Eli Loyd was left hungry for a state championship after last year’s defeat, but this year he came back in a lighter weight class and ready to wrestle. All his hard work paid off leaving Loyd as a state champion.
Loyd has been wrestling since he was four years old, and winning state was just one of his many goals as a wrestler. One of Loyd’s larger goals to be nationally ranked, “winning state was a good feeling, but my goal of being nationally ranked makes it only a checkpoint.”
Head wrestling coach, Jacob Larsen, believes Loyd can have another successful season next year. “Eli will have to continue to work towards that goal to be a two time state champion. He has all of the tools needed. He will need to keep his mindset straight as he moves into his senior year,” he said.
Loyd finished this season 49-3 with 28 pins, 3 technical falls, and 2 major decisions. Overall, Loyd’s record is 149-19 with 90 pins, 9 technical falls, and 5 major decisions. “With his current 149 wins, it puts Loyd on track to possibly earn 200 wins,” said Larsen.
If Loyd achieves 200 wins, he would break the school record of 186 wins held by Travis Willers. This was also a record breaking season for Loyd; he broke the school’s record for fastest pin timing at 0.06 seconds. This record was previously held by Matt Theone with a time of 0.07 seconds. Loyd also holds the record for the most falls and pins.
If Loyd makes it back to the state tournament next season and lands a spot on the podium, he would be the second person in the schools history to be a four time medalist.
Along with winning state, Loyd also earned his second Mississippi Athletic Conference (MAC) champion title. This season, Eli was awarded first team MAC and first team all-state.
With Loyd being a junior, he only has one season left of high school wrestling, but there are still so many big opportunities for his wrestling career. Loyd has a bright future ahead of him.
Even though this season is over, Loyd will be back next year ready to crush more records and take another step in his wrestling career, be sure to check out Loyd and the rest of the wrestlers next season.
