The Bison wrestling team finished fifth out of 13 teams at the Dean Kinley Invitational held at Cleveland Central Catholic on Dec. 8.

Senior Paul Jacobs won first place in the 132 lb. weight class, Freshman Eisa Texiera won second in the 126 lb. weight class, senior Michael Schmidt won third place in 138 lb. weight class, Zach Kudroff won fourth in 120 lb. weight class and junior James Flowers placed fourth in 170 lb. weight class.

Senior Michael Schmidt, who is beginning his fourth year on the team, has big goals for the season.

“I want to place at state this year, so I’m giving it my all, getting extra workouts in and trying to surpass myself,” he said.

Schmidt and his coaches are aiming for states.

“My coaches and I set the goal of making it to states, but I want to be a state placer and possibly finalist this year.”

Schmidt also plays soccer, and the move from soccer to wrestling gives him a jump on conditioning.

“In soccer we would run constantly, which got me in pretty good shape for the season, but nothing prepares you for wrestling like wrestling.”

Head coach Jimmy Greenwood has been coaching at Beachwood for three years.

“We have a lot of work to do as a team,” he said. “It is extremely hard to replace Taylor Balazs, but my upperclassmen are stepping up.”

The team retains a solid core.

“We returned five of six district qualifiers,” he said. “And we have two or three others who could advance deep in the postseason, so the future looks bright.”

Coach Greenwood emphasizes the importance of focus and hard work.

“[The winning mindset] is to always go out there and compete as hard as you can and as smart as you can,” he said.

“Morning Workouts are the key component to success in high school wrestling, he added. “If you only do afternoon practice you’ll get passed up pretty fast by the competition.”

He also emphasizes the importance of commitment and buy-in.

“Listen to your coaches, then you get results. “You can’t compete at a high level if you don’t train at a high level.”

Coach Greenwood is confident in this year’s team.

“I think this group has a lot of potential, and the work ethic is starting to pick up,” he said. “The biggest issue right now is that my underclassmen aren’t consistent with their training, which means that they are struggling in tough matches. But the potential is there. They just have to start training like champions.”

On Thursday, the Bison face Cleveland Heights in a dual meet, and on Dec. 21 and 22 they compete at Eastlake North in the John Matteucci Memorial Classic.