Members of the state champion White River High wrestling program spent some time off the mat the afternoon of Feb. 8.

Eighteen Hornet wrestlers, along with head coach Tim Kitchen, traveled down the hall from their sweat-covered wrestling mats toward the excited sounds of 50 first-grade students. Partnered with Wally’s Drive-In, the wrestlers brought with them enough copies of the book, “Snowmen All Year,” for each first-grader in the school. The athletes then spent quality time talking with and reading to every child. At the end of their time together, they offered the books to the children to keep and take home to read with their families.

All during the season, the wrestling program shared a campus with the Wilkeson students while the district completes renovations on the historic Wilkeson Elementary building. During their time sharing this space, Kitchen decided to find a way to give back to the school while also teaching his wrestlers the importance of community involvement. Kitchen was so impressed with how his wrestlers responded, he has decided to make this an annual event.