Wrestling: Irish win 2 of 3 in season opener

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The Rosemount wrestling team received just what it wanted from the opening team tournament in Chisago Lakes last week.

The Irish were a part of three close matches, winning twice.

“Overall it was a good start for us,” Rosemount coach Brett Larson said. “We had some very good performances and some things that didn’t go as we expected, individually. The good news is the team responded and did go 2-1 in a good tournament, so overall it was a very good start and we are pleased with that.”

The Irish lost 33-31 against Blaine in the opener, before coming back with a 39-24 win against Chisago Lakes and a 36-35 win against Hibbing.

“I would say we had hoped to win two of three,” Larson said. “The trouble was we had a few guys out of the lineup. We didn’t have a full lineup, but it was a good tournament.

“I thought maybe, if we had all of our guys we might have been able to beat Blaine. But I think in the end we probably would have won two matches anyway.”

The Irish even earned a come-from-behind win.

Rosemount trailed Chisago Lakes into the middle weights before rallying.

Starting with Adam Jackson, the Irish had four straight pins to earn the winning total. After Jackson’s fall, Josh Francois, Jacob Pruder, and Stefan Sauer all pinned their opponent.

“That’s 24 points in four of the last five weights,” Larson said. “We were down early and lost a couple of close ones. Getting 24 points in four matches makes a big difference.”

Danny Rosa, Steve Levine, Jackson and Francois all went 3-0 for the tournament. Sauer, Pruder and Adam Hedin each went 2-1.

“Our strength in the lineup is the lower weights,” Larson said. “And then we have Adam and Josh in the upper middle weights that should have a solid year for us. We’ll be solid at heavyweight too, so there will be a bit of back and forth for us this year.”

Tags: sports, rosemount, wrestling, irish, prep