The competition is the stiffest they will have seen, and the targets pasted on more than a dozen wrestlers loom even larger as Tennessee’s high school state championships begin a three-day stand Thursday in Franklin.
Baylor senior Ryan Parker doesn’t dwell on being the target or the future competition, although he is 48-0 and also seeking to become the state’s 12th wrestler to attain at least four individual championships.
“It’s an honor to be undefeated, but it’s also like a curse. You always have that on your back,” said Parker, the nation’s 19th-ranked 195-pounder. “It freaks me out more than it makes me happy.”
His approach or that of other wrestling Top Guns never changes.
“It doesn’t matter – record or reputation. I go out with the same frame of mind for every match,” said Parker, who has signed to play football for Army. “I want to beat the living daylights out of whomever I happen to be wrestling.”