Over the weekend, the Raccoon Valley Radio Network reported that 41 Adel-Desoto-Minburn Tigers male high school athletes took part in a body composition test ahead of the 2018-19 varsity wrestling season. These are encouraging numbers for Tiger head wrestling coach Chris Hatchitt who started last winter with 24 athletes on the squad and injuries dwindled the numbers down to 19 by the end of the season. “So now we’re at high 30’s low 40’s, we’ll see who actually comes out (after) doing the body composition test and registering (for the sport),” Hatchitt said, “There’s still that game but come November 12 we should be pushing the plus side of 30 (students out for wrestling) which is phenomenal.”

Those additional athletes will help Hatchitt with his goal of filling all 14 weight classes for the 2018-19 season. “You win duals (by filling your entire lineup),” Hatchitt said, “We were 7-18 last year (and) there were many duals where we lost by under 10 points, and we were (forfeiting) six weight classes even seven weight classes at times. So we’re giving up 36 to 42 points and were only losing by six to eight points. That shows you right there that our dual record could have been totally different than the 7-18 record we had last year.”

The 2018-19 dual season for the ADM Tiger varsity wrestling team begins on Thursday, November 29, traveling to Huxley for a triangular event with North Polk and Ballard.