• Second-level addition coming in the spring.

Wrestling season started this week for the 2024-25 campaign and there is always a buzz about a program that is perennially contending for Wyoming state championships.

Even more than that, this is year three for the Lady Braves Wrestling program which has won both of the state’s initial team titles as the sport continues to grow.

One thing that hasn’t been able to grow is the SVHS wrestling room which has been bursting at the seams for many years and has had to resort to some clever albeit inconvenient solutions.

The teams have had to stagger multiple practices with different groups of athletes taking turns either starting early in the morning or staying late. The team has wrestled in the National Guard Readiness Center and even on the stage in the SVHS auditorium.

The process of finding a more permanent solution is in the works with the LCSD No. 2 Board of Trustees examining the addition of a second-level mezzanine in the room.

“A lot of this stuff has been going on before girls wrestling,” replied head coach Eddie Clark. “We are doing some creative scheduling too and have kids running and drilling while others are in the room.”

Some might say added space is not necessary, but Clark says that not only is space needed, but by not having it is wasting time and can actually be dangerous.

“By not having the right amount of space, we can’t do drills correctly,” he said. “So they are breaking moves off early or doing them incorrectly. If we had adequate space we can be using our time better but we’ve tried to be creative and make it work. We are at a point where we are moving ahead.”

Superintendent Matt Erickson stated that the plan is to have something for the LCSD No. 2 Board of Trustees to vote on by January or February.

“This has been in the works for the last couple years,” he said. “We are working with Plan One Architect firm. We have a relationship with them from the Afton and Osmond additions.”

Erickson added that in speaking with Clark and girls coach Kevin Waldron, the programs would rather give up time during construction in the spring rather than the fall.

“We hope to be able to start around Spring Break,” he added.

Which means for the 2024-25 season, the wrestling staffs will continue to work with other programs and buildings within the district to find the space they need. The boys program traditionally fluctuates between 40 and 60 athletes with roughly 45 expected for this season. In addition, the girls program is over 30 and is the fastest growing sport in the country.

“What we’ve done in the past is use space at the middle school and splitting practice in other places like the [armory] and the stage,” Clark stated.  But we really can’t use the middle school anymore as they have their own programs so this really is needed. The issue really becomes that now we don’t have anywhere else to go. It gets tough.”

Clark explained that this season every program is practicing in the morning before school with a schedule such as the girls on Monday and the boys on Tuesday. Then they work with the basketball programs.

“Wednesday, one of the basketball teams is in early and it opens up a side court on the gym floor,” he continued. “One team will be in the gym and the other will be in the wrestling room, then flip that on Thursday.”

Not only is this inconvenient, but expensive. Clark said to simply tape down the mats for practice is roughly $60 each time.

“It gets pretty exorbitant with the prices of mat tape these days,” he added. “Plus, it’s extra time and effort to haul the mats from place to place. This space that is added will be well used.”