The nerve center of Jefferson High wrestling is not easy to find. You journey down a long corridor toward the back of the school building, make a dogleg, dodge some boisterous students, head up the stairs, and pass through the weight room above the gym. There, finally, is a space, about 30 by 40 feet, done up in white and Panther purple and the words, “Panther wrestlers” painted graffiti-style on the cinder blocks.
The music is teenager-loud, Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust.” The smell of adolescent sweat is rising. There’s a loose, casual vibe, but there’s real work going on. Packed into the single-ringed mat, the JHS wrestling team – tonight, 15 boys and one girl – is gearing up for this weekend’s season-opening tournament in Cascade.
“We’re focusing on technique now, and baseline conditioning,” says Troy Humphrey, a compact and (needless to say, maybe) muscular guy who’s starting his twenty-second year of coaching Panther wrestlers.
