By Hayden Swope

Andover’s Coulter Rieschick has wrestled since he was little, but it wasn’t until recently that the sport really became important to him.

“I started wrestling when I was about four or five and was pretty successful from the start,” Rieschick said. “I think that wrestling has always been my favorite sport but it wasn’t until sophomore year of high school that I really started to love the sport. Not only was I on a great team I had great coaches and family that pushed me to get better. Everyone can go on about why their team is the best but an individual doesn’t make a team. When we are in practice we are always pushing each other.”

Always striving to be the best athlete he can be, Rieschick only recently saw all his hard work paying off.

“My most memorable moment this year is probably at the Augusta invitational,” Rieschick said. “In the finals I wrestled the number one in the state for my weight class and it was there that I saw how close I am to the top.”

After seeing his abilities at past tournaments, Rieschick is hopeful that he’ll make another run at state this year.

“One of my goals this year is to do better at state,” Rieschick said. “I placed last year, this year I really want to be at the top. To get there I need to improve everything or as my coaches may say it’s back to the drawing board.”