As the leaves begin to fall from the trees, it heralds the return of the wrestling season. It’s not all sleighbells and mistletoe for the Lakeridge Wrestling Team.

“Right now were just trying to be more conditioned than the other teams,” said captain Sergio Mendez.

It is early in the season, but unlike previous years the wrestling team is not focusing on technique but rather on being stronger than their opponents.

“The team is working on not technique but overpower other teams.” said captain Nik Dee.

“We have 18 total wrestlers, six of which are returning wrestlers from last year,” said junior captain Luke Wood. “That is a step up from five years ago when we only had four wrestlers on the team, known as the Fab Four.”

This year, the three strongest wrestlers on the team are Mendez, Dee, and junior Sam Wurtz, who along with Luke Wood, are the captains of the wrestling team. Mendez, Dee, and Wurtz all have shots at a state title, according to Mendez.

“We have a young team with a lot of juniors so we have the potential to be good,” said captain Wurtz.

However, despite the team’s confidence, coach Calvin Griggs knows they will have some new challenges to summit.

“We’re in a new league this year with Tigard and Sherwood, who are both tough teams.”

In the end, the team’s mantra can be summed up by Mendez: “Stay hungry forever. You gotta get more, don’t be satisfied with what you already have.”