Mexico head boys’ wrestling coach Gayle Adams is ready to get back in a routine.
Adams’ squad wrapped its regular season on Jan. 29 and had last week to prepare for the district …
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Mexico head boys’ wrestling coach Gayle Adams is ready to get back in a routine.
Adams’ squad wrapped its regular season on Jan. 29 and had last week to prepare for the district tournament, but heavy snowfall and school cancellations threw off the Bulldogs’ typical schedule.
“We actually practiced every day but Wednesday,” said Adams. “It was optional, but the kids got in and got their work in. But I’m ready to get back to a routine, let the kids get back in school and get our practice in after school. Kids do better with a routine.”
The Bulldogs will look to refocus this week in preparation for the Class 2, District 2 Tournament, which they’ll host on Friday and Saturday.
“I love wrestling at home,” Adams said of hosting. “We can get fans out to watch our kids wrestle, because we didn’t get very many home matches this year. And any time you get to sleep in your own bed it’s nice and you have the same routine.”
The tournament includes 16 teams, including fellow North Central Missouri Conference teams Kirksville, Fulton and Boonville. Adams said that while his team does see some squads multiple times throughout the season, he purposely tries to schedule matches with a variety of schools to give his wrestlers multiple looks.
“We do see a lot of kids in our conference, but I try to do a good job seeing the whole state of Missouri,” said Adams. “I think if you see a kid over and over you can pick up some tendencies on either side, good or bad. But at the end of the day, it comes down to who wants to punch their ticket to the state tournament.”
The top four wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the 92nd Annual Boys MSHSAA Wrestling Championships at Mizzou Arena from February 17-19. And Adams doesn’t hesitate when asked if there’s a goal or certain number of wrestlers the team is hoping to advance.
“The goal is to qualify every kid,” Adams answered without waver. “Every kid has been working since November. I don’t wanna leave anyone behind. I want everyone’s goal to be a state qualifier or state placer when the first day of practice starts. So our goal is to qualify everyone in the varsity lineup that goes to the district tournament.”
