For most EHS sports, losing isn’t a common occurrence and that is nothing but the truth when it comes to this year’s wrestling team. But when O’Fallon versed the Tigers at home on Jan. 4, the Tigers were in for a tough meet.

So far in the season, the Tigers are undefeated within the Southwestern Conference (SWC) and have had most most of their wins come easily to them.

But when O’Fallon arrived, the Tigers’ most nerve-racking meet followed them.

According to senior Benjamin Schlueter, the Tigers knew that this meet was not going to be an easy win.

“No match is easy,” Schlueter said. “But I think O’Fallon just had more of a full lineup and had more wrestlers with a lot of varsity experience.”

And it all came down to sophomore, heavyweight wrestler Josh Anderson.

“I knew it was close,” Anderson said. “(But) after seeing the time and being down 3-0, I knew that it was crucial that I was able to get a takedown.”

But luckily for the Tigers, Anderson was able to persevere and came out with a winning pin to settle the score at 39-31 and continue their undefeated SWC record of 4-0.

“When we won, (the crowd) stood up and started cheering for the Tigers,” senior Kaitlyn Smith said. “The whole team was jumping up and down screaming which made it even better to see how excited our team was to win.”

And now with only three meets left in the season, the Tigers are only one step closer to being the SWC champions; Anderson is looking toward the big goal.

“(I hope) to help my teammates win another Southwestern Conference title through hard work and discipline,” Anderson said, “and to ultimately prepare myself and my team to compete in state competition.”