Wrestling Gets Underway
-Dan Ward; one of the guys yelling things from the corner of the mat

Guess who’s back, back again?
High School Wrestling got underway last night across the state. St. Johns was literally across the state, sending an “A Team” to North Branch and a “B Team” to Waverly along with the Girls team and the JV team. Before we get into that, let’s talk about wrestling a little bit.

Wrestling is a different sport than most. I’ve found that not a lot of people understand it. I have been a wrestler, coached youth wrestling, coached HS, and I have been an official so at the very least I can explain some things about it.

A typical wrestling match is (3) 2:00 periods. The first period always starts with both wrestlers on their feet on opposite sides of a rectangle in the center of the mat. This is called “neutral” position. Both wrestlers are attempting to force their opponent to the mat and establish control. When that is done it’s called a Takedown and it is worth 3 points this year. If at any time the wrestler in control exposes their opponents shoulders to the mat at more than a 90 degree angle, it’s called a Near Fall. Near Falls are scored on a scale, 2 seconds is 2 points, 3 seconds is 3 points and 4 seconds is 4 points. If the wrestler who was taken down is able to get back to their feet it’s called an Escape and it’s worth 1 point. If the wrestler who was taken down is able to gain control over the other wrestler it’s a Reversal and is worth 2 points. The ultimate goal is to pin their opponents shoulders to the mat. A pin ends the match and awards the team 6 points.

The 2nd and 3rd periods typically start with one wrestler on hands and knees and the other wrestler covering them. However wrestlers are given the choice of how they would like to start based on a coin flip. The winner is given the choice of “top, bottom, neutral or defer”. From there the scoring is much the same.

Team scores are determined by the outcome of the individual matches. A pin is worth 6 points. A Tech Fall is when one wrestler gains a 15 point advantage, this stops the match (unless a pin is imminent) and the team is awarded 5 points. A Major Decision is scored if, at the end of the match, one wrestler is ahead by 8 to 14 points and is worth 4 team points and a Decision is worth 3 points.

With all that said, here are the results.

Varsity A was defeated by a tough North Branch team 27-50.
Winning for the Redwings were Gavin Moreno, Donovan Quinn, Tristen Densmore, Brady Heibeck and Will Wharton.

Varsity A had a gritty comeback win over Bay City Western. The Redwings were down 30-6 before kicking into gear and winning 45-36.
Securing the W for the Redwings were Donovan Quinn, Tyler Riedel, Hayden Billings, Fletcher Whitford, Brady Heibeck, Tristen Densmore, Will Wharton and Brody Abendroth.

The JV team lost to Mason’s JV’s, 58-21. Mason has several ranked wrestlers in their varsity line-up and so understandably their JV team is very strong.
Winning for St. Johns were TJ Vanlake, Logan Finn, Jaxson Densmore and Greyson Osborne.

St. Johns Varsity B team took on a strong Everett team and came away with a 54-30 victory.
Getting their hands raised for the Redwings were Haley Prohaska, Dray Findlay, TJ Vanlake, Logan Finn, Bennett Ward, Ayden Marchek, Greyson Osborne, and Abram Matice.

The girl wrestlers were also in action. No team scores were kept for the girls but coming away with victories were Olivia Pettigrew and Lori Morris.

Coach Pettigrew had this to say “I am very pleased with the effort that both teams showed tonight. Both teams fought hard and did not give up. The JV dual against Mason was a great learning experience for our young wrestlers. For Varsity B to come out fighting, picking up a dual win against Everett was fantastic. Varsity A took on a very talented and tough opponent in North Branch. The team fought tough and didn’t back down. They bounced back strong to pick up a great team win over Bay City Western. We took this on tonight in order to challenge our kids to compete at a high level. Having 3 varsity duals at two different schools is a huge stepping stone for the future. Having a combined record of 2-1 start to the varsity season is fantastic.”

St. Johns JV is back in action Friday at Waverly HS and the Varsity defends last year’s tournament championship Saturday at Lansing Eastern.