“I think both of those guys are going to do the best they can to be in a position to reach their goals of being a state qualifier,” Auderer said. “Can they take that next step this year? They have to keep that focus all year long, and they’ll have to put in the time in the room.” Wibholm, a sophomore, posted a strong rookie season a winter ago with 25 victories, in- cluding 15 pins. He’ll take a big leap up this year, as he ven- tures from a lightweight to a middleweight. Auderer projects Wibholm at either 144 or 150. “We knew coming in last year that (Wibholm) had a lot of ex- perience,” Auderer said. “He’s been wrestling his whole life without much of a break, so this past offseason he really didn’t wrestle a lot. He’s come back and he has that right mindset and mentality.” Griffin, a junior, also has a solid pedigree and he’s coming off a football season in which he accumulated multiple first-team all-state accolades as an offen- sive lineman. Competing at both 215 and 285 a season ago, he posted a 22-20 record with 16 pins, and he made a solid postseason run that fell just short of a state berth. He doesn’t want to fall short again. Griffin will likely open the sea- son competing at heavyweight,
WINTER 2024-25 | GAME ON 17
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