(Oakland) A very promising season in on the horizon for the Riverside wrestlers. The Bulldogs have four ranked wrestlers according to IAWrestle.
It’s a year they’ve been looking forward to for some time according to head coach Casey Conover. “It’s been years in the process. We new we had some young, very talented kids when I first took over the program 7-8 years ago. We knew that we had a good foundation from our club program that we could be pretty tough.”
Mick Schroder is a two time state qualifier that will fill the 113 or 120 pound weight class. “I know he was very, very disappointed in how he finished last year at state and he’s done a lot of great practicing to get himself better.”
120/126 pounder Jace Rose was in the state semifinals last year. “He placed 4th last year. He was a point away from being in the finals. I know that really fuels him to be better. He did a lot in the offseason to get to where he wants to be which is a state champion.”
Nolan Moore and Kaiden Hendricks are also returning state qualifiers. Conover is bullish on the expectations for Moore. “He is another kid very determined to place atop the podium. I can’t say enough about him. He has a high wrestling IQ and a great knowledge for the sport. He puts a lot of time and a lot of work into wrestling.”
Hendricks is one of several guys that coach Conover believes will benefit from a strong football season. “He had a really strong offseason in terms of lifting weights and had a great football season. I know he’s really excited to get going for wrestling.”
Conover expands on the benefit from a strong fall on the gridiron for several of his athletes. “Football I think is what really drives the next season. Having a good season like we did really propels into the next season. They really want to get going and get work in. They aren’t looking to be .500. They want to be state champs and conference champs. That’s the mindset you have to have.”
A lot of other athletes return such as Rhett Bentley, Ethan Reicks, Austin Kremkoski, Brody Zimmerman, Eddie Vlcek, Brok Comstock, Nate Messerschmidt, and more.
