Rather than one extremely grueling week of wrestling practice known as “Hell Week,” Coach Mye believes that every practice should be the same difficulty throughout the year. “The philosophies this year are different than prior years, but I don’t feel as if the first week of practice is any different than the practices the rest of the season,” said Mye.
While Coach Mye doesn’t believe there was a wrestling hell week this year, the players have a different opinion. “Hell Week this year was harder probably to weed out the weaker kids,” said senior wrestler Griffin Dulany.
Coach Mye is Langley’s third head wrestling coach in the last four years. Last year, under Coach Steve Brown, players thought Hell Week was less arduous compared to this year. “Coach Mye is more serious than Coach Brown,” said Junior Leo Peneiro. “We basically ran in circles during Hell week last year.”
The first week of practice this year comprised of exercises stretching from running up and down the bleachers for 45 minutes to pyramid pushups. Senior John Haskell explained, “The preseason workouts made Hell Week easier, but the runs were horrible.”
The workouts have been paying off. In a tournament held in New York on the weekend of December 11-12, the Langley wrestling team did extremely well, placing first overall. Seniors Griffin Dulany and Matt Wilson both placed first on their weight categories. For Wilson, it was his first time taking the top award.
Additional reporting by Alex LaBelle