'Small but mighty' Bulldogs send six to district tournament

When it comes to Notre Dame wrestling, the theme has always been quality over quantity.

The Bulldogs are sending six wrestlers (Ethan Jackson, Charlie West, Sam Criddle, Caleb Klipfel, Parker Lemmons, and Adam Cork) to the Class 1 District 1 Tournament on Friday at New Madrid County Central, with the hopes of sending the same number to Columbia the week after.

“I think there's a good shot of sending the entire team to state this year,” Jackson said. “We're a small team, but we're definitely mighty. We've always said that all year, low numbers but we all know what we're doing. We all know how to wrestle.”

Jackson, who won his 20th match in the DeSoto Invitational on Jan. 28, looks to return to the state tournament with hopes of making it to the podium. A season spent facing upper-level competition through duel meets and tournaments has provided the senior confidence against the Class 1 District 1 circuit.

“I think with wrestling the talents of, Central, DeSoto, Festus, Windsor, Sikeston, all those guys,” Jackson said, “I think it's not gonna make it a walk in the park, but I think it's gonna give me a good shot to bring home a district championship this year.”

Another Bulldog with a good shot of making it through districts is going into postseason wrestling for the first time. West, a junior, tried wrestling for the first time this year and found instant success through his athleticism.

In his most recent tournament, West placed third in the DeSoto Invitational with his 10th win in 13 matches. He won four matches in his first meet, which gave him hope for a good season.

“He is an extremely fast kid,” Jackson said of West. “He knows what he's doing. He knows his technique. He knows his way around things more than many first-time wrestlers know what they're doing.”

“I like to use my strength whenever I'm doing moves and stuff,” West said. “So I might not have the best technique but sometimes I can just use my strength to overpower.”

Jackson and West practice regularly. There’s about a 30-pound difference between the weight classes they battle in. Jackson used to wrestle in the 215-pound weight class before gradually dropping to the 175-pound class, and training with someone bigger than him helped him improve this year.

“It definitely helped me improve my game and being quicker on my feet with having someone so explosive to wrestle against,” Jackson said. “It helped me just wanting to overcome being slow and dragging, helps me be able to push my way through and get matches done.”

Notre Dame has a shortage of wrestlers but not a shortage of coaches, which was key to fast-tracking development for a group that consists of four underclassmen.

“You get a lot of technique down because since it's so small,” Criddle said. “We got like four coaches individually watching you and helping you.”

Another benefit of having a small squad is the wrestlers growing and bonding together.

“It’s like my family,” Lemmons said. “I know all these people's backstories and I know them personally. It's nice because you feel like you confide in everybody and it's a good atmosphere to work in. Everybody pushes each other to get better.”

Lemmons and Cork will look to be among the few freshmen in the state tournament.

“That would be huge,” Lemmons said. “To be one of the few freshmen to do that would be awesome, and it would just set a tone for the rest of my career here.”