Just days before Christmas, the El Reno High School wrestling squad received an unexpected gift.

Sophomore Derek Thompson, who suffered a wrist injury early in the year, was outfitted with a soft cast and cleared to return to the mat.

“He fills a big void in the lineup. He’s going to wrestle at 160 for the rest of the year, and he’ll do a great job,” head coach Archie Randall said.

“He’s just a sophomore, but he’s a state qualifier, and he’s big as a house.”

Randall said he hopes to have Thompson back in the lineup when the Indians travel to Long Island Dec. 29-30 to compete in a tournament.

The Indians have been plagued by injuries in the first duals of the season. Chad Cradduck suffered a separated shoulder, and Josh Grube had surgery Friday to repair the meniscus in his knee. Cradduck is expected to return soon, but Grube will be unable to compete for the duration of the season.

“I have never had a season with this many injuries,” Randall said.

The Indians will practice every day through Friday. They will take two days off, Christ-mas Eve and Christmas Day, for the holiday. They will return Monday and leave for New York.

“We will be up there five days. We will practice three and wrestle two. Then we will come home and immediately start practicing, because we have a dual at home against Woodward two days later,” he said.

Randall said he expects his team to return from Long Island 5-0.

“This will be one of the strongest dual teams we’ve taken out. We have Travis Lord back after being out with a dislocated elbow, and having Thompson back is a big help,” he said.

While they are practicing, the team will focus on their bottom position technique.

“Getting falls and takedowns is icing. If you can get away on bottom, you’ll win matches. We want them to be able to do those other things and pick up bonus points, but we have to be able to win matches, and you can do that if you can get away on bottom,” he said,
“Other than that, we’ll just keep working and gelling together, and getting our technique down.”