Micah Felton has been named the MVP of the 2013-2014 Blue Jay wrestling team. He finished in the 170 pound weight class competition in the Class 6A State Wrestling Tournament.

That honor was announced by Coach Bob Laster Friday night.

Laster said Gavin Kroeger ( 132 pounds ) was the Most Improved Wrestler for the Blue Jays. The co-captains for next season will be Gabe Padilla and Jake Bazan.  JV Kingpin honors went to Keegan Hernandez, who had a total of seven pins. There was a tie for the Varsity Kingpin honor between Kayne Hutchinson and Devonte Wilson, who both finished with 28 pins.

The wrestling team held their postseason banquet Friday night, with Laster noting Junction City captured the Centennial League championship for a second consecutive season, went undefeated in dual matches, and seventh in the Class 6A State Tournament.  The Blue Jays finished third in their 6A Regional Tournament.

Laster noted this wrestling team faced adversity this past season, including the fact they never had the same lineup, but said the team overcame the obstacles, and that’s what made this Blue Jay squad strong this year.  He said it was the best freshman group he had coached in awhile, and probably the best group of seniors he’d had. Laster observed at the Centennial League Tournament half the lineup for Junction City consisted of freshmen.

“Nobody can take your pride away from you. We know what we did so nobody can take that away. So what I’m saying for next year, we have an opportunity next year to win it all. We have a total of eight guys coming back that went to state. Five of those eight guys are state medalists. So, things look bright for Junction City next year. We were real close to winning state this year, and I’m definitely putting a lot of pressure on these guys that we can do it next year for sure.”

Laster stressed the importance of offseason work in wrestling and the weight room as necessary factors in development of skills.