This week is not only a busy one for El Dorado’s wrestling team, but also a very important one.
Due to the wintry weather and frosty temperatures that caused numerous postponements last week, EHS finds itself in the midst of having four meets in five days to get back on schedule.
El Dorado traveled to Texarkana on Tuesday to compete against Sheridan. EHS made a return trip to Texarkana on Thursday to take on the Razorbacks for their second meet this week.
Tonight, El Dorado will compete in front of their home fans for the last time this season, as Texarkana and Arkadelphia visit for a dual meet.
The festivities begin at 5 p.m. at Wildcat Arena, and it is also senior night for El Dorado, which will mark a special occasion in particular for two wrestlers who have been in the program from the outset.
“I take a lot of pride in that,” said Aidan Johnson, who competes at 165 pounds. “I’m really proud of the team, just from what I saw my freshman year, knowing where we were. I think only two people won matches at state that year. Each year people have made it farther at state and we’ve won more matches.
“So just seeing the progression is a really big deal for me. I think it’s really cool I got to see the beginning of this program and now it’s my last ride but the program is going to keep on growing. Just seeing that progression is a big deal.”
Katelyn Hayden, who competes at 120, echoed Johnson’s sentiments.
“We’ll be the first two four-year lettermen El Dorado has ever had in wrestling,” said Hayden. “I’m pretty excited about it. I’m hoping they can build on it and continue to add new things every year so we can keep up with the northern teams and compete.”
On Saturday, El Dorado caps their busy week by heading to Hot Springs Lakeside to compete against the host Rams along with Lake Hamilton.
For coach Alex Townsend, this week has been more focused on being mentally ready to wrestle.
“I’m more concerned with the mental aspect of four events in five days,” Townsend said. “We’re only wrestling one, two matches per event, so physically, it’s not that taxing.
“We are trying to structure practice this week that is a little less physically taxing to help. But the mental part of being ready to go four times in five days is most concerning.”
One factor the team has had to focus on is conditioning after the layoff of being out of school.
“There was really no way for us to work on that as a team,” Townsend said. “It was on our athletes as individuals to keep up with that over the off days.”
With the bulk of these meets coming against conference foes, Townsend said competing with more urgency is something that has been a focal point in practices.
“It’s been a huge focus this week,” Townsend said. “And to be honest, I’m not that pleased with how they have they responded. We had two athletes miss weight on Tuesday, and we were not focused on competing like I had hoped we would be. But I have confidence we will be much more focused and ready the next three nights. We are pushing our kids to be their absolute best they can be and expect nothing short of just that.”
As far as tonight’s meet at Wildcat Arena is concerned, Townsend said he and the team are eager to compete in front of their fans.
“The seniors are very excited. We are extremely excited, too,” Townsend said. “Our senior night will now be at the arena, and we are excited to get to perform there. Because of the reschedule, the new date lined up with an opening that gave us this opportunity.”
Perhaps the biggest factor to watch as the remainder of the week unfolds is how El Dorado’s depth could play a key role with having four meets in five days.
“It’s vital, because we have a handful of guys that are replacing others due to injuries or other circumstances,” Townsend said. “Having people that are ready and able to compete at a high level when they are given the opportunity is big and shows the growth of our program.”