Although the first semester is over here at FHC, the Ranger wrestling team isn’t ready to take a break just yet. The team kicked off its break on December 17 at the Kent County Wrestling Championship, and the athletes did not disappoint this year. 

“Overall, I think everyone did well today,” junior Alex Korff said. “Most of us won at least once or twice and we even had a couple of placers.” 

The Kent County Championship is based around a bracket tournament where athletes have multiple rounds of competition until they are out and receive their ranking compared to the other teams and athletes that are there in the different weight classes. 

“The Kent County championships are a tough annual holiday tournament,” head coach Brad Anderson said. “It’s a great chance to see where you stack up first in the area.”

For the boys team, two senior Rangers placed in the top six for their divisions, Blake Jacobs taking sixth and Landon Cooke placing fourth. This was an impressive showing by the boys who were able to get past most of their opponents and place out of all the athletes there. 

“Landon and Blake ran into some studs and they battled hard,” coach Anderson said. “Now we know what they need to work on. But they’re right there and very close to where they need to be.”

On the girls side, wrestling newcomer and junior Annalise Brinkes placed eighth respectively in her group as well as All-State wrestler junior Ashley Schenck placed first overall for hers by a landslide. With an abundance of amazing talent on display at this tournament, it is no wonder the Rangers are a force to be reckoned with. 

“Ashley in 8-0, ranked top 3 in her weight class, and she is looking tougher than ever,” coach Anderson stated. “She should have a really great season.”

Although the athletes were scored individually for their rankings, with combined team points of 45, the team placed fourteenth out of twenty-six teams falling to big-name schools like Rockford and Lowell who have a track record of impeccable wrestlers throughout the years. Even though this wasn’t how the team may have envisioned its ranking after some impressive wrestlers placing, the team still has many opportunities to improve before school starts back up in January. 

As we can see, the wrestling team may be young, but it is filled with young talent that shines through even the toughest competition. The Rangers will take a slight break from competing and will return to the mats on Saturday, January 7, at 9 AM, to take on the West Catholic tournament to kick off the new year.