James Hopkins believed he should have moved on to regionals last season, but the freshman fell short with a sixth-place finish at the District 11 Class 3A individual districts in the 215-pound bracket.

This season, Hopkins dropped down to 189, and the transition has been a favorable one.

Recently, he placed fourth last weekend at Freedom High School. He will participate at regionals this weekend again at Freedom.

Hopkins will enter with an optimistic outlook and an overall 31-7 record.

“It means a lot to me especially coming up short of moving on last year,” stated Hopkins. I was very confident this season about being able to move on (beyond districts). There really wasn’t a match this season that boosted my confidence.

“It has been more about how I feel during and after my warm-ups.”

Hopkins is one of four Zephyrs who will continue their season in regionals. He will be joined by sophomore Willmont Kai, who was third at 107; sophomore Kade Pascoe, who was fifth at 114; and junior Trokon Kai, who also was fifth at 131.

Cunningham was impressed with his wrestlers’ performances.

“James (Hopkins) had a great first day and placed fourth,” said Cunningham. “Willmont (Kai) wrestled a strong tournament and lost in the semifinals in overtime. Kade has a very strong tournament and upset the number three-seeded wrestler twice to place fifth.

“Trokon (Kai) had to beat a few kids seeded higher than him, and he lost by a point in the quarterfinals. But he wrestled back strong.”

Heading into the next round, Hopkins feels more comfortable at his current weight. Hopkins has been wrestling since the age of 10, and has encountered similar tournaments in his youth to the current ones.

“I think 189 is easier,” said Hopkins. “Last year, I weight 190 and wrestled at 215. At the beginning of the season, I weighed almost 220 and cut down to 189 because we didn’t have a 189-pounder, and the team already had depth at 215.

“My average weight is 185.”

Cunningham sees a productive future outlook for this postseason foursome. The Zephyrs placed 10th overall as a team at districts.

“The team wrestled well,” he said. “We had four guys qualify for regionals. As always, I feel we could have performed a little better at a few weights.

“All four wrestlers who advanced are underclassmen, which is good for the future.”