Highland Park wrestling returns to the mat: 'When I got out there, my mind was racing'

The Highland Park wrestling program is getting back into the swing of things after last year's season was canceled because of COVID-19.

With Kansas State High School Activities Association voting in 2019 to sanction girls wrestling as a high school sport in the state, this is only the first or second year for many girls at Highland Park.

The first year, eight girls wrestled, which matches this year's number.

Freddy Maisberger III coaches the girls and boys, adding that to this list of responsibilities that also has him coaching track and cross country.

"As far as doing it, competition-wise, you want to teach the same things," said Maisberger on coaching both teams. "You want the girls to learn the same things, so it's kind of ideal you teach them both."

With 24 wrestlers between the boys and girls teams, Maisberger said at least 10 are brand new to the sport.

On Dec. 4, Highland Park hosted the Highland Park Invitational, where the boys took third out of nine teams

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On Dec. 11, they hosted the Melvin Douglas Invitational, where the boys finished sixth out of 13 teams and the girls finished third out of nine teams and last weekend when they traveled to Emporia.

They'll return to action Jan. 8 at the Dick Burns Classic at Bonner Springs.

We talked to Maisberger and some of the wrestlers about what it's been like to get back on the mat after over a year of not being able to compete.

Disappointment follows postponements

Senior Morgan Dean, a wrestler for the boys this year who qualified for the state tournament his sophomore season, saw his junior season taken away.

"Honestly, I expected it to be canceled," said Dean. "I wasn’t optimistic at all. I had some hope. I came here every single day, hoping we would be able to have some competitions, but I was let down."

Ruby Hernandez was a freshman when the season was canceled.

"I really thought we were still going to do it but it ended up not happening," said Hernandez. "I was shocked because I didn't know it was that serious."

Junior Myles Curry said it was tough seeing the season canceled but said it made him prepare even more for this season.

"When it was postponed, that means: 'Oh, they're gonna have it. They just postponed,'" said Curry. "I was ready for it. Then it got canceled, well, damn."

Maisberger compared it to dangling a carrot in front of you, letting you go for it thinking that you may be able to compete.

"We were going to pick back up again in early January then they delayed it again," said Maisberger . "By that time, you lose the interest of the kids, you lose interest yourself. I was like, 'What the heck?' If you don't keep something in front of the kids to keep them focused on, they're done."

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Girls excited to compete

Hernandez said it's been nice to get back in the wrestling room while hoping she still had the wrestling moves in her.

Hernandez, a WWE fan who may want to get involved with that later in life, said she got involved with high school wrestling because she thought it would be a good start.

"When I first stepped on the mat I was nervous because I hadn’t done it in so long," said Hernandez on wrestling at the Melvin Douglas Invitational. "But after the first match, I started to process everything and remember."

Senior Lizbeth Del Real joined the team to get in shape for soccer after a friend told her about it and they ended up liking it.

"We liked interacting with each other, being able to be aggressive and getting to know each other better," said Del Real on what kept her around.

With school, starting her first job last year and sports, it's been a balancing act for Del Real this year.

Del Real said she felt the pressure in her first match on Dec. 11.

"When I got on the mat, I got so nervous," said Del Real. "I tried to put the pieces together: 'What am I gonna do? Where am I gonna start?' I had to figure out what pieces I would put together once I stepped on the mat. I didn't like the part where my body was sore after, I didn't miss that part."

Senior Celeste Gonzalez has been wrestling since her sophomore year and is ready to get back on the mat this year.

During her sophomore year, she went all three rounds with an eventual state champion that gave her the confidence that she could've gone to states that year.

Instead, Gonzalez suffered a broken collarbone in her second to last match of a tournament that ended her season early.

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"I was really excited to come into my junior year and wrestle," said Gonzalez. "It kept getting pushed back and back until they finally told us we weren’t having a season and I was really sad."

Having run cross country in the fall and been in the gym over the summer to get stronger, Gonzalez said she was sore the first couple of days but it was fun getting back out there and the excitement returned.

With no girls teams available to wrestle on Dec. 4 and taking the ACT on Dec. 11, Gonzalez hasn't been able to wrestle yet this season but is looking forward to doing so when they get back from winter break.

"I like to win and to compete," said Gonzalez. "It's really exciting coming down here and putting your all into it, you have no one to blame but yourself. Your work, at the end of the day, you're the reason you won or lost."

Shaking off the rust

Maisberger said the new wrestlers are learning quickly.

"You have to start out with the basics. Learn the basic stuff," said Maisberger. "You can hit the high flyers and fancy moves, but if you don't have the basic moves, you're not going to compete. You have to start there."

There's the normal time off from the sport when the year ends until the next year, but this year shaking off the rust was even more prevalent for Maisberger, who's coached wrestling for 33 years, and the wrestlers themselves.

"Thirty-something years coaching, even me taking a year off, it's like you're out of sync," said Maisberger. "I've been involved with wrestling since the late '70s and never have seen a season canceled."

With the season canceled, Dean said he focused on schoolwork with so many things being limited or canceled due to COVID 19.

Transitioning back to physical activities for Dean was hard work after taking off so much time.

"Football made it a little easier," said Dean on getting back into the wrestling room this winter. "I wasn’t completely out of shape, and I was going to the gym so it made the tradition easier, but it was still hard."

Looking back at Dec. 4, getting back on the mat, was special.

"The first time we came back on the Monday (after the tournament) I said, 'Guys what I enjoyed the most is, you were competing with each other, cheering each other on and standing by each other,'" said Maisberger.

Even though she didn't get to wrestle that day, Gonzalez was there to support the boys team and felt the energy in the building.

"It got me super excited to start wrestling, even just watching, you get excited for them and your team," said Gonzalez.

For Dean, an experienced wrestler, he said it was like riding a bike with things feeling new but familiar at the same time when he stepped onto the mat on Dec. 4 for the first match in a long time.

"When I got out there, my mind was racing," said Dean. "But once I started doing things, getting used to moving around how I did before, it became second nature, and I stopped thinking."

Contact Seth Kinker at skinker@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @SethKinker.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Highland Park High School wrestlers return to mat after COVID delay