After losing Justin Pehrson as hawk wrestling head coach, Coach Justin Lineberry from Pocatello stepped up to the plate to rebuild the wrestling program. After having a small team last year with a temporary coach, they were able to find a permanent coach and crew of 40 kids willing to put in the work. Within those 40 kids, some rock stars are representing canyon ridge well. Just in the lower class, we have Behdad Ebadeh Ahwazi, a freshman, started wrestling, “… in the 7th grade, so this would be my 3rd year wrestling”. Behdad is already on varsity as a freshman! Still very early in the season, Behdad has already had many successes; he is 7 and 3 and placed 3rd at the Tim Matthews Invitational. Behdad says, “ I started wrestling when Coach Chance Requa was a substitute teacher in my P.E class, and he said we could R.K.O our opponents… so I decided to try it because it sounded fun.” After hearing this, I asked if he was enjoying it and what exactly he was enjoying. He told me, “I enjoy wrestling because if you lose, it’s because of yourself. You can’t blame others. The only way to get better is to practice, so it’s fun to win and get cheered on by your teammates”. Looks like Behdad Ebadeh Ahwazi will most likely be joining the team again next year. Another wrestler that has been showing off some fantastic skills is Kaydin Skaggs. Kaydin is a sophomore here at Canyon Ridge with a record of 3 and 3. Kaydin is on the junior varsity team. When asked when he started wrestling, he told us, “Kindergarten.” So as you can tell, he has been in the wrestling business for a long time! He explained, “ I started wrestling because of my dad.” Kaydin says, “ I enjoy wrestling because I don’t have to rely on the team. It’s one on one, so if I mess up, I’m the one to deal with it.” This sport is definitely made for self-driven individuals! As you can see, the lower classmen are killing it and showing what it means to be a river hawk! It is still very early in the season, but we are all looking forward to the rest of the season to come.