Baby steps. For a relatively young Malcolm wrestling team, progress this season is little-by-little.
“Sure, we want to win matches,” Malcolm coach Matt Coufal said. “We’re realistic. Most of our team still has a lot to learn about this sport. But we’re already seeing progress.”
The Malcolm boys competed in the Dec. 16 Wahoo Invite and posted a score of 42 to place 12th in a field of 15 teams. Aquinas Catholic won the meet with 143.5 points while Northwest was second with 120.
Cody Barton was the Clippers’ leading point scorer. The sophomore overcame two state qualifiers to earn the top spot in the 113-pound division. After needing just 49 seconds to pin Symon Kastl of Aquinas Catholic, Barton finished off Kaleb Keiper of Northwest in 53 seconds. Keiper earned a fifth-place medal in the 2023 Class B State Championships.
“It was a good day for Cody,” Coufal said. “He’s wrestling really well right now. We’re seeing him step up as a leader for this team.”
Bricen Wilkie added to the Malcolm score with his third-place finish at 157 pounds. After a one-point semifinal loss to Ashland-Greenwood’s Austyn Cote, the senior battled back to beat Theron Johnson of Northwest 2-0 in the bronze medal match.
“Bricen lost track of the score in the semifinal match,” Coufal said. “He thought he was down two when he was only down one. It changed his strategy.
“His mat awareness may have cost him a chance to win. I was glad to see him clear his head and come back to win that last match.”
While he came up short of the medal round, Jake Walters earned two wins in the 144-pound division.
“We’re working on confidence with Jake,” Coufal said about the sophomore. “Once he learns to trust himself, we’ll see him make some good strides.”
Justin Wisnieski is showing improvement in his confidence on the mat. While the sophomore 175-pounder has just one varsity win this season, his coaches are seeing evidence of progress.
“He went up against a big, strong upperclassmen in his first match on Saturday and he battled him,” Coufal said. “He’s made huge strides since last year.”
The Clippers’ lone female wrestler is Vanesa Gonzalez-Mendoza. The freshman picked up her first win of the season at the Dec. 15 Wahoo Girls’ Invite. The 120-pounder pinned Wisner-Pilger’s Bella Thacker late in the first period.
“She’s learning to get aggressive,” Coufal said. “We’ve been telling her that the sport promotes being mean. That’s what you have to do if you want to win.”
The Malcolm boys travel to Crete this week for a Friday, Dec. 22, triangular with the Cardinals and Raymond Central. Gonzalez-Mendoza will compete Dec. 22 in the Wisner-Pilger Girls’ Invite.
