Getting my audiobooks ready

When we get down to the wire with any season of sports, my workload goes up. The two most strenuous post-season sports are wrestling, both girls and boys, and track and field.

Before we even get to a state tournament, the IHSAA and IGHSAU will have me driving all over the state to cover our local wrestlers.

It starts tomorrow with the girls wrestling regionals. I’m excited to see how it will be different with the sport divided into two classes.

Creston will be competing at Central Decatur in Leon with 18 other teams including Mount Ayr and East Union.

In order to advance to the state tournament, a wrestler must be the champion or runner-up in her weight class.

Round trip, the event will only be about two hours — nothing too crazy.

The following day will be much worse as I make the trek to Denison for the Hawkeye 10 boys wrestling tournament. This will be about four hours round trip, and the event itself will be much longer.

In my pregnant state, getting up and down on the mat is becoming more and more difficult, but I make do.

I’m very curious to see how we perform at the tournament. Atlantic will certainly be a tough opponent.

They just announced the regional duals sites and we don’t rank high enough to host our own, so on the road I go.

We will travel to the No. 4 seed, Sergeant Bluff-Luton where we will first have to face Ballard.

Should the Panthers defeat Ballard, they will go on to rematch Sergeant Bluff-Luton. The last time the two dualed was when Creston walked off the mat as state dual champions.

This will be my longest drive at more than five hours round trip.

I’m certainly not looking forward to the drives, especially as some will be after long days, but I make the time go by with audio books.

Some people are not a fan, but I listen to my books on double time to get through them even faster.

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately, so hopefully this will help pull me through to the other side.

After these events, we should have area state qualifiers and it will be off to Coralville and Des Moines for me in February.