The conclusion of the Phase 2 construction at De Soto High School is bringing big chances to all athletic teams this year. One sport this add-on specifically affects is wrestling.

The new wrestling room has been completed and will be u

sed when practices begin in mid-November. As for what impact the new facility will have specifically, head coach Shannon Sawner provides some insight.

“The new wrestling room will help with causing fewer injuries and will give us more room for workouts which will allow us, the coaches, to get a little more creative with practices,” Sawner said.

Along with the new wrestling room, the construction will create (among other things) a new gym, weight room and cardio room. These will

also be important to the team’s development this year, according to Sawner.

“The new gym will hopefully help with meets. The layout of the area will also help us store mats. Of course we want to keep our kids lifting weights, so the new, bigger weight room will be very helpful too,” Sawner said.

The construction will directly impact the players, and sophomore Dallas Robinson says that it will drastically change the practices.

“[The new room] is a lot bigger, so that will help the coaches be able to make better practices and workouts.” Robinson said.

As for this season, Sawner has high expectations for the team.

“Of course we always want to win state. Last year, we had seven State qualifiers which was great, so hopefully we can build off that. We ha

ve a good group of sophomores who will be the core of the team, and it all depends on how we can collectively develop,” Sawner said.

The first practice of this season was Nov. 12 after school.