The Griffith Panthers’ Boys Wrestling team qualified for team state at Brownsburg High School on January 10.

The team ranked seven out of the 12 teams invited to state, but their run ended when they lost to the number one-ranked Garrett 50 to 26.

“I see it as a big win,” said Coach Chris Sojka. “Me and my coaches have always had one goal, to have our team qualify for state, and we finally did that.”

The team also had two wresters ranked in state and six ranked in semi-state.

Zach Kenney has been one of those two ranked in state, and has had a breakout season his senior year.

“I’m very happy with my performance this season,” said Kenney. “It’s probably the best I’ve had in my high school career.” Kenney notched his 100-career win back on January 11, which marks a milestone not many athletes achieve.

While there is a lot of experience from juniors and seniors, a young core prepares for the future. Alex Rivera is a freshman on the team, and has seen much growth in himself, as well as the team as a whole.

“Our mental mistakes, I would say, have gotten a lot better,” said Rivera. “Just getting over the fear of some of our matches and just us being tougher mentally.”

The boys team had their regional on February 7 and are now sending eight wrestlers to semi-state at East Chicago on February 14.

With the Griffith wrestling team winning their conference and bringing eight wrestlers all the way to semi-state, only they know what can happen in the future, and they are looking forward to making their presence known to teams around the state.

“This is a spectacular team,” said Coach Sojka. “It’s amazing to see how we reset the bar every year. It makes it hard to set goals, and that’s why this team is so special, they can do whatever they want and hit everything we want them to.”