First class

Twice a day for the last four years during wrestling season, Hannibal head coach Derek Greening has seen the same five faces.

Four years ago, Greening took over as head coach of the Pirates. On his inaugural roster was a group of freshmen — Jacob Janes, Blake Jarman, Bryant Ruby, Phillip Perry and Kyle Wessel.

When Greening steps into the humid wrestling room for practice, the same five kids are still there.

After countless hours of practice and long bus rides to faraway meets and tournaments, the five Hannibal seniors have stuck with the program. As a result of the work, the Pirates boost a loaded lineup that can compete with just about anyone.

The five Hannibal seniors have combined to compile a 150-28 record this season. The dominance of Janes, Jarman, Ruby, Perry and Wessel has helped the Pirates to a 6-7 record in dual meets.

On the surface, a dual record below .500 doesn’t appear to be very good. However, Hannibal routinely has five open spots in its lineup. Against a team with a full roster, the Pirates are down 30-0 before even stepping on the mat.

The smaller lineup racking up victories has made the dual wins more enjoyable for the underdog Pirates.

“It’s definitely fun,” Janes said. “It’s what hard work gets you.”

When Greening took over the Pirates, the five now-seniors were anything but raw thanks to the work the kids put up in the youth wrestling program.

“A lot of them had a lot of technique when they got to me,” Greening said. “They were coached well. We just try to expand on what they were taught — sharpen up a few things.”

For four years, the group has been teammates representing Hannibal High School. When they joined the high school team as freshmen, it wasn’t the first time the quintet has signed up to be teammates. For nearly a decade, the five-some have been together with the youth wrestling program. The bond of practicing together for that long has made the group tight.

“We’ve know each other all of our lives,” Ruby said. “We know how to push each other and push each others’ buttons, and that just makes us better.”

For this group of seniors, the achievements during meets and tournaments can be traced back to the wrestling room in Korf Gymnasium.

“Probably 99 percent of my success is because of my drill partners and my teammates,” Perry said. “You really can’t get better workout partners in the state than what we have got in this room. ...  I know me and a bunch of other guys want that State Title. We want to go out on a high note.”

Wrestlers can only get better by wrestling. The only way to know how to get out of a jam during a match is have practiced the scenario.

The five Pirates all wrestle at the lower end of the weight scale. Ruby at 130 pounds is it lightest and Perry, at 160 pounds is the heaviest. With only 30 pounds difference, Greening lets them all go at each other.

“These guys have been lucky — they’re relatively close in weight, so they can get in there and fight and scrap and brawl,” Greening said. “They get in there with someone who is the best in the weight class above them or below them."

The matches that take place in practice are often more of a challenge than in competition.

“Every time they’re wrestling a potential State placer, and some of these guys have already placed,” Greening said. “... A lot of times the competition in there is better than what they see on the mat.”

Years of constant sparring has stoked the competitive fire among the teammates. Every day a battle for bragging right takes place. Even though everyone, at one point or another, has bested the other, the constant practicing only motivates the seniors to improve.

“There’s always that pride, that ‘I should be able to beat this kid,’” Wessel said. “If he takes you down, it just makes you work harder.”

With each day the five seniors’ time as teammates is nearing an end. State finals are just two weeks away — Feb. 18 to Feb. 20 — and the seniors would like nothing better than to go out on top.

“I think we can home with some hardware as a team,” Jarman said.

Greening said if the kids work hard, they can close their careers in a fitting fashion.

“These kids all have goals set,” Greening said. “They’re all pretty high, and pretty reasonable. If each kid achieves those goals, that would a perfect end to a great run.”

The Pirates will take on Fort Zumwalt East and Warrenton today in Warrenton. Action starts at 5 p.m.