Notre Dame seniors see wrestling program grow with them

When Sam Criddle, Caleb Klipfel, and Cole Williams were freshmen on the Notre Dame wrestling team, they were among the few and the proud.

Now, they celebrate their senior night along with Parker McGee, leading a group of 18 Bulldogs in a quad-meet on Thursday, Dec. 12, at Notre Dame High School.

As they grew, the wrestling program grew with them.

"It's been really cool to see it grow this much because as a freshman, I never thought that it would be this big," Criddle said. "I always thought when it went down to my senior year, it's just going to be me and Caleb and Cole and maybe a handful of other kids that done it. But I'm really impressed to see this growing since our coach (Garrett Watson) is now a teacher here at school, it's helped a lot."

The Bulldogs wrestled Dexter, Herculaneum, and first-year program Kelly during the quad-meet. Criddle capped off his night with a 30-second pin against Kelly's Colton Uhrhan.

"I do like having the opportunity to wrestle three times in my senior night, and giving my parents and all my teammates and the rest of the crowd a good opportunity to see what I've done," Criddle said.

A couple of years ago, Criddle was one of five Notre Dame wrestlers who qualified for the Class 1 state tournament. They had only six male wrestlers and a pair of females at the time and took pride in having quality wrestlers while not having quantity. Criddle missed out on the state tournament last year but Klipfel managed to qualify for the state his junior year.

Notre Dame now has the quantity and is striving for the quality to match up. Williams argued that the roster is larger because the standard of intensity in the practice room has gone down since his underclassmen years.

"I feel like Coach (Watson) has really made it less of a challenge over the years," Williams said. "It's just a lot more people than it used to be but we don't really get pushed as hard. So I feel like we got a bigger roster, but our roster is not as conditioned."

Williams also scored a pin against Kelly in less than a minute, and previously scored a third-place finish at the Westminster Tournament on Dec. 7. Williams recognizes that the duty falls on the seniors to maintain the standard and get their teammates to their level.

'It's partially our responsibility to get them up to that level," Willaims said. "But, I mean, there's only so much we can do."

With high numbers, it becomes extra challenging when leading the team also means keeping some of the underclassmen at bay during wrestle-offs.

"I have to be able to keep my varsity spot up. But no matter what, I still enjoy it," Criddle said. "I have to realize that people are looking up to me now, so there's a little pressure on that side, but I know my teammates are always behind me, and they're always there for me. Being a senior is kind of a dream type thing because it's my last year."

One new aspect of the team that Criddle enjoys most this year is the diversity of his teammates.

"We have so many different types of kids from all sorts of life," Criddle said.

The seniors don't have to lead alone. As young as the program seems, its legacy is a persistent spirit that permeates during home meets and beyond. Owen Dowdy, who was one of the first-ever wrestlers in school history to earn a state medal, and Ethan Jackson, who established a constant presence at the state tournament as well, can be seen coaching the current crop during meets. However, for Jackson, it's more in an official capacity.

With the added numbers, Notre Dame has moved up to Class 2 with Dexter and Kennett. Still, Criddle is confident in the team potentially placing in the Class 2 District 1 Tournament in February.

"We have a real strong team," Criddle said. "We all push each other real good. I think we have a good shot at possibly getting a district metal as a team."