Like his teammates, Richmond senior Travis Cardwell will start this high school boys wrestling season competing in his home gym. And like wrestlers at Richmond and other schools, Cardwell hopes his season will end in Columbia, where the state tournaments are held. Cardwell’s junior season is fueling his goal to qualify for Class 2 state competition this season. “I was one round short of making it last year,” he said during a recent interview in the multipurpose purpose building on the high school campus. The key to qualifying is “to focus on the basics and conditioning and all that,” said Cardwell, who’ll compete in the 285-pound division. Cardwell was among nearly 30 guys out for wrestling, Richmond coach Cody Hogan calculated shortly before Thanksgiving. And he’s among multiple grapplers Hogan expects to help fill the leadership void left by the loss of twotime state champion Elijah Sanders. Sanders, titlist at 157 in 2023 and at 165 last season, graduated in May. Other…