Mexico boys wrestling wants to have a bigger year.

The Bulldogs want a bigger number than the five Bulldogs sent to state last season but are bigger already in terms of the kids they have on the roster.

Head coach Gayle Adams said Mexico will have some trouble filling lower weights simply because he has more bulked up kids this year, including five heavyweights, among the total 25 kids.

“It’s just because we don’t have a whole lot of little guys. We got more bigger guys this year,” Adams said. “It’s one or the other. That helps the football team and gets these young guys learning to push and use their feet and hands a little bit.”

Adams said Mexico will be “thin” from the 113-120 weights but might be able to “shift some kids around” from 126 and up. The schedule this year has also been shifted with Mexico not wrestling in a meet during the week to help the Bulldogs focus on being a good student-athlete.

“I looked to see how football does it. They play football games on Friday nights,” Adams said. “The good thing is they’re in seat and they’re in school. We’re going to focus on being a student-athlete and not just an athlete.”

Grant Van Horn is one of the Bulldogs that has bulked up this season after two state medal seasons his freshman and sophomore years. As a junior, Van Horn is Mexico’s most promising wrestler that will be looking for a higher spot on the podium than his fifth-place finish at last year’s state meet.

“I always expect big things out of him,” Adams said. “He’s put in a good summer with weights and wrestling. He’s put on a little bulk so we’ll see where he ends up.”

Watson Azdell is another junior returning from a state-qualifying season that Adams has his eye on.

“Anytime you’ve got some state qualifiers in your lineup, that’s always nice,” Adams said. “They can be leaders. I’m asking the young guys to be leaders and step up. In wrestling, anyone can be leaders if you work hard and your teammates see you working hard. That’s going to push the other kids to work hard too.”

Adams said anyone in Mexico’s lineup could follow in their footsteps and qualify for state this season if they put in the work. He said it is the coaches’ job to help them be ready for districts in February.

Junior Peyton Hoover, sophomore Isai Hernandez at 165, senior Jacob Johnson and Evan Wilson are some names that jump out to Adams. Junior Grant Walker at 190 was a match away from being the sixth Bulldog that went to state last year, senior Emille Scanavino is among the higher-weight kids that is returning after two injury-plagued years and sophomore Kelton Witherspoon – at 215 “probably more than likely” – is back after an injury cut last season short.

“You don’t ever want to see them get hurt, but they’re tough enough to come back from it,” Adams said. “That’s always good to see.”

There are 2-3 kids Mexico will have back after Christmas, including junior Casey Minter, so Adams said the team has even more potential because of its “toughness, grit and will to win.” The Bulldogs also have close bonds that Adams hopes they remember 15 years later.

“The goal is always to get as many kids as we can to the state tournament,” Adams said. “Get them to state and then get them on the podium at state. At the end of the day, I want to make an impression on these kids. I want these kids to remember how tough wrestling is, and they put in the work to be good.”

Mexico has a tournament in Grain Valley on Saturday to start the season.