Grain Valley freshman Caine Nelson was nervous.
He was wrestling in his first varsity match against Blue Springs freshman Mason Booheister in Wednesday’s dual at Blue Springs High School.
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“I was about to pee my pants,” Nelson said, “but got more comfortable as the match went on.”
Nelson was one of the newcomers that helped Grain Valley overcome being shorthanded as he overcame a 4-0 deficit to get a pin in 3 minutes and 15 seconds.
His win put the dual out of reach as it put Grain Valley head 44-12 and the Eagles went on to win 56-24 over the Wildcats.
Nelson was stepped in for returning state medalist Tanner Barker, who was out with a shoulder injury. The Eagles were also missing Evan Reich and 2022 state medalist Dru Azcona. Despite not having some of their best wrestlers in the lineup, the shorthanded Grain Valley team displayed its depth in the win.
“I am really blessed,” said Horner, who currently has about 60 wrestlers on the team. “We have a large group of freshmen. We have 26, 27. They do everything you asked. If I asked them to run through a brick wall, they would do it.”