From the outside, the home of Gloucester High School’s wrestling program doesn’t look like much.

The faded metal building has no windows and borders the weight room. Inside, worn-out mats from decades past bear the rips and scratches consistent with years of wrestlers being thrown to the ground. Metal and hip-hop take turns blaring over a speaker system as the team warms up.

From this spartan building, two young GHS wrestlers have emerged as state tournament hopefuls, racking up more than a dozen wins each barely halfway through the season.

Sophomore Austin Glockner and freshman Ethan Baker are two members of a Dukes program that has developed under the tenure of second-year head coach John Glockner. While they lack a full roster of upper weight class competitors, this team has grown into a squad that now expects to send athletes to state competition each season.

Glockner emerged as a state-level talent last year as a freshman and now in his sophomore season loo...