Today marks a highlight of Republic’s wrestling season, when the Tigers host the Republic Invitational. But in addition to the competition, the wrestling program will also honor three seniors who have contributed to the program over the past four years.

Lance Gregory, Jake Laswell, and Hayden Puckett have been leaders on the wrestling team for more than just their senior season, according to coach Jerry Morton.

“They’re definitely the leaders on the team. They’ve been there, and they’ve been the leaders for a while,” says Morton. “It’s tough to get three guys to stick together for that long.”

Gregory, Laswell and Puckett have presided over an improvement in the program, especially this year. The team finished 7th overall out of 24 teams at Springfield’s Kinloch Classic. Laswell took first place in his weight class.

Morton says the three have pushed each other, and the younger member of the team.

“They’ve always been pretty close in weight, so they’ve always drilled with each other to help each other out,” says Morton. “They always pick up the intensity in practice for us.”

Laswell and Gregory both qualified for the state tournament last season. All three seniors, and the rest of the Tigers, are aiming for a visit to Columbia again this year, when the state tournament is held Feb. 16-18 in Columbia.