Senior Luke Hornburg is a wrestler who has been in the program since his time at Westminster started in seventh grade. He has brought so much success to the wrestling program and has been a major influence for the team. We asked JD Perona how Luke was as a teammate and how his work ethic was, “ Luke began wrestling in 7th grade.  I had the privilege of coaching him in 7th and in 8th grade.  It was awesome to see him learn and grow and really begin to love wrestling.  He was a smart wrestler and quickly picked up on the techniques and strategies.  He worked hard every practice and was focused on learning and getting better.  He was fun to coach.  He was also, and is still, a great teammate.  He treats everyone with great respect, encourages his teammates, and has fun with them.  I often get to wrestle against some of the middle school wrestlers and Luke was definitely the strongest wrestler I’ve gone against as a middle school coach.” Luke has grown as a student, athlete and a person. He demonstrates what it means to be a wrestler at Westminster. 

Luke raised a high bar for his fellow wrestlers and he makes sure everyone on the team is working hard. Even in middle school Luke brought it to other wrestlers.  We asked Tim Muehleisen the impact Luke brought on the team and the program back in his middle school and today, “Luke has done a great job of being motivated and staying hard at work. He certainly sets a culture of hard work and has for a long time- he’s really doing a great job of teaching the younger kids what to do to be great at this!” Luke sets the bar high for his teammates and wants the best from them. He expects people to come to practices ready to play and give it there all. 

This past event Luke finished first in his weight class, pinning his opponents to the mat. Luke demonstrates how hard work and dedication pulls off in the sport. We asked Luke how he felt after winning first place, “Good way to start the season, can’t wait to continue getting better and bring more medals home.” Luke is looking to continue his dominance on the mat and grow Westminsters wrestling team. He hopes to bring a state championship back to Westminster as his final victory. Luke’s next meet is in the Sam Richards Duel on December 20-21.