Union Pines Viking wrestling head coach Matt Ragsdale and his two Copperhead youth wrestling club teams are in the midst of a busy summer season.

Late last month, Ragsdale, along with six other coaches from across the state, took 35 kids to Salisbury for the NHSCA National Duals.

"We had six Union Pines wrestlers that went and all did very well," said Ragsdale. "There were over 100 teams from across the nation participating in the event."

The Copperheads' Maroon team went 1-4, while the Copperheads' Vegas team went 3-2, losing by just three points to the New Jersey Elite Black, who finished in the top eight of the entire tournament.

On June 23, the Union Pines wrestling team will have a cookout and banquet at Mary and Scott Breasseales's house at 6:30 p.m.

"We will cook out, celebrate the 2008 season, and send our seniors off to a successful freshman year at college," Ragsdale said.

Then from June 24 until June 28 Ragsdale will be taking several wrestlers to a wrestling camp at UNC.

The Union Pines wrestling program will then participate in the Bucknell summer camp at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., from July 6 until July 11.

Throughout the summer, the Viking wrestlers will be working out at Union Pines starting on June 16 and running through Aug. 22. The Vikes will be at work during afternoons Mondays through Thursdays.

Each day, from 3:30 p.m. until 5 p.m., will be devoted to strength and conditioning training, while from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. the team will concentrate on wrestling.

Ragsdale is a strong believer that hard work in the offseason makes for success during Union Pines' winter wrestling campaign.

"Summer wrestling melts the winter competition," he said.