Time is winding down in the 2015 National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) season as Central’s wrestling club prepares for the final few matches of the year.

It has been a year of ups and downs for the Wildcats. A few wrestlers have been consistent in their matches, including the team point leader, Zack McCarley.

With a record of 10 wins, seven losses and a total of 43.75 points, McCarley is one of the team’s leaders, on and off the mats. He attributes his success to teammates.

“It’s a great program, and a small group of awesome wrestling partners,” McCarley said. “The only way an athlete can get better is by pushing themselves. If you want to be great you have to find a group of people willing to push you past where you’re comfortable.”

Although Central lost their matches against Washington State University (WSU) back on Nov. 15, they still had some winners at various weights. The wrestlers have continually gotten better, including co-president Andrew Huerta.

“I started off kind of slow, heavier than I should have been, but I progressively got down in weight and got faster. I have worked on the little things to get better as the season has gone on,” Huerta said.

It isn’t all about winning to these guys; it’s about getting better and making progress. McCarley’s favorite moment of his season just so happens to be a loss to a good wrestler from the University of Oregon.

“It’s funny… my favorite moment was losing to John Hatch by one point. It was a bitter loss, but at the same time I wrestled really well. I made one or two small mistakes, and when you walk away from the mat knowing that you’re going to demolish your opponent next time, you have something to look forward to.”

The NCWA Washington State Championships are right around the corner, on Feb. 15. Head coach, Erik Idler, is looking to win as much as possible, even though it is hard to win, as a team, against bigger schools with larger rosters.

Coach Idler believes WSU presents a great challenge because Central lacks a lot of weight classes.

Idler has quite the resume, as he coached Central from 1989-1998. He produced 37 All-American wrestlers. He left to coach Ellensburg High School where he was the 2008 Washington State 2A Assistant Coach of the Year.

Idler was also honored as the Regional Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2011-2012 season. He now returns to the Wildcats, hoping to restore the rich tradition that Central has of producing successful wrestlers.

“It’s fun. The guys care, here, a lot more than they do in high school, so its fun working with guys who are mature, and guys who wouldn’t be here if they didn’t care about getting better. It makes it more enjoyable for me,” Idler said.

After finishing fifth at the NCWA National tournament, and second in the Northwest Conference Championships in 2014, the wrestlers are looking to build off of that success.

Central’s wrestling team only lost two wrestlers to graduation last year, so hopes were high coming into the 2014-2015 season.

“We should be able to probably put four to five guys into the finals. Of those guys that make the finals, they all have an opportunity to win the state title. Going into this season I predicted we could be top three [in nationals],” Idler said.

Central’s wrestling club is open to all students, both male and female, and they compete against other schools in the Pacific Northwest.

“It taught me how to be punctual and on time, help others out, and stay organized,” Huerta said.