The St. Xavier wrestling season is already underway, and the energy inside the wrestling room shows that this team has its eyes set on something bigger than just early-season wins.
With a strong mix of experienced seniors and motivated underclassmen, the team has started the year focused, confident, and hungry for success.
Junior Nate Bueter believes the potential of this year’s squad is special, especially with the addition of new wrestlers stepping into key roles.
“We have a lot of potential this year especially with the new guys,” Bueter said. “I think we have a good chance of winning state and having a lot of state placers.”
Individually, Bueter has clear goals as well.
“My goal this season is to place or win at state,” Bueter added.
Bueter enters the season with a high school record of 39–32 and hopes his experience will help lead the team through the toughest parts of the schedule. Despite a few injuries early in the season, junior Jake Holtgrave remains confident in the team’s future.
“The wrestling team will be better soon because we have a few injured guys, but when everyone is back the team will be very good,” Holtgrave said.
Holtgrave has already made a strong statement individually, starting the season undefeated.
“My personal goal this season is to win the state tournament at 157 pound weight class,” Holtgrave said. “For the wrestling team I want for us to win the state duels tournament and be a top 5 team at the individual state tournament.”
Building off last season’s success is another major motivation for the team. Senior Braden Woolridge reflected on how far the program has come.
“Last year our team had a very impressive year. We beat Trinity in our dual for the first time in a while, and we also won a regional championship,” Woolridge said. “After navigating lineup changes and weight class adjustments, the team found its rhythm, sending nine wrestlers to the state tournament and having two place. This year our team is looking really strong. After our first tournament this weekend, we were missing some of our guys and got 3rd place at the Warhawk Duals.”
With a record of 105–32, Woolridge emphasized the team’s ultimate goal.
“We are looking to compete for a state title this year,’’ Woolridge said. “We lost in the state dual finals last year and we are out to win it this year.”
Team chemistry and leadership remain key strengths. Woolridge praised the senior class for setting the tone in the room. The senior class is a hard working class. They all have goals to win state and make each and everyone better in the room every day. With a mix of younger and older wrestlers, competition for varsity spots remains intense.
“They will all fight for the X on their singlet when on the mat,” Woolridge added.
Senior Ethan Harris also highlighted the experience already present on the roster.
“We have very talented wrestlers that have been wrestling varsity for a while now,” Harris said. “We have the people here to get things done.”
As the season continues, the team remains focused on daily improvement and long-term success. With strong leadership, clear goals, and a proven track record. This wrestling team is determined to turn early-season promise into a championship run by the time the state tournament arrives.
