Maverick Keigher stood huffing and puffing on the side of the mat.

He’d just rolled through five or six teammates, taking all of them down to the mat in a control position before the last one finally got the better of him.

It wasn’t like this two seasons ago in the wrestling room at Doherty High School.

“Compared to going into a room with like 12 guys and then going into a room with like 60 guys, it’s just awesome,” said Keigher, a junior. “You have all kinds of partners. You could have a new partner every day just pushing you to new limits.”

On Friday, the Spartans will again host the Colorado Springs Metro Wrestling Championships. The two-day tournament concludes Saturday evening. Finals are slated to start at 6 p.m.

Since Josh Galvan took over the program ahead of the 2014-15 season the program has nearly doubled in size. That’s a big benefit for wrestlers looking to practice against teammates at similar weights.

“It’s definitely really good for our team,” said senior Collin Metzgar, who has watched the program grow under Galvan’s watch. “Especially for being on varsity. All those J.V. (junior varsity) kids, it’s good to have them drill with us every day. … There’s like five kids at your weight class that you can drill with.

“I hope we keep growing.”

That’s the goal for Galvan.

“The first season it was hard just getting the numbers in,” Galvan said. “I mean the first year I was here I filled out a lineup, but just barely. … Every year since then it’s been getting deeper and deeper.”

The competition is so tight that even practice Tuesday afternoon saw a couple of wrestle-offs among teammates trying to get into the varsity squad.

“They’re close matches, they’re challenging each other,” Galvan said. “So in the room, no one wants to slack off because if they do they’re going to lose their spot.”

Of four returning Spartans who made it to state last season, Metzgar was the most successful, placing sixth. Keigher, fifth in 5A at 132 pounds according to Tim Yount’s On the Mat rankings this season, finished one spot off the podium in 2016. Zack Szostak and Tadeo Villavicencio also qualified for last season’s 5A state tournament at Denver’s Pepsi Center.

That experience and the talent in the room have led to a strong season. The Spartans have lost just one dual, posting a 9-1 record, and are unbeaten in Colorado Springs Metro League competition.

The Spartans are hoping to use the Metros to continue to build confidence, especially with a league showdown with Pine Creek looming Wednesday.

“As a team I feel like we’re really confident,” Keigher said.

“We had a lot of really good talent so we knew we were going to be good and out there battling.”

An earlier win over Coronado in a dual boosted the Spartans’ hopes for a league title. It would be their first since 2004.

“We really feel like, this year, the Metro (league) title is within our reach,” Galvan said. “That’s been our main goal as a team overall.”

For now, the Spartans are excited to again be the home site for the tournament.

“Metros is really fun to host it,” said Metzgar, ranked fourth in 5A by On the Mat. “It’s a good tournament. … It’s good competition. We get to see teams we usually don’t see in our season. And it’s kind of a good tournament to get ready for regionals and state.”