For a young Malcolm wrestling team, what matters right now is taking steps forward, even if those steps feel small. A holiday-week trip to Johnson County Central was proof that these grapplers are buying into what the coaches are teaching.
At the Dec. 29 triangular with JCC and Lincoln Christian, the Clippers went 5-6 on the mat.
“It was the most competitive we've looked all year,” Malcolm coach Matt Coufal said. “What I appreciated most is that we didn’t give anyone an easy match.”
Bricen Wilkie shined brightest for the Clippers. The senior went 2-0 on the day. He wrestled up a weight class against JCC and outlasted Terry Trew, 7-6 in the 165-pound match. After jumping out to an early lead, Trew battled his way back to tie the match at 5-5 before Wilkie took control for good.
“Bricen is one of our strongest wrestlers,” Coufal said. “But he can’t rely on strength alone. He can be prone to putting himself in bad positions and he knows that can get him into trouble.”
In his second match of the day, Wilkie earned a third-period pin over Lincoln Christian’s Asa Wegrzyn at 157 pounds.
Three other Malcolm wrestlers had pins – all against JCC. In the 113-pound match, Cody Barton needed just 47 seconds to get Trevin Huskey on his back. Wrestling at 150 pounds, Christopher Burbach pinned Lee Xayaphonesongkham in the first period. Justin Wisnieski needed 2:44 to finish off Maksymillian Ksiazek at 175 pounds.
“You never know how someone will respond coming off the five-day moratorium,” Coufal said. “No practices and potentially bad eating during the break aren’t a great combination. But all of our guys did good things in their matches. It gives us something to build on heading into the new year.”
Malcolm’s lone girl wrestler traveled to Geneva for the Dec. 30 Fillmore Central Invite. Vanesa Gonzalez-Mendoza went 1-4 on the day, finishing with a third-period pin of Fillmore Central’s Malorie Conway in the ninth place match.
Gonzalez-Mendoza returns to the mat Friday, Jan. 5, at the Beatrice Invitational before joining the Malcolm boys at Saturday’s Malcolm Boys and Girls Invite.
