Even though the Jackson wrestling team started the season with seven consecutive dual meets, Timberwolves coach Sherm Iversen said he believes his squad is becoming better suited for tournaments.
“That’s interesting, because at Jackson we’ve always been a better dual team. We’re starting to flip a bit,” Iversen said. “But right now we’re focusing on dual matches heading into districts. We knew we had some experienced guys back, but you never know how you’re going to line up as a dual team. We weren’t sure if we’d be as good a dual team as last year, but now we know that we’re at least as good, and hopefully better.”
Jackson can usually rely on a standout performance from Cole Anderson, who placed seventh place in the 132-pound division at last season’s Mat Classic. Josh Vail (120), D’Artagnan Phan (160), Garrett Miller (182), Jose Viarya (220, a state alternate last year) and Justin Young (285) also have hopes of advancing in the postseason.
“We’d like to bring nine or 10 kids to regionals,” Iversen said. “The last couple of years, Cole has been lonely at state, so we want to get some of his teammates there. D’Artagnan has lost in the regionals twice, and Jose was so close last year. For some of the guys, getting to regionals (last year) was an achievement. They were happy to be there. This year, they’ll be hungry to move on.”
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