The wrestlers at Selma High School each have different reasons for joining a team that is the only one of its kind in the area. In just their second season, the wrestlers on the Selma wrestling team have high expectations, both individually and as a team.

“I want to win everything,” said senior wrestler Maurice Wade.

Wade was one of eight wrestlers practicing on the mats of the Selma gym Wednesday, preparing for the first match of the season next week. The team is led by first-year head coach Robert Warren, who has never coached before, but the former high school wrestler has been learning all he can from others so that he can guide his team to the state tournament.

Warren said getting a late jump on practicing could set the team behind, but he is up for the challenge.

“I would really love for some kids to go to state, but starting this late with so many fresh faces, it’s going to be difficult,” Warren said.

Wade is one of those fresh faces. He’s never been on a wrestling team before, but Wade said he has still grown up around wrestling.

“I’ve been wrestling since I was a little kid,” Wade said.

When he was younger, Wade would hold wrestling tournaments with his friends. He’s always been competitive, but he doesn’t play any other sport. Wade said wrestling is the only sport he’s passionate about, and Selma getting its own wrestling team was exactly what he wanted.

While Wade hasn’t wrestled for a team yet, Warren quickly pointed him out as one of the early standouts on the team.

“He should be pretty good,” Warren said. “He’s fresh this year, but he’s got a lot of heart and he’s very strong and very athletic.”

Kerry Ford, unlike Wade, wanted to play football his senior year, but an injury forced him to miss the season. As a result, Ford had to wait until he was fully healed to start playing again. Once he was healthy, football season was over and wrestling season was starting up.

Ford is taking his competitive drive he had on the football field to the wrestling mats. Like Wade, Ford will only be satisfied with winning at the end of the season.

“I want to make it to state so I can get a ring in wrestling,” Ford said.

Although the Selma wrestling team is only in its second year, Warren said his wrestlers are excited to start a new season, many of them for the first time. He has a roster of 15 wrestlers, and Warren said just three are returning.

Since there are so many fresh faces, Warren really won’t know how good his wrestlers are until they start competing. He said their lack of experience pushes them to want to be better than opponents who have been wrestling for years.

“It gives us motivation to actually want to do well,” Warren said.

Warren is hoping to guide his team to the state tournament, Ford is trying to win a state championship and Wade is looking for even more than that.

Wade wants to make a name for himself, and wrestling is the only sport he’s ever loved. He plans to make the most of his senior year on the team so that he can continue to be successful even after the season ends.

“It gives me new opportunities to get out into the world,” Wade said.