Wrestling: Wrestlers win Moorhead Duals

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At the beginning of the season, Rosemount wrestling coach Brett Larson said his Irish were likely to face several close meets this season.

Going into several dual meets, Larson has expected Rosemount to receive a good challenge. After many meets, he’s come out saying the result could have been potentially closer.

It’s a good thing to say when your team is 12-1 overall and 4-0 in South Suburban Conference meets.

The Irish have made meets a little less stressful for their coach.

It continued with a big week last week. Rosemount beat Farmington 57-24 and Northfield 51-18 in a double dual at Farmington. The Irish continued the streak with an impressive win at the Moorhead Gadberry Duals, beating United Clay Becker 53-16, Jamestown 43-21, Fargo South 34-29, and Brainerd 42-21.

When asked about each of the six wins it was a familiar response from Larson.

“We thought it would potentially be a little closer,” Larson said about the dual against Northfield, a message he repeated about many of the other duals. “We expected it to be tight. We wrestled great that night. When you score 50 points in a dual, that’s pretty good. It was just a great team effort overall. Northfield is a solid team and we dominated the match. With those potential key matches, we came out on top. It was a solid effort all the way through the lineup. It was a nice team effort.

“We’re not relying on one or two wrestlers. Everyone is stepping up and doing a good job.”

Against Farmington and Northfield, Dan Rosa, Steve Levine, Paul Domeier, Nicholas Paxson, Adam Jackson, Josh Francois, Pat Massey and Jon Bishop each went 2-0. Rosemount won 10 of the 14 matches against Farmington and added 11 wins against Northfield.

“You hope to get eight out of 14,” Larson said. “In general, that’s going to win most duals. If you get 10 or 11, for sure you’re going to win.”

A day later, the Irish traveled to Moorhead for an overnight trip.

“It’s the third year we’ve been there, kind of our overnight trip, and it’s a good team-building experience,” Larson said. “Everyone really enjoys it. We get to practice. The parents go with and there’s a food spread for the wrestlers, parents and coaches. And we won, went 4-0 and had a really great day. Looking overall at the day, often times there are matches that could go the other way and we only had two or three I thought could have turned out different, for the most part. That’s outstanding.

“You win all four duals and it makes the bus ride up there and back worth it.”

The biggest dual came against Fargo South, which beat the Irish in Moorhead last season.

Bishop sealed the win this year with a pin at heavyweight. Larson also credited Colin Busho, Chad Marx, Alex Johnson and Jacob Pruter despite losses.

“They battled and just gave up decisions, but it was big for the team points,” Larson said. “Sometimes you look at points and just look at who’s scoring for you. Even though they didn’t score, without their effort we wouldn’t have won that dual.”

Rosa, Levine, Domeier, Jackson, Francois and Bishop each went 4-0 during the tournament. Paxson finished 3-1.

Jackson is no 19-0 this season, with Rosa, Levine and Francois holding 18-1 records. Bishop is 15-3.

“Those six guys have really been the mainstays we can count on every night,” Larson said. “Everyone else has stepped up and done a good job doing their part, whether it’s getting wins or not getting pinned in other situations. It’s been a great team effort and that’s great to see.”

Ranked Irish

Rosemount is also ranked in the latest lean-n-mean rankings and have wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in their respective weight class.

The Irish are one of three Class 3A, Section 3 teams included, following No. 1 Apple Valley and No. 4 Hastings.

Individually, Levine is ranked No. 8 at 125 pounds. Domeier is No. 9 at 130 pounds.

Jackson’s undefeated mark has helped him to a No. 5 ranking at 152 pounds.

“You still have to go out and prove it,” Larson said. “It’s nice to get recognition for all the hard work and it’s nice to get noticed. I think it’s an OK think to be ranked. You kind of get that bull’s-eye on your back. You still have to go out and prove it. The ranking doesn’t mean anything. You have to go out and wrestle and prove it.

“We have a couple of other guys who are worthy as well.”

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