“It was a very good performance at our home tournament,” said head coach Matt Kowalski. “The teams at the meet were evenly matched to the point our team very well could have placed first or last depending on how they prepared and competed, especially after a very tough dual against Cadillac earlier in the week. They responded to that adversity very well.”

Cayden Smith, at 138 pounds, and Westin Mitchell, at 165 pounds, led the team with undefeated records, each going 5-0 on the day.

“Cayden, Westin, and the team as a whole had a positive turning point in the season,” Kowalski said. “Cayden has had a difficult start to his season, but on Saturday he showed the talent that I know he has with his performance on the mat. Westin has improved significantly since last year and throughout this season. It was great to see that work pay off with five big wins on the day.”

Other standout performances came from Carolyn Parker (106), Brody Oliver (157), Lyrik Ricketts (175), John Dargis (215), and Trenton Stephenson (285), all of whom finished the day with four wins and one loss.

News Photo by Leslianne Johns Lyrik Ricketts tries to pin his opponent on Saturday during Alpena’s home wrestling match. Ricketts won the match.

“Carolyn, Brody, Lyrik, John, and Trenton also had breakout performances after a tough start to the season,” Kowalski said.

According to Kowalski, the loss to Tawas in the final dual meet was tough but provided valuable lessons.

“Coming up just short of winning the dual against Tawas was very tough, but it was a great matchup full of back-and-forth matches that will give our team experience to build off for the future,” Kowalski said. “We had two or three matches that we were winning and made crucial mistakes to lose by pin. Winning any one of those would have put us ahead and won us the tournament. On the flip side, Westin Mitchell, John Dargis, and Trenton Stephenson pulled off huge come-from-behind wins that could have easily tilted the match further in Tawas’ direction. We also had some key injuries that changed our lineup from its top form.”

Reflecting on the tournament as a whole, Kowalski acknowledged both the team’s success and areas for growth.

“There are some areas of improvement that stood out, which we will get to work on come Monday, especially maintaining control in the top position while working towards pinning combinations,” he said.

News Photo by Leslianne Johns Westin Mitchell pins his opponents, winning that match in Alpena where there Wildcats hosted a wrestling meet on Saturday.

Despite narrowly missing out on first place, the Wildcats remain optimistic and motivated.

“This loss doesn’t change our goals, and I think a second-place finish leaves the team hungry to improve,” Kowalski said. “We could replay that dual with Tawas several times, and it would likely have different outcomes. Congrats to Tawas for taking advantage of the moment and winning the dual.”

The Wildcats will look to build on their performance when they travel to Petoskey on Wednesday for a 5:30 p.m. meet against the Northmen.