Kubasaki's Tim Cope snarls Kadena's Christian Luckey in a leg lace. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)

Kadena’s boys wrestling team has plied its skills with apparent ease this season.

But the Panthers’ undefeated records in both dual-meet and individual-freestyle events are the result of rigorous and repetitive work in the practice room, senior 215-pounder Braylon Stephens says.

“Our practices are hard and tiring. They (coaches) push us to the limit,” said Stephens, who transferred from Matthew C. Perry to Kadena over the summer and has a spotless record entering the Far East tournament for boys.

The Far Easts for Divisions I and II run for three days at Camp Humphreys.

Stephens and the Panthers have swept everything in sight this season entering Far East, running the table over island-rival Kubasaki and going 5-0 in the Korea Classic in mid-January, also at Humphreys.

All the hard work Stephens and his teammates put in in the practice room “helps us on the mat” during competitions, he said.

“The coaches say if it’s hard in the practice room, then it’s easier on the mat. And it’s been easier on the mat because it’s been harder in the room,” Stephens said.

The relentless workouts have given the Panthers what junior 160-pounder Derryck Miller says is “a chance to get first place in all weight classes. I have confidence in my team,” he said.

Kadena’s road trip to Humphreys was “definitely a wake-up call for us,” said Miller, who got pinned by Gabriel Donatto of Humphreys, though the Panthers won that dual meet 47-14.

“Going up against Gabe was definitely an interesting experience,” Miller said. “It showed that I could do better and what I need to work on to get better.”

And one thing that Kadena’s island rival Kubasaki has going for it, is the Dragons return two defending weight-class champions, Ray Bragdon (107) and two-time champion Tim Cope (139).

All told, five defending champions are back.

Zama's Gabe Simpkins gets a head-and-arm hold on Yokota's Aiden Greer at 145 pounds. (Lucas Rodriguez/Special to Stripes)

This will be the first Far East since before the coronavirus pandemic in which some teams will be mysteries to others.

There was no “Beast of the Far East” invitational this season, canceled because the scheduled date, Jan. 12, was too close to DODEA-Pacific semester exam week.

Thus, Tokyo-area schools did not get to wrestle against Okinawa- and Korea-based teams.

But that can also work to wrestlers’ advantages, Nile C. Kinnick coach Stan Hovell said.

“Nobody’s inside each other’s heads,” Hovell said. “They’re just another guy across the mat. Just go wrestle.”

While Kadena is a solid Division I favorite, with Kinnick, Kubasaki and St. Mary’s giving chase, the Division II race appears to be wide open, coaches say.

“We have hitters, heavy hitters, but every team in D-II is good and well-coached,” Zama coach Chris Waite said of a Trojans team featuring the likes of Garrett Allen (172), Simpkins brothers Sean (152) and Gabriel (145) and Ennis Montgomery (139), among others.

They’ll go up against opponents such as Daegu’s Jaiden Williams and Osan’s Myles and Noe Vasquez, plus some steady competitors from D-II schools in Japan.

“The only prediction I will make is the D-II individual and team will be decided by razor-thin margins,” Waite said.