The Lincoln Southeast (LSE) Wrestling team took on a number of schools in a dual tournament on Jan. 30. Different from normal tournament brackets, in dual tournaments teams place by attaining points. Wrestlers from all 14 weight classes wrestle each other, and points are awarded to the winning wrestler’s team based on the outcome of the match. 

In the tournament, the Knights went 3-5, winning against Gretna, Bryan and Papillon South. 

“The season is going really well,” Varsity wrestler Caleb Durr (10) said. “We are coming together and pulling in tough wins against really good opponents.”

Durr endured many challenges and hard work leading up to the outcome of this tournament. 

A concussion early in the season kept Durr out for four weeks of the wrestling season. During that time period Durr said that he had a lot of worries about his ability to defeat his opponents who had been wrestling those four weeks that he was off.

Wrestlers have to go through intense preparations prior to a meet, mainly with the goal of achieving the lowest weight possible. This can range from restrictive dieting to dehydration. With the additional struggle of just returning from a concussion, Durr has had to increase the severity of these preparations. 

“I talked to Coach [Ryan Bauer] and he said [to do] simple workouts to get my lungs back in shape. The other thing he told me was to really start looking and seeing what I was eating. I came up with a diet I eat everyday. Breakfast: a piece of fruit and a granola bar, for lunch: craisins and almonds, then for dinner: chicken and some vegetables. It doesn’t sound like much but it keeps me moving during the day and eventually I saw my weight go down,” Durr said.  

Over the course of the tournament, Durr said that he attained a minor injury, but he didn’t let it stop him. 

“I pinched a nerve in my arm and Coach asked me to take the rest of the day off and I told him no,” Durr said. “One because, when it comes time for state, I am not going to let a minor injury keep me from placing–which had been my goal for this season–and second, because I needed those hard matches to feel what it’s like to wrestle with an injury.” 

Durr says that he ended up losing the rest of his matches because of his injury, but he learned something from it. 

“Those little injuries can’t stop you from achieving your goals no matter what. You have to run through the wall to achieve what you want,” he said. 

Durr is going to continue working hard to end his season strong and accomplish his goals. 

“I put so much blood, sweat and tears into this season already and I [won’t] let anything stop me,” Durr said.