LIND – As the 2025 wrestling gets started, Head Coach Jason Hilzer’s excitement is growing. He said if he had to pick a favorite sport to coach, it would be wrestling.  

“I get super excited,” Hilzer said. “I always tell (students), I don't know if I have a favorite sport, but I will tell you, whatever you put into wrestling is what you'll get out. If you want to put 110% in, that's what you're going to get out.”  

Unlike most other sports structured with starters and backups, Hilzer said wrestling is great because everyone gets to participate because they are spread across multiple weight classes.  

After a successful season last year that saw Gabriel Smith, Octavio Paredes Martinez, Cooper Ramos and Brock Tracy compete in the 1B/2B state tournament, the Broncos are ready to hit the mats. Hilzer said they are bringing in a younger team this year but he feels confident about the team’s prospects because many have youth wrestling program experience.  

Hilzer said the program disappeared for a long time but it restarted. Though a lot of them are freshmen, the Broncos bring experience to the mat that Hilzer can work with.  

“We're finally getting to the point now where these guys come through this program and they've got a lot of a lot more experience than some, because what we have in the past is we've got a few kids turn out, but like they're turning out as freshmen or sophomores having never wrestled before in their lives,” Hilzer said.  

He said the freshman class showed out at a camp they went to in Tri-Cities. Hilzer said when they ran duels, the outcomes spoke for themselves.  

“The freshmen won more than they lost,” Hilzer said. “We were wrestling different teams, and so just seeing how they can compete against the bigger schools and those kids, that's what makes me just know that we're going to be able to compete, and these kids are going to do well in the 2B class.”  

Hilzer pointed out Ramos as a wrestler to look out for this season. He wrestled in the 120-pound weight class last season and just missed the podium, Hilzer said. He called Ramos an energetic and flashy wrestler that can be awkward to wrestle because he is always moving.  

“There'll be times where he'll do some move, and it's like, ‘Why are you doing that?’ But at the same time, then he'll do another one that's like, ‘Wow. I didn't see that one coming,’” Hilzer said.  

When Hilzer evaluates the keys to success this season, he said it starts during practice. With a larger group of wrestlers this year, they can have more opportunities to compete with each other during practice. To him, competition breeds excellence.  

The Broncos have their fair share of upper classmen, but the roster is dominated by freshman and sophomores, Hilzer said. He feels practice will help the younger athletes become more accustomed to high school level competition.  

“It's a big jump from junior high to high school. When they jump up and they understand the physicality, I think that's what's going to be very tough on some of our kids, is understanding the physicality when you get into high school wrestling,” he said.  

However, despite any anticipated challenges, Hilzer said he feels great about sending more wrestlers to the state tournament this season. The Broncos have their first tournament Dec. 13 at Liberty High School starting at 9:30 a.m. Their first home meet is on Jan 7. at 6 p.m. 

“Looking forward to a great year for us. I think we could be top one or two in the league as a team,” Hilzer said.  

    The Broncos had four wrestlers qualify for last year’s state tournament, including graduate Octavio Paredes Martinez, left.
  

    A Broncos wrestler, right, prepares to shoot on his opponent during a tournament last season. Head Coach Jason Hilzer said having his wrestlers compete during practice will breed excellence.
  

    Octavio Paredes Martinez, top, controls his opponent on the mat. Head Coach Jason Hilzer said he feels confident the Broncos could be one of the better teams in the league this season.