The winter sports season has started to heat up, and with a high-profile dual on the line, the FHC Ranger wrestling team took on Grandville in an assembly-style match-up.

“I am very proud of the way we wrestled,” head coach Brad Anderson said. “Grandville is a very good team and a well-coached program. We won the close matches and we won a few matches that we weren’t supposed to on paper.”

The team traveled to Grandville for a school assembly dual to kick off both schools’ seasons. With a powerhouse roster on both teams, this would be one of the strongest kickoff matchups either team could have. Knowing this would be a tough battle, it was important to know that no matter what happened, as long as they put in the effort their deeds will be recognized. 

“I asked our team to show a noble effort and to be good sports win or lose. I also wanted them to battle in every match,” coach Anderson stated. “We did just that.”

After being strong rivals to each other after years and years of competition, this dual not only started the season but unhinged the tension between both schools under the spotlight. 

In wrestling, you win your match by pinning your opponent and or by points if you make it through the three periods. The points add up based on how you position your competition and how you can keep yourself from getting pinned; this differs from many team sports in the sense that instead of working together at the same time as a team, you could have multiple match-ups in one competition and the points you earn are added to your teams overall score. 

All wrestlers battled until the last period or pin, but in the end, FHC fell short 48-30 to Grandville after an impressive showing. 

“There was no doubt in my mind that Grandville would be tough competition, but I believe we let the adrenaline and pressure of our first match being a powerhouse, and not to mention in front of their student body, get to us. We need to calm our minds and work our game plan this weekend,” senior Blake Jacobs said. 

Knowing this rivalry goes deeper than most, instead of being down about the loss the team has focused on what it did well and how it can improve going into its next meet.

“We definitely did better than last year against Grandville and for the first meet we did pretty well, we need to improve our mentality and focus a little more but that’s about it,” junior Alex Korff recalled.

Although the Rangers didn’t start the season off with a win, there is no doubt that with determination and strength the team can work forward to get the outcome it deserves. The Rangers travel to Forest Hills Eastern on Saturday, December 10, for the FHE Hawk Duals, at 9:00 AM.