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Editorial: Wrestling with determination
Op-Ed · April 13, 2017


“Wrestling is a very hard sport,” youth wrestling coach Grant Jipp said. “The whole time people are trying to make you do something you don’t want to do.”


This is especially true at small schools like West Branch where coaches find it difficult to fill all of the 14 weight brackets. Yet the nine-member varsity squad — including two in the same weight class — managed to not only put forth strong individual wrestlers, against tough odds the team even won a few duals this season.

The numbers played against the Bears. Five open weights can spot the opposition up to 30 points provided they can fill those weights. Oftentimes, they could, sometimes they could only fill a couple. To overcome these deficits means that a lot of the wins must be pins, not just decisions, and West Branch wrestlers provided many. It also meant bumping up one of the two 106-pound wrestlers — Barrett Walsh and Tyler Siemen — in an effort to squeeze out those dual victories.

“A lot of smaller, younger guys were thrown into varsity,” Head Coach Chris Paulus said. “We give them lots of credit to get out there and fight.”

Three of the varsity wrestlers were freshmen — Walsh, Zach Wright and John Yates — and two were sophomores — Siemen and John Hatfield. So more than half the team was underclassmen. The deck continues to stack against the Bears.

Yet the coaches cultivated strong work ethics out of these wrestlers on top of teaching technique, pushing conditioning and getting them in the weight room.

By season’s end, three of those underclassmen had winning records: Siemen (17-11), Walsh (11-9) and Wright (22-20).

And we should not forget the classroom, either. Academic All-Conference honors went to senior Dalton Depoorter, junior Jacob Graves, Wright, Hatfield, Walsh, Yates and managers Claire Kaufman, Lindsay Miller and Jaden Roth.

Senior Cale Donovan, West Branch’s top wrestler with a 27-9 record, looked most likely to advance the furthest in the post-season. Unfortunately, two of the top wrestlers in the state appeared on the bracket at the sectional meet, nudging him out of district qualification.

“Things happen and don’t always go your way,” Paulus said of Donovan.

His observation holds true for the entire season.

Yet against the odds, the Bears found success in any way they could. The coaches said the team had that attitude all season — a determination to work hard and leverage every opportunity they could find.

That will serve them well far beyond the 2016-17 season.

Depoorter, Donovan and fellow senior Nick Madsen — all of whom the coaches praised for their leadership this past year — will say goodbye to the West Branch Wrestling family upon graduation. Another tough loss.

However, Jipp, the youth coach quoted above, and fellow coaches are cultivating the up-and-coming wrestlers, a couple of whom are already building a resume of success at the state level.

So congratulations to the high school team for working so hard to earn whatever success they could find, and here’s to a bright future as the ranks move up to join the culture of determination and fight that will pay long-term dividends.