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November 30, 2009

West wrestling team hungry for more

Scarlets hoping to build on 26-win season

By Jim Rueda

MANKATO — Mankato West senior captains Evan Jones and Jordan Dalluge have high hopes for the upcoming wrestling season. Head coach Don Krusemark believes those lofty goals are warranted.

Jones, a 215-pounder, who is rated 10th in Class AAA at 189 pounds in The Guillotine’s preseason rankings, is coming off a 32-10 season. He came up just short in the Section 2AAA tournament last winter, losing in the semifinals to a wrestler he had defeated a month earlier. He then won his third-place bout but did not get a chance to wrestle for true second.

“That was disappointing, so this year I want to take the next step,” Jones said. “I not only want to make it to state, I want to place at state.”

Jones began his varsity career as an eighth-grader at 119 pounds. He’s moved up three weights every year since and now has 58 career wins, good enough for 27th on West’s all-time list.

Jones did some Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling last spring and attended West’s open-mat sessions twice a week during the summer. He’s optimistic he’ll have a good year.

“We’re expecting a lot from Evan this year,” Krusemark said. “I think he wanted to wrestle a little longer last year, and now he’s using that as motivation for this season.”

Dalluge, a 145-pounder, is looking at the upcoming season as a fresh start. Two years ago, as a freshman, he was two weeks into the season when he dislocated his ankle and was done for the year. The injury required two different surgeries, and while he came back and wrestled last season, he was never close to 100 percent.

This year he’s much further along in the preseason than he was a year ago.

“It’s like night and day from where he was last year,” Krusemark said. “We’re looking for him to win a lot of matches for us.”

Dalluge has developed arthritis in the ankle since the injury but said it feels much better than it did last season.

“It’s just something I have to deal with,” he said. “I’m looking to win at least 20 matches this year. If I hit that, then I want to win 25.

“The ultimate goal is to make it to state. (The 140-pound weight class) is usually pretty tough in the section, but I’m going to give it a shot.”

The Scarlets are coming off a year in which they set the school record for dual-meet victories in a season with 26. They graduated six wrestlers who finished fourth or higher in the Section 2AAA Meet off that team. Despite those losses, Krusemark is optimistic.

“We have some quality kids coming back, and they all have a good attitude and a good work ethic,” he said. “We have 15 freshman out for the team so that bodes well for the future.”

In addition to Jones and Dalluge, the Scarlets’ top returnees include 10th-ranked Alex Thompson (59-45 career record), eighth-ranked Zach Lowe (32-13), Hunter Friesen (45-33), Ben Enz (33-33), Tyler Jakes (33-38), and Josh Hendrickson (14-22).

“We have good depth this year, but we don’t have a lot of experience within that depth,” Krusemark said. “That’s something we have to build as the season goes along.”

West opens the season Saturday when it hosts the annual Russ Hanson Invitational involving Fairmont, Byron and St. James.

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