Emily Leighton | Staff Writer
On Friday, Feb 12th, the Buena Vista University’s (BVU) wrestling team held a meet and a dinner here on campus against Luther.
The Dinner and a Show idea was a new idea that Coach Jeff Breese had come up with in the hopes that more people would come to watch the matches and enjoy the night.
“From a coaches’ perspective, we think the Dinner and a Show was a success. We nearly sold out the event and it created a buzz around our program. Our coaching staff hopes that everyone enjoyed it and we plan to do an even better version of Dinner and a Show next season for Senior Night. We want this to be our Senior Night tradition,” Breese said.
With the thoughts of this Dinner and a Show possibly becoming a tradition, it seems like the wrestling team is trying to make their program grow and have their traditions followed.
Senior wrestler, Gable Bonner had a few things to say about the night and the event.
“I think it went really well. I heard a lot of good things from many people. I think it was a great idea. The only thing is, I wish we as a team would have put on a better show, and yes I think they should definitely do it again,” Bonner said.
Even though the night was a success with the dinner, the team wasn’t impressed with their own personal performances. The season overall was one that was filled with growth and personal accomplishments.
“Our team has shown a lot of heart throughout the season. With only two seniors, a lot of injuries and only three starters that had seen significant time prior to this year; we have proven we can battle with the elite teams in the conference. When given the opportunity to see competition outside of the top 25 we have been very successful. Making that jump next season to the upper tier of teams is very important for us next season,” Breese said.
Bonner being a senior, hopes to see this team grow and be successful throughout the next few seasons. He did his best to help them on their way.
“We are a really small and young team so we lack depth and experience. So for most of the season we have focused more on individual success. Individually we have had our ups and downs. Guys have had their moments of excellence, but have also had their blunders. Throughout the season we have made some great improvements and hopefully it will show next week at regionals,” Bonner said.
The Beavers will take the mat again at the NCAA Regional Tournament hosted in Dubuque on Feb 28th.