By Michael Smith
The Grain Valley boys wrestling team has been one that has had a good amount of talent year after year.
Last season, the Eagles qualified six wrestlers for the Missouri State High School Wrestling Championships and had two finishes in the top six of their respective weight classes to earn all state honors.
The 2024-25 season, however, will feature a younger team with not as much experience as last year’s team had as the Eagles graduated three seniors from last season’s team, all of whom qualified for state.
Currently, the Eagles are bringing back six wrestlers who were a part of the district lineup in 2024 and will welcome some newcomers to join the fold.
“We have a really big junior class, we have about 10 or 11 juniors,” Grain Valley head coach Donald Horner said. “We also have a big class of incoming freshmen. We have 25. It is good to have depth in numbers.”
Added junior Zac Bleess: “We have a pretty young team, but we have a lot of potential.”
Junior Zac Bleess is one polished wrestler coming back for the Eagles as he has two all-state finishes under his belt. During his freshman season, he took sixth in the 113-pound division and placed fifth last season at 120 pounds.
This year, he will jump all the way up to the 138-pound weight class and he admitted he will have to adjust his wrestling style because of it.