Plains, Hot Springs wrestlers expected to be strong force on mat
<p>Kenny Marjerrison watches as Stephen Clinkenbeard picks up Assistant Coach Kenneth Beech during practice. Currently the wrestlers are working on conditioning and technique.</p>
PLAINS – The Plains Hot Springs wrestling team is expected to be a strong force to compete with on the mats this season.
With increased numbers, the team has a dozen kids, all of which have previous wrestling experience.
According to Head Coach Kenny Marjerrison the kids grew up wrestling through grade school and junior high.
There are eight returning wrestlers this year, with a strong group of freshman stepping up to the mat.
“We’re more far ahead than we have ever been since I coached here,” said Coach Marjerrison.
Coach Marjerrison explained the National Federation of High Schools changed approximately half of the weight classes for this year and the team will have to adapt to those changes.
Because of this, it was hard for him to predict how the kids would stack up at their first quad of the season.
“With everything changing, it’s hard to tell. We won’t know how we line up at all (against our competition),” explained Coach Marjerrison. “Some of our kids don’t even know where they are going to be yet.”
He also explained the kids from other teams have grown since he last saw them so only time will tell what they are up against this season.
The team will work out their weight classes before the first quad, however, that could change throughout the season.
Coach Marjerrison explained it is hard to predict whether or not a wrestler needs to move up or down in a weight division because it depends on that individual wrestler, so adapting to the new weight classes may take some adjustments.
Arlee, Eureka and Superior will join the co-op team in Arlee for their first match up of the season. The event will take place on Thursday, December 12.
Even with the changes, Coach Marjerrison has two wrestlers he expects to do well throughout the season.
Heavyweight Ben Gorham got second at the state competition, while Russell Kujala placed third in his weight group. Along with them, four other kids made it to state.
“We are really expecting some pretty good things from the vast majority,” said Coach Marjerrison. “Last year we missed the top three in division by seven points with only seven kids.”
This year with a handful more kids, Coach Marjerrison has high expectations as long as everyone stays healthy and grades remain good.
The nice thing about having a seasoned team is Coach Marjerrison doesn’t have to worry about the basics.
The wrestlers are currently conditioning and getting their bodies used to the wrestling environment again - something that is easier said than done.
“Wrestling is an extremely difficult sport when it comes to conditioning and there’s not a lot to prepare you for it other than wrestling,” explained Coach Marjerrison.
Conditioning will continually play an important role throughout the season. For this week and next week, Coach Marjerrison said the team will start to focus more on technique.