As the season still continues, the Portage Northern wrestling team continues to work hard and compete well against other schools. To achieve this goal, every day the team does strength and conditioning to build up themselves in order to defeat their competitors. “My favorite thing about the team is that we work together and push each other at practice and conditioning,” said wrestler Rob Fries (10). That support is important considering all of the practice the guys put in: Tuesday and Thursday they condition from 6:30 to 7:15 AM in addition to their after-school practices.

This sport is often misunderstood and may seem simple if you don’t know the ins and outs, but in reality, it’s very technical, demanding, and difficult. Alex Cox (10) explains the basics of a wrestling match: “If you go all three periods without someone getting a pin, whoever has the most points wins, but if someone gets a pin, they win.” Eric Zuniga (10) added: “You always go for the pin.”

The wrestling team has high hopes for this season. “We’re doing pretty well overall and we’d like to make it to state,” said Quinten Baughman (10). Cameron Migliacci (10) elaborated, saying, “There are definitely ways we could improve and we know what needs to be done to get there.” Coach Furlong also weighed in: “We currently have 15 wins and 5 loses. My team is doing okay this season, but they are exceeding the expectation.”

The team is managed in part by sophomore Lauren O’Hern. “It’s fun to manage the team and meet new people. I met so many new people during wrestling season and I get to go to the meets with Mikayla Health and Monique Hall, the varsity managers. I really enjoy hanging out with them every meet and traveling around Michigan with them. We all take stats for guys at the meets and help Coach Furlong with tasks, which he can’t do because he is training the guys,” she explained.
The team is back in action on Wednesday, January 18th for a SMAC conference meet at St. Joseph High School