When it comes to wrestling, Ben Kriete has a theory that is basically a conviction.

“The harder worker wins,” said the Seymour junior. “I learned that many times last year. I saw it.”

For him, those are words to live by and he hopes the rest of the Owls’ young team making its seasonal debut today in a schedule change that sends them to Floyd Central (at 10 a.m.) adopts the same philosophy.

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“Wrestling is very hard,” said Kriete, who expects to grapple at 138 pounds this season after reaching the second round of regionals last season. “Its a very mentally hard, tough sport.”

New head coach Adam Wolka has some veterans and achievers like Kriete back, but overall there are numerous underclassmen seeking to rise to first string in weight classes and make their mark this season.

“We had a lot of leaders graduate,” Wolka said. “I feel we have a good group of leaders back, though.”

There are only three seniors on the Owls roster, Celeste Huddleston, Kylee Nowling and Brody Shipley.

As an optimistic way of characterizing a lack of experience in several weight classes, Wolka said, “There’s no bad habits to break.”

Junior Sam Castetter, who reached semi-state last winter, expects to wrestle at 126 or 132 pounds, perhaps the latter since he is still growing. Diet, and accompanying nutrition guidelines, is critical in wrestling to maintain weight.

Besides strength and technique, one challenge of the sport is discipline at the dinner table, and even more so between meals. What you eat is what you become, so deprivation figures into an athlete’s preparation.

“It’s harder than any other sport,” Castetter said. “It requires a whole different work ethic, stepping up every day.”

Wolka is not one to disagree. Competitive wrestling requires more from participants than just about any other sport, he believes.

“You’re making that sacrifice,” he said of choosing foods that are good for you instead of foods that may soothe you. “I can’t think of any other sport besides boxing that asks as much.”

Wolka, who was a wrestler in the heavyweight category, let himself forego that kind of restrictive dieting in recent years and found himself readopting the wrestling attitude some months ago.

“I lost 60 pounds this spring and summer,” he said.

Vigilance is critical when wielding a knife and fork. Some wrestlers sound like characters in sit-coms when they utter the cliche comment of, “I can look at food and gain weight.”

To them, that mindset seems real, not hyperbolic, especially if they are counting ounces as much as pounds.

“Wrestling is 24-7, 365 days,” Kriete said. “You definitely have to watch what you eat.”

The dietary program can sound like its all about deprivation for someone with a sweet tooth. Kriete said he eats a lot of grilled chicken, and “I love steamed carrots.”

Nowhere on the internet will you find steamed carrots on a list of tempting desserts. What does Kriete enjoy the most when he cheats a little with a treat?

“There’s nothing I really cheat on,” Kriete said.

Maybe he does not call it calorie cheating, but once in a great while Kriete might chomp on a milk chocolate bar.

“If I’m lucky, every two to three weeks,” he said. “It really is easy to gain weight. It’s super easy. I can gain eight pounds in a weekend.”

Wait. He thought of another eating flight of fancy he sometimes takes, as in “a lot of tacos.” That would be four or five at a sitting.

Castetter and Kriete sound much like coaches when they discuss the other tenets of making good at wrestling. Variations of the words “hard work” are repeated several times.

“I just feel like working hard is important,” Castetter said. “Knowing that you push yourself.” That is something that seems to come naturally to him. Asked if he works hard in school, too, he said, “Yeah, I have.”

Hard work, sweat put in, time invested, pays dividends on the mat in matches, Castetter said, but it’s also essential in setting a good example for new wrestlers when they watch the older guys for clues on how to behave.

“You’re going to be as good as the people in your room,” Castetter said. “As a team leader, you’ve got to set the work ethic for your team.”

“The room” is another phrase embraced in wrestler-speak. If a wrestler overhear the words, he knows the other guy is a wrestler.

Or gal, since there are girls on the Seymour wrestling team roster, though Kriete employed the generic term “my brothers in the room” in terms of setting the best behavioral example.

Freshman or seniors, boys or girls, the wrestlers become a unit in practice.

“The room is where everything happens,” Kriete said.