It’s difficult to be an elite athlete in one sport.

Doing it in two sports sets an athlete on a pinnacle few others can reach.

Yet Dakota’s wrestling team has two athletes who have earned All-State honors in both football and wrestling.

They’re seniors Logan Criteser and Brady Hamby. They were among the leaders on the Cougars’ football team that tied for the Macomb Area Conference Red championship and advanced to the state Division 1 quarterfinals.

Last winter, they each took seventh place at the Division 1 wrestling finals — Criteser at 190 points and Hamby at 215.

This weekend they’re trying to help Dakota win a sixth Macomb County Invitational Classic championship.

“They’re great athletes,” said coach Ed Skowneski Jr. “No matter what they do, they’re going to be good at it. They’re animals on the football field and they’re animals on the mat. Wrestling helps their football and playing football helps them be competitors in wrestling. The sports go hand in hand.”

Skowneski can relate; He was a four-time All-Stater in wrestling for Chippewa Valley and he played quarterback for the Big Reds’ football team.

Criteser played in the line for Dakota’s football team and his wrestling skills helped him.

“Wrestling helps with the hips, getting around people,” he said. “It helps with the hands as well. It’s just easier to move bigger kids around. Football conditioning helps with wrestling conditioning. And just being tough in general.’

Hamby played linebacker, quarterback and running back and he said the two sports complement each other.

“I’m in the gym a lot with my weight lifting. The two sports are similar with conditioning,” he said. “Tackling in football and takedowns in wrestling complement each other. I just try to do both as well as I can.”

Both wrestlers have moved up a weight class this season. Hamby is going to be giving up weight to many of his opponents, but that’s no concern to him.

“It’s going good so far,” he said. ‘I feel that I have a conditioning advantage over everyone I’m wrestling and I’m quicker than anybody I’m wrestling. I can get around them quickly and get takedowns.”

Criteser and Hamby both got off to good starts Friday at the county tournament, barely breaking a sweat in their first matches after earning first-round byes.

Criteser pinned his first opponent at 215 pounds in 46 seconds. Hamby was even quicker, ending his heavyweight match in 28 seconds.

Unlike their coach, who wrestled at Michigan State, Criteser and Hamby both plan to go the football route in college.

Criteser has been wrestling since first grade and has had college offers to continue on the mat, but he’s going to play football. He set a new school sacks record this season with 17.5.

“I’ve been doing wrestling for so long. Football is more refreshing for me,” he said.

Criteser is still undecided where he’ll play football but has narrowed his choices to Northwood and Siena. He plans to decide by Jan. 10.

Hamby has committed to Ferris State. That created something of a problem for him: the Bulldogs are playing Valdosta State in the Division 2 national championship game, which’ll be going on at the same time Hamby will be trying to win a county championship.

“I’ll be watching in the stands between my matches,” he said.