With his high school career coming to a close, Bryce Edison wanted to do everything he can to extend his season at least one more weekend. 

“This is my senior year so I wanted to go out on a bang,” Edison said. “This year, I just had the mindset that I was just going to beat everybody.”

The senior went undefeated in his 106lb weight class, clinching his first district title and earning himself a trip to Columbia for the Missouri State Wrestling Tournament, hosted by the University of Missouri. 

“I’m super excited and really happy” Edison said. “That’s what I’ve been working for because it sets me up for the finals.”

Edison improved his overall record to 31-14 on the season. Head Coach Ryan Cross knew that big things were coming from Edison this year. 

“Bryce has embraced the wrestler lifestyle and has worked hard in the off-season,” Cross said. “I think between last season and this season, he missed a week of training.”

Now it’s time to really buckle down as the state tournament looms this weekend. This is the third trip to the state tournament for Edison and he would like to change the outcome from what he has done in the past. 

“Bryce has developed a mindset that he is a senior and this is his last opportunity to bring home the hardware,” Cross said. “We always focus on our strengths but bring awareness to some of the offensive styles we may see in some of our opponents.”

His first appearance at state came as a sophomore, where he lost both his matches and as a junior, he only won one of his three battles. This year, he plans to change up his gameplan from what he did in the past.

“I’m going to try to be more on the offensive side,” Edison said. “But I’m not going to do anything silly to cost me any points and focus it with one match at a time.”

As for the rest of the team, Cross sent ten wrestlers to districts but only five had the chance to clinch a spot in the state tournament field. 

Although none of them could capitalize, the future looks bright for the Warrenton wrestling program.

“Overall, we are a young team with a lot of promise for the years to come,” Cross said. “We had some great opportunities for kids to punch their ticket to state but came up short.”

The state tournament will be held at Mizzou Arena in Columbia starting on Thursday, while both team and individual state champions will be declared on Saturday. Edison’s first match is scheduled shortly after 5 p.m. on Thursday night.

If he wins, he will advance to Friday’s action.