Michael Pineda
Caleb Atchley comes from a family of wrestlers. His father wrestled and his two brothers are all members of the varsity wrestling team. So when he broke his arm in the last football game of the season, the four-year letterman was naturally concerned about how it would affect his senior season.
“At first, I was real worried that I would miss wrestling season,” Atchley said. “They told me it was fractured when I went to the hospital but when I went to the bone doctor, they said that it was broken. It was a real roller coaster ride.”
The months have passed by and Atchley once again finds himself in the Duncan line-up as the Demons prepare for dual state and regionals. Atchley has posted a 4-4 record since he came back but has already reached the biggest goal he set this season, wrestling.
“The happy ending for me is that I am back,” Atchley said. “I am doing this to finish my senior season. I have been doing some extra stuff outside of practice and now that the year is winding down, I will probably get more running in.”
Running was something that was not in Atchley’s vocabulary during the month that he was in a cast. Exercise was limited to some work on the stationary bike as constant movement rubbed his skin raw in the cast. And there was also some other issues that he had to deal with.
“The cast stunk,” Atchley said. “I put a lot of Febreze on it. When they took it off, all the cotton had been pulled out because that is what made it stink. It was hard to go on a date.”
Once the cast came off, Atchley was able to get more work in. He became adept at swimming and did some light weightlifting. Once he was given
clearance to wrestle, Atchley gained a measure of confidence in his first match.
“I took on a ranked guy in my first match and I was able to hang with him pretty good,” Atchley said. “I was taking him down but we would go out of bounds. I was surprised how good I did after the match. There are guys I can still whoop up on because wrestling is about technique and leverage.”
The season, much like his rehab, has also had a roller coaster feel to it. During his first home match against Lawton High and Altus, Atchley did not compete as well as he would have liked, leaving room for improvement.
“I didn’t get nervous until my first home match when I completely choked,” Atchley said. “I think I was just nervous because it was my first home dual of my senior year.”
With the most important part of the season still ahead, Atchley has time to get on track and possibly write another happy ending to his senior year.
