Wrestling - Coaches lead wrestlers for second season

The River Valley High School wrestling team will be led for the second year by co-head coaches Dan Machovec and T. J. Wunnicke, with Hunter Dischler as assistant coach. Last year River Valley sent five wrestlers to conference, three of whom went on to regionals. 2020 saw the graduation of three key wrestlers: Bryce Their, Hayden Bowell, and Haydn Walsh. Returning letter winners this year include: Braden Prochaska, Cole White, Landon Radtke, Jimmy Jennings, Keeghan Kjos, Logan Tonstad, Jackson Gilbert, and Jacob Bindl. Coaches Machovec and Wunnicke are looking to the team as a whole being coachable as the team’s greatest strength this year.  “We have had the luxury of teaching all of them (the wrestlers) in the classroom and know that they will work hard for us in practice,” said Machovec. “We have some new faces added to the team this year and we are looking forward to coaching them and having been a part of our program,” continued Machovec.  When asked about what needs improvement within the team the coaches answered with one word: aggressiveness. “We want our wrestlers to attack their opponents more in matches,” said Machovec. “We are hoping that they gain the confidence to do so early on and build on that momentum throughout the season.” This year in particular has some unique circumstances and hurdles to the team. “Another big thing about this team is no one has complained about the guidelines or expectations,” said Machovec. “Our wrestlers are just happy to be able to compete. That has been a huge motivator for them. They are already overcoming adversity early this season.” Looking to this year the River Valley wrestlers are hoping to build on the solid foundation that was set last year. “This year the success might not show right away, but we will know if it was successful a couple years from now,” said Machovec.