The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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December 19, 2009

MTML wrestler off to a great start

New Ulm wins Maple River Invitational

By Jim Rueda

MAPLETON — If you measure your success in terms of goals reached, Madelia-Truman/Martin Luther’s Alex Cooling’s is off to an excellent start to the 2009-2010 wrestling season.

The junior has been in three individual tournaments already and had finished first twice, and second in the other. His latest championship came Saturday when he won the 145-pound title at the Maple River Invitational.

“So far it’s been a pretty good start,” Cooling said Saturday afternoon, just after his 12-0 semifinal victory over Mankato West’s Jordan Dalluge. “I was first at Blue Earth Area and second at Jackson County. I wanted to win both of those this year but I lost to a kid from Iowa at Jackson.

“Losses are going to happen. You just have to keep working hard; keep trying to win every time out.”

From a team standpoint, Cooling said this year has been a little frustrating because the Jayhawks are down.

“In a season like this you really have to concentrate on the individual side of the sport,” he said. “We’re forfeiting quite a few weights and we have some really young kids in the lineup, too. If the (young guys) stick with it we should have a pretty good team down the road.”

And speaking of team competition, Medford had the horses on Saturday, but New Ulm had the depth. When the final whistle blew it was the Eagles of New Ulm who won the invitational title with 218 points. Staples-Motley was second with 168 and Medford, despite having four individual champions and three runners-up, was third with 145.

Rounding out the team scores were Martin County West in fourth (99.5), Mankato West in fifth (84), Maple River in sixth (77) and Madelia-Truman/Martin Luther in seventh (75).

New Ulm’s champions included Ryan Hoffman at 125 pounds, Jake Schmidt at 215, and Pat Brinkman at 285. Brinkman, who finished second at 215 in last year’s Class AA state tournament, pinned his way to the heavyweight title Saturday.

MTML finished with two champions in Cooling at 145 and freshman Bryan Forstner at 103. Mankato West had no firsts, but came away with a second, two thirds and four fourths.

West’s highest finisher was 10th-ranked Zach Lowe at 112 pounds. He lost by decision to undefeated Zack Kuhns of Maple River in the championship bout.

Kuhns was the Eagles only champion. Teammates Jesse Jaeger at 119 and Seth Barkosky at 140 each placed second.

For Jaeger, a junior who lost to undefeated second-ranked Zach Keller of Medford in Saturday’s 119-pound finals, the invitational was just one step on the road back to the state tournament. Jaeger went 0-2 in last year’s state meet and would like another shot in March.

“I’d like to get back and try to place this year,” Jaeger said. “I want to try to win 30 matches, too.

“I went to a few camps this summer and went to open mat whenever I could.

“I definitely think I’m ahead of where I was last year.”

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