As Eastern opens up their 2017-2018 season, Senior Tanner Eldridge is at the forefront. He is looking to improve upon his 21-4 mark that he posted as a Junior. Tanner, along with the rest of his team, opened their season last Saturday in their first tournament.

  Tanner wrestles at 152 pounds, but depending on his opponent he will fluctuate weight. “Depending on the other team’s lineup coach will bump us up or down weight classes so we have the best chance of winning certain matchups,” he said.

  How does Tanner get to his wrestling weight? He likes to keep his weight about 5 pounds above the weigh-in weight and then lose by working out and dieting in the days leading up to the weigh-in.

  Like any sport, practice makes perfect. However, wrestling practice is a whole different ballgame than in other sports. Tanner and his team practice 7 days a week. Monday through Saturday they practice wrestling, and on Sunday they go on a run as a team. Total that up and you get 20 hours of practice and workouts a week. According to Tanner, “We train and condition like no other team does.”

   Leading into the match Tanner is all business. “When I’m preparing for a match I like to listen to music and get a sweat going so I’m warm when I get on the mat,” said Tanner. Not only is he getting his body ready, but he is getting his mind ready.

  Strategy is what is going through Tanner’s head as he warms up before a match. “A lot goes through my head before a match, I’m thinking about what setups I’m gonna try and what I’m gonna do on top or bottom,” he said. Like most would, Tanner always has the pre-match butterflies.

  The Eastern Wrestling team is a close knit bunch. Tanner has been wrestling since he was 5 years old, so he has grown up wrestling with the same kids. Throughout the year the team also has few team bonding events on top of the twenty hours a week they spend with each other at practice. “I would say we’re all pretty close to each other,” said Tanner.

  For Tanner, wrestling goes beyond the mat. It has a greater impact on him than wins and loses. He feels that it shapes him as a person not as a much as a wrestler.

  Senior Tanner Eldridge has just one more season to go but he hopes to make it his best season to date, and to leave behind a strong legacy.