year’s wrestling season will go.

“Last year, we lost two state placers, more experienced wrestlers, and five seniors,” said Schertz. “We got a solid team with some younger guys and we can make them run for state sections,” he added.

Finishing second in state sections, the new wrestling captains, Colin Olson, Grant Wohlwend, Dylan Nelson, John Huntley and Mitchell Schertz, all hope to take a step up from last year and win sections.

“We have a variety of strong, skilled and unexperienced wrestlers. We lost a lot of our line up seniors last year, but we’re always going to stay positive,” said junior Hannah Horwath, a student wrestling manager for five years.

Differing from a team of defense and offense, wrestling is one on one, but the overall win depends on the entire team.

“I’ve always loved the sport. It’s fascinating because it’s really that one person’s strengths and weaknesses out on the mat. It is a team effort, but it’s a person’s muscle and skill against their opponent’s muscle and skill,” said Horwath.

The wrestlers aspiring to be a captain go through a process. They fill out an application including questions about leadership, teamwork, and service. Based upon that, they are interviewed with a few more questions by all the coaches.

“He has shown much growth in his leadership. He can rally up the team in the good times and the bad times. He’s someone to go to for advice or to talk to and he’s respected by his peers,” said Matt Oswald, one of the coaches of the SAHS wrestling team.

Oswald has been coaching wrestling for 22 years total, but only 15 years at SAHS.

“He leads by example by his work ethic and his personality. He will show leadership by how hard he’s working. His positive attitude will motivate the other teammates to push themselves harder and practice,” said Oswald.

Since Schertz’s sophomore year he has improved his skill and strength, becoming a great athlete in more than just football.

“He has really improved on his take downs. He’s so athletic and strong and quick, it allows him to get a lot of take downs on his opponents,” said Oswald.

After being a football captain, Schertz has learned the responsibilities of being a role model to the team and coaches. Officially starting Nov. 18, students can look forward to a great wrestling season.