Staples-Motley’s Renovated Wrestling Room Highlights Program History

Last season, Staples-Motley wrestling won their first team state title in 40 years, and this summer, the wrestling room got a renovation. As it happens, it’s nothing more than impeccable timing, but the new room also features a poster project from the Staples-Motley Athletic Hall of Fame that highlights the wrestling program’s history, something that could inspire the next generation of Cardinal athletes.

The updates, which were unveiled last week, have been a long time coming for the eight-time state champion program.

“The legacy of our program goes back to the late ’50s, early ’60s, and sometimes if you don’t recall it, you tend to forget it,” said Staples-Motley Athletic Hall of Fame Chairman Mike Hajek.

The poster project features 32 x 32 inch hardboard posters of 20 of the Cardinals’ past individual state wrestling champions, as well as posters highlighting each of the school’s team championship rosters.

“The generation today are pretty excited about the success the wrestling program’s had,” Hajek stated. “You almost want to say, ‘You haven’t seen nothing yet.’ When we won six state championships in a row, and then seven, there was a frenzy in town.”

“I got a lot of family that was on other teams,” said Staples-Motley boys’ 114 lb. wrestler Caden Kramer. “A grandpa that a runner-up, a grandpa that was also a state champ.”

The goal of the wrestling room poster project is to inspire the next generation of wrestlers, highlighting what is required for the next men up to continue adding to the program’s illustrious history.

“It shows that we have a lot of history and that this program means a lot,” Kramer said. “It should be motivation for those that are in here.”

“Everybody has heroes,” Hajek added. “For these kids to have a hero to look up to, it really does increase the commitment and their desire to be like that.”

And for the current Cardinal wrestling team, who took out United North Central, Jackson County Central, and Chatfield by a combined score of 148-27 on the way to the Class A state championship, seeing what the Hall of Fame is doing to highlight the program is upping their excitement to get back on the mats this winter.

“It was really fun down there,” reflected Kramer. “It is a lot of motivation. We get to know that we did that, know that we can keep on going on with that as we keep practicing, getting better.”

While Cardinal wrestling makes up a big chunk of the school’s athletic success, Staples-Motley has 94 state-level trophies, as well as 75 individual state champions, across all sports.