by Lexi Pingel
The Annandale-Maple Lake wrestling program struggled in the beginning of the season due to injuries and holes in many of the weight classes. Throughout the winter months, the Lightning have developed into a successful, well-rounded team which has risen past expectations and outwrestled opponents. On Friday, February 10, Annandale-Maple Lake overcame Litchfield, the number four seed in Section 6AA.
Going into the last regular season competition, the Lightning hoped to send a message to the rest of the section that they are not a team to be overlooked.
“I felt we matched up well with Litchfield and that we have been going in the right direction for a while now,” said Head Coach Jason Bartels.
The wrestlers won the matches they were expected to and stole a few others, which played a factor in the overall outcome of the meet. Due to the aggressiveness and determination of each Lightning wrestler, Annandale-Maple Lake earned 45 points compared to Litchfield’s 25.
“All in all, it was a good showing in terms of effort. They did a great job in staying focused before we started and preparing for their matches,” said Bartels. “They did an excellent job at taking advantage of every opportunity to gain a pin whenever they were presented with it.”
This held true for Tanner Vassar (106 pounds), Joe Mosley (113), Nick Anderson (138), and Isaac Hendrickson (152), who earned falls and put the Lightning ahead early. The upset of the night, however, was Hunter Hicks (145) who scored a win over one of Litchfield’s best wrestlers. Bartels said that Hicks did a great job of staying in the match the whole time and keeping in great position.
“By staying under control and poised, he was able to pull off a last-second takedown, which turned the score from him trailing by one point to leading by one point. The win was great for Hunter’s confidence and since he is one of the team’s hardest workers, it shows how that can pay off in the long run,” said Coach Bartels.
Annandale-Maple Lake far exceeded the expectations of people in the wrestling community by achieving another win and an overall record of 16-7. Bartels feels that the team is satisfied with the development made during the year but will always go back and look at the mistakes and disappointments. However, this will not affect the team in the post-season.
“We have never been a team that gets caught up in stuff like that- we leave that up to the experts on the forum. We know where we started and what we have since become through hard work and toughness.”
On Tuesday, February 14, the Lightning will compete in the Section Quarterfinals against number three seed Becker starting at 7 p.m. According to Coach Bartels, “it would be quite a feat to upset Becker on Tuesday, but it is not out of our reach. We have a very resilient group of wrestlers that I would not ever want to bet against and if we are able to make it to Friday, anything is possible.”
The Section 6AA Team final 4 is Friday, Feb. 17, hosted by Litchfield High School. Semifinals start at 6 p.m.; finals at 8 p.m. Section 6AA individual competition is on Friday, Feb. 24, and Saturday, Feb. 25, at Annandale High School. For more information visit www.mshsl.org.
The Annandale-Maple Lake wrestling program struggled in the beginning of the season due to injuries and holes in many of the weight classes. Throughout the winter months, the Lightning have developed into a successful, well-rounded team which has risen past expectations and outwrestled opponents. On Friday, February 10, Annandale-Maple Lake overcame Litchfield, the number four seed in Section 6AA.
Going into the last regular season competition, the Lightning hoped to send a message to the rest of the section that they are not a team to be overlooked.
“I felt we matched up well with Litchfield and that we have been going in the right direction for a while now,” said Head Coach Jason Bartels.
The wrestlers won the matches they were expected to and stole a few others, which played a factor in the overall outcome of the meet. Due to the aggressiveness and determination of each Lightning wrestler, Annandale-Maple Lake earned 45 points compared to Litchfield’s 25.
“All in all, it was a good showing in terms of effort. They did a great job in staying focused before we started and preparing for their matches,” said Bartels. “They did an excellent job at taking advantage of every opportunity to gain a pin whenever they were presented with it.”
This held true for Tanner Vassar (106 pounds), Joe Mosley (113), Nick Anderson (138), and Isaac Hendrickson (152), who earned falls and put the Lightning ahead early. The upset of the night, however, was Hunter Hicks (145) who scored a win over one of Litchfield’s best wrestlers. Bartels said that Hicks did a great job of staying in the match the whole time and keeping in great position.
“By staying under control and poised, he was able to pull off a last-second takedown, which turned the score from him trailing by one point to leading by one point. The win was great for Hunter’s confidence and since he is one of the team’s hardest workers, it shows how that can pay off in the long run,” said Coach Bartels.
More information appears in this week’s Messenger.
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