On a cold Saturday here in Michigan most people watch sports and enjoy their weekends off from work and stress. This weekend though the Forest Hills community saw a different sports throw-down between the FHC Ranger wrestling squad and the Forest Hills Eastern Hawks at the Hawk Invite. 

“I think we had a great day today,” senior Blake Jacobs said. “We came with a team that was improvised because of the sickness going around.”

With a sick Ranger wrestling team and not a lot of time to correct what the coaches wanted from Wednesday’s dual, it took a group of athletes giving it their all to put out a strong performance against the Hawks. In typical Ranger fashion, the team won three of the five duals handing the group the smooth win it deserved while also opening the door for new athletes to take the mat for one of the first times this season.

“We still were able to pull off a 3-2 day and had some good performances and first matches for some of our new guys,” Blake said. 

A strong comeback day was much needed for this team after a close 48-30 loss to Grandville earlier in the week, and after tweaking what it needed, the group was stronger than ever in just its second dual of the season. It is wins like these that show the true grit of a team and how hard work if put into the right areas, can majorly impact the performance of a team. With this lesson in mind, the Rangers can continue to get the points and pins they need to stay one step ahead of their competition, even when challenges like sickness are thrown their way. 

This wasn’t just a big win for the boys team though; the Lady Rangers crushed their competition as well with some key wins from athletes old and new.

“On the girl’s side, we did well as well,” Ashley Schenck said. “I got two pins, one in nine seconds and the other in 1:08 minutes. Annalise won her first match of the year and Maggie put up an excellent fight but ultimately lost.”

Seeing the team accomplish new benchmark achievements this early on, there is no telling what the wrestling team can do this season with its strength and power. The group returns to the mats on Wednesday, December 14, at 5:30 PM, when it takes on multiple opponents at the Portland Quad.