It’s been a long time in the making, and the time to shine has finally arrived.

After years of vision, planning and execution to add a wrestling program at Frenship High School, the first-year Tiger wrestling team is set to host their first meet in school history Tuesday when FHS battles tradition-rich Amarillo Palo Duro.

For Frenship Head Wrestling Coach Clint Wood, a 26-year veteran of coaching wrestling, this is a day he’s happy to see for his Tiger athletes.

“This has been very cool and exciting,” Wood said. “I have started a large school program before, and to see the growth and the eye-opening moments in an athlete is priceless. Wrestling makes them a better athlete that carries over to other sports and provides a platform of skills that cannot be found in any other sport.”

On Tuesday, the “Frenship Tiger Grapplers” as Coach Wood likes to call his team and Palo Duro will compete beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the FHS Ninth Grade Center gym. The girls will start the match followed by the guys. The public is invited to attend.

In January, FISD announced the addition of wrestling as a new athletic program beginning in 2018-2019. Coach Wood, who has previously coached wrestling in Kansas, Oklahoma, Keller and most recently in Pampa the previous five years, jumped on the chance to begin the program at FHS. Since the start of the year, he’s admired this new crop of athletes and their dedication to the new sport.

“The kids’ response has been great!” he added. “They come to practice excited to learn something new every day. We continually have over 60 guys and girls attending practice daily.

“The first few months have been awesome. In October we had voluntary practice and had over 50 show up two times a week. We are now entering our competition schedule and they are very impressive on the mat. We’ve received numerous compliments from coaches and officials on our competitiveness.”

And for the common person who may be a novice in the sport of wrestling, Wood describes a match as a must-see and adds words like “fast paced, aggressive and technical.

“There is nothing like it. Six minutes of two intense, highly trained and motivated athletes bent on rendering the other incapable of moving. Try holding a human down and not letting them move. Not an easy task!”

“We would love to see the community come out and support our young men and women in the first ever home dual in Frenship HS history.”