Hebron adds wrestling to varsity lineup

There will be a new varsity wrestling program in the Region next season.

Hebron, which has been competing at the junior varsity level the last two years, was approved for varsity status by the Boone Twp. school board at its Tuesday meeting.

"I still haven't come down from cloud nine, I'm so excited," coach Todd Adamczyk said. "It's been three years in the making. It's something we've been working on for a while and it's finally coming together. We're at our goal, and I'm happy we're at the point where we made it."

The school received the OK to initiate the sport as a club in 2007 and high school numbers this season stood at 23, with only one senior and one junior among them. Hebron also had 21 kids on its middle school team. According to Adamczyk, several of them are looking to join a freestyle club and about half the group was already in the weight room working out after school Wednesday.

"That's something I haven't seen in any of our other programs, kids that excited that they're working 365 days ahead of time," he said.

The middle school team hosted a season-ending meet Tuesday and athletic director Rhonda Walker was pleased to see a good turnout.

"I think it gave the high school boys working the meet with Todd some encouragement. It was uplifting to them," she said. "For a small school, (wrestling) gives boys who don't play basketball an alternative. Todd felt several of the kids were working hard enough, he wants to give them the opportunity to participate and advance in the (state) tournament."

Walker cautions that the process from this point will not be an overnight endeavor, but is enthusiastic about the direction.

"We're still a rookie program, a work in progress," she said. "We don't pretend to be anything but that. But at the same time, we've continued progressing. Interest continues to grow. We're still developing. We've got some growing to do, but we'll be able to do some growing. I'd like to think any time kids are participating, taking an interest, wanting to work at it, it's a good thing."

PREP WRESTLING

Porter County Conference schools that will have wrestling in the 2010-11 school year:

Boone Grove, Hanover Central, Hebron