Maybe South Effingham High School wrestling coach Christopher Bringer is being a bit too honest about his squad.
“We are the most unintimidating team you can ever see,” he said. “Every team we wrestle looks like they’re tougher and better than us.”
It would be a mistake – a big mistake -- to judge the Mustangs on a first glance when they walk into the gym. They have shown the mental and skill capabilities to beat the competition, to the tune of a 31-0 dual meet record to start the 2023-24 season.
SEHS has captured team titles at the Harlem Invitational, Blue Line Duals, So’Ham Turkey Duals, Creekview Invitational, Rebel Invitational and the St. Nick Duals.
Over the school winter break, the Mustangs traveled to Kissimmee, Fla., for a tournament featuring some of the nation’s better programs. Every match was “super, super tough,” said Bringer, who thought his wrestlers won about half their matches.
He wanted them to be tested, humbled a bit and realize that while they’re pretty good, there is a lot more work to be done. They wrestled hard, had a good time and bonded.
“I’ve just taught the kids: It’s not about the weight room,” Bringer said. “It’s about work ethic and attitude. If you work hard and have the right attitude to stay focused, good things will happen. That happened last year, and I think we’re on our way to having it happen this year as well.”
Last season, South Effingham won the school’s first team state crown, the GHSA Class 6A dual state title, then finished second in the traditional state championship.
Bringer thought that team was talented from top to bottom, having the depth to compete for a dual state title even if it didn’t have wrestlers expected to contend for individual state honors. Except one did, heavyweight Ashton Anderson, who as a junior exceeded expectations and won at 285 pounds at the traditional meet.
“That motivates us knowing that if one of our teammates can do it, we can definitely do it,” said junior Moose Bringer, 40-0 this season, including 3-0 at the Kissimmee tournament before he had to withdraw because of a knee issue.
Coach Bringer has two sons on the team, Moose at 157 pounds and Bear, a freshman at 138 who also has 40 wins so far this season. The brothers hadn’t been on the same team since middle school as sixth- and eighth-graders.
“This year has been super, super special. I’ve been waiting for this year for a while,” said Coach Bringer, who has four sons, including two in their 20s, Zach and Yhsaac, who also wrestled.
He said Moose and Bear – they’ve been called by their nicknames (instead of Brandon and Brayden) basically since birth – have different personalities and wrestling styles, and both are very respected by the team. Moose has been a team co-captain since his freshman year.
“Their maturity is amazing,” the coach said. “Moose or Bear will go out there, no matter what the tournament is, who they’re wrestling, they’re really not fazed by it because they’ve been wrestling their whole lives. They have a really good attitude, whether they win over lose, and who they’re going to wrestle. It’s fun for my wife and me to watch.”
They’re not the only ones having fun. The Mustangs are excelling at all 14 weight classes -- from 106-pound junior Adam Hardeman to heavyweight Anderson. Moose Bringer and fellow co-captains -- seniors Eli Wood (144 pounds), Gannon White (150) and DaMyon McFarlin (190) -- lead the way. Other impactful seniors include Jacob Stellhorn (132), Bobby Craun (165) and CJ Lord (215).
“We have a good camaraderie. We have a lot of experience on this team,” said Gannon, who has a 34-4 record. “We have a ton of seniors that push everybody and get everybody better. It’s just a really good team right now.”
Coach Bringer calls White, who was a standout running back on the SEHS football squad, the “spirit animal” or motivator of the wrestling team.
“If we’re not wrestling really good, you can count on him to go out, give 110 percent no matter how he’s feeling,” the coach said. “His style of wrestling is a little wilder than most. It’s inspiring to a lot of people watching it because it’s just fun to watch. And he’s just got this personality that is contagious to our team.”
White won’t allow teammates to get down emotionally.
“I’m just thinking whenever the next match comes, I tell everybody to get up and start getting crazy,” White said. “That’s kind of what you need to do. Wrestling is all about emotion. Once you get fired up, everybody else will get fired up.”
Coach Bringer was a little wary of how the team, which graduated some key seniors, would respond as defending state champion. He told them no one likes braggarts, that they should wrestle hard, be respectful and have fun.
“We’ll do all the right things we got to do, and I think we’ll be looking good in January,” he said of the dual and later traditional postseason tournaments, starting with SEHS hosting a duals regional on Jan. 12.
He also saw an opportunity for team bonding last June, when Moose had his 16th birthday. The family invited the team as well as other kids to a day of paintball and chicken wings.
“We had 28 kids. We did 400 chicken wings,” Bringer recalled. “We don’t have a lot of big kids. We have like five 106-pounders. Those kids, they all eat like crazy.”
Moose Bringer, who moved up in weight class from 132 last season, helped his cause that day with chicken wing consumption.
“I definitely had the most out of everyone; I had at least 20. I was so hungry,” said Moose, who feels stronger, faster and “just overall better” at 157 pounds, so competition beware.
“It cost me a lot of money,” his father said, “but it was probably one of the most memorable things that we did, having everyone out there having fun together. It was really cool.”
He said it is especially meaningful, in his fifth season as SEHS head coach, to coach this senior class after watching them develop over the years.
“This (entire) team is super, super close,” Coach Bringer said. “This will be a special year, whether we win it all or not. There’s going to be a lot of learning that’s going to occur that’s going to help these kids after (finishing) school, which I’m really serious about focusing on, making sure these kids are prepared when they leave here to be an adult. It’s just a great group of kids.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Birk Herrath Photography
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