Dexter Wrestling Team Rebounds from Ypsilanti, Sets Sights to Chelsea

With last week's 36-30 loss to Ypsilanti and 64-6 victory over Ann Arbor Skyline, the boys varsity wrestling team is poised for a strong comeback against Chelsea today.

Greg Wagner, head coach for the Dreadnaughts, said the Jan. 11 match showed the team still has several obstacles to overcome if it hopes to move forward and claim a state championship.

"I thought we could have wrestled better against Ypsilanti than we did," Wagner said. "It was a close dual and a match here and there might have made a difference in our team getting a win. Overall, we are a pretty young team and I think we are still learning how to mentally prepare for competition so that we are ready to go from the start."

Wagner said he was particularly proud of performances by Zeke Breuninger and Drew Barnes.

"Zeke was a stand out for us last week. Neither Ypsilanti or Skyline had a wrestler in the 103 weight class, so Zeke competed up a weight and scored two falls. He has really started to turn it on in the last couple of weeks," Wagner said.

Wagner said coming into tonight's match at Monroe High School, the team has to focus on their holding skills.

"The big thing we need to improve upon is holding good position," he said. "We put ourselves in some situations that we don't need to and they end up either costing us points or making us do a lot of work for little reward. As you continue in the sport you understand how to be more disciplined in what you do.

"It's never an overnight process though, so you will see little improvements in one area and mistakes in another as the team's understanding grows."

The Dreadnaughts will face-off tonight against Chelsea and Huron at Monroe High School beginning at 5:30 p.m.