WARDSVILLE, Mo. - For the Blair Oaks wrestling team, the program has been on a steady incline since beginning a little more than a decade ago.
"I started the program 11 years ago with just a kids club program and now we've got a great kids club going," Blair Oaks coach Tim Karsten said. "... Then we worked into becoming a good dual team where we could compete with everybody after first not having enough numbers. Then when we were able to dual real well, we became better at tournaments.
"Then last year, our goal was to bring home a state trophy and we did. This year, to be honest, we're shooting for that state championship."
The Falcons will take their first step on this year's journey when they open the season today at the Knob Noster Tournament.