Barbara Lawlor, Nederland.  Since the Nederland Middle School started its wrestling team in 2016, young athletes have been signing up to be a part of the fledgling team, a rebirth of Ned wrestling from years ago.

At the first practice on Monday, 10 grapplers hit the mats and three more have registered. Coach Todd Oliver says, he now has sixth, seventh and eighth grade wrestlers and is determined to gain viable numbers to warrant a high school team and build a program.

The middle level wrestlers compete in some national tournaments held in Denver, with top wrestlers from throughout surrounding states.

The wrestling team includes Joey Airola who won the Rookie Division for weight at the Who’s Bad National Championship and is no longer a rookie.

When he joined the NMS team, he said “It takes hard work and discipline to get to the top and the challenge is done step by step. You have to learn how to lose and get back up and learn from your mistakes.”

With seasoned wrestlers like Joey, coach Oliver hopes to get Ned back on the top of the sport.

The season lasts five weeks with matches at the end.

(Originally published in the February 1, 2018, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)