“I started wrestling at three years old,” Bay Port junior Jacob Ward said. 

Jacob is one of the leaders on Bay Port’s wrestling team this year, taking first at Bi-state, a big two day tournament in La Crosse, and first at Bay Ports own Battle of the Bay, one of the biggest tournaments in the state of Wisconsin. 

Jacob plans on going to a Division I school for wrestling and wants to continue after that by trying to go to the olympics. 

Bay Port currently has a record of 2-1 in conference as a team in duals. They are a heavily junior led team this year, with only four seniors on the team.

Bay Port currently has lots of contenders at the lower and middle weight classes, while lacking in the higher weight classes. However, in previous years they’ve struggled with the opposite circumstance. 

One of the lower weight class starters this year is freshman Owen Wathke.

“It feels pretty good [starting on varsity],” Owen said. “It’s always fun walking off the mat after you’ve won.”

Like Jacob, Owen also started wrestling when he was three years old. 

Bay Port had 11 wrestlers placing top three in their bracket at the junior varsity state qualifier this year. 

There are five more dual meets left for Bay Port this year, including one double dual, a dual where a team wrestles two different teams instead of one, at Southern Door. The next dual is against Preble on Thursday, Jan. 13. 

Bay Port will also Face Sheboygan North, Ashwaubenon, and De Pere. 

Within these duals there  are also two more team tournaments. These tournaments place each wrestler in their own bracket for their weight class, and for each win, the wrestler gains points which benefit a team score. However, at these meets there is more focus on individual performance than on team points. Allowing the wrestlers to compete individually, while also contributing to their team. 

Wrestlers put a lot of work into their craft and often devote most of their life to the sport. 

Jacob said, “It’s the sport I’ve learned to love.”