Edgewood High School, El Corral, 2014

Description:	//iior Dillon Deckardsconstant chest pains andshortness of breath werentenough to keep him away fromwhere his heart was mostcontent. In the summer beforeDillon junior year, he wasdiagnosed withSupraventricularTachycardia: acondition in whichthe electrical wavesin the heart cause itto beat irregularly.His symptoms weresmall but if notproperly taken careof couldve becomelife threatening. Returning fromsurgery, Dillon was strongerthan everIts pretty cool [being acaptain] knowing Im part of the reasoneveryone works so hard, Dillon said.As a senior and a 3-year captain,Dillon had the entire team\ looking up to him, but hehad a special bond with a113-pound wrestler,freshman CarsonDeckard. Throughout theyear, Dillon fullfilled hiscaptain duties along withthe duties as a big brother.With Dillons unconditionalsupport, Carson placed atWIC, sectionals, regionals andadvanced to semi-state.Dillons given me many goals to setand try to reach. He has given me apath to show what ourfamily can do. Carson said.Not only do these boysshare a sport with eachother, their father, MartyDeckard has been thereevery step of the way as theassistant head coach.I have seen a change inthe bond of theirbrotherhood just fromwrestling this year. Dillonand I are so proud ofeverything Carson hasaccomplished, Marty said.Years a CoachCoach Greg Ratliff has been theEdgewood High School wrestling coach forthe past three years but with 10 years of wrestling experience, hasmade the wrestling program bigger than ever before. Ratliff took theboys to team-bonding activities like Rock Climbing, junior highmeets, dodgeball tournaments and even a few IU meets to makethe team stronger as a whole and, in turn, stronger individualwrestlers.My favorite part of coaching is watching a kid develop to makehis own identity,Ratliff said.As a coach, Ratliff set high but achievable standards for histeam. When he was first asked to be the head coach, Ratliff had aplan. He wanted to take a smaller school like Edgewood and give ita big-school mentality. He wanted to be able to compete and winagainst bigger wrestling schools.Anybody can win with a big school. I thought it would be reallycool to win with a small school, Ratliff said.Coach Ratliffs expectations havent fully been met despite histeams 12th-place finish in the state.It was our first time ever placing at state. It was great for usbecause it gives us something to build on, building blocks forour future. It takes more than one wrestler to do well, to placehigh in the state, Ratliff said1. Junior Cordell Houghton gets the reversal against Bloomington North.2. Freshman Daniel Bradburn blocks a Jaguar takedown. 5. Junior Cody uaunt pins at Zdi) pounds.3. Senior Michael Houghton fights for an escape. 6. Senior Logan Staley reverses and pins against North.4-Freshmen David Wilson chooses top in the 2nd period. 7. Junior David Slushy Hannah plans his attacf
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-edgewood/id/8039
Collection:	Edgewood High School

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