EudoraNews.com

One example of the attitude that coach Bill DeWitt wants all of his wrestlers to possess is reflected by Dalton Hladkey's piercings - or lack thereof on the day of a meet.

A sophomore on DeWitt's squad, Hladkey has no problem removing the multiple piercings in his ears as he attends classes on days of tournaments or duals.

"Wrestling has been good for him," DeWitt said. "I'm not a big fan of piercings, I'm kind of old school in that regard. I don't allow any jewelry on meet days. He didn't have any problem with that, and that's the kind of attitude we want."

Hladkey is new to the Eudora school district. He attended Holton and Washburn Rural previously, and as a result of his mother's desire to begin nursing school in Kansas City coupled with her affection for small towns, Eudora seemed like a good fit for them. They made the move in May.

"He loves Eudora," Hladkey's mother, Ange Smith said. "We both do."

Asked if his participation in athletics has eased the transition, Smith didn't attribute Hladkey's success in the move solely to athletics.

"He's a very friendly kid," Smith said. "He's always made new friends quickly."

"Wrestling is pretty important to me, it's my favorite sport," Hladkey said. "And I did make some new friends on the team."

That importance has been reflected on the mat. Hladkey is currently 5-2 going into duals Thursday in Ottawa against Gardner, Wellsville and Ottawa.

He was selected as wrestler of the week by DeWitt in the first week of the season for winning his match at the team's opening dual with Santa Fe Trail and going undefeated, 4-0 at a tough Tilton-Worley Invitation at Atchison County.

Then at Eudora's home tournament, the Tournament of Champions, Hladkey stumbled, dropping two tough matches in the round-robin phase of the tournament. But at this point in the season, he's 5-2 with three pins.

It's a record plenty of sophomores being broken into the varsity squad would love to trade for.

"He's got a chance to wrestle in college if he wants to," DeWitt said. "I'll depend on him in the next couple of years for leadership. We're graduating a big class of seniors this year and we'll be pretty young, so he'll have to step up a little bit as a junior and be a leader for that squad."

Hladkey, who wrestles at 125 for Eudora's team, hopes to make it to state this year. But as for team goals, he just wants to contribute and make the team better.

"Travis (Clarke) and Evan (Meyers) are probably the two biggest leaders," Hladkey said. "I learn a lot watching them."

Off the mat Hladkey enjoys the same things as other teenagers but also seems to have above average aspirations for life after high school and college wrestling.

He got an Xbox 360 for Christmas and new shoes and clothes. But he's also a straight A student who wants to be a surgeon. He hangs out with fellow wrestlers Jackson Wiley and Carlos Canizales, and together they like shooting hoops or anything else that involves playing sports outside.

Another positive for the Eudora wrestling team is that Hladkey, unlike many on the team, has wrestled in the summertime since the time he was in seventh grade.

That's something that DeWitt has been trying to get more participation with. Wrestling year-round, or participating in any sport year-round is naturally going to make you better at that sport.

"He's really got a chance to be pretty good," DeWitt said. "And wrestling has been excellent for him because any kid in a new situation, when you're thrown in with 30 other people that go through the fires everyday together, you're going to build a network of people."

"I'm pretty proud of him," Smith said.