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Hard work paid off for the Eisenhower Junior High wrestling team this season.
The Falcons, under fourth-year head coach Tony Resendez, went undefeated for the first time in school history and won their second Great Lakes League tournament title in three years.
“They trained hard,” Resendez said. “They went in the wrestling room and they didn't goof around and they did what they were told. They worked for two hours every day, non-stop.”
Eisenhower had six individual champions and scored 243 points at the GLL tournament on Jan. 29 at Fassett Junior High. Fremont was second with 212 points and defending GLL champion Fassett was third with 183.
“We were the team that was expected to win,” said Resendez, whose squad went 5-0 in dual meets. “These guys had a goal this year. They wanted to go undefeated and prove to everybody that this was the team. It happened to be the team.”
The Falcons' GLL tournament champions were Chad Berning at 86 pounds, Jeff Ansell (98), Seth Gaghen (116), Gabe Mendoza (128), Matt Stencel (134) and Tyler Koester (172). Evan True (80), Zack Brown (110), Bryce Anderson (122), Brant Anderson (142) and Kevin Witt (150) all took second for Eisenhower.
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Eisenhower wrestlers — first row — Chad Berning (86), Coach Nick Resendez,
Head Coach Tony Resendez, Seth Gaghen (116). Second row — Coach Troy
Anderson, Zach Brown (110), Even True (80), Matt Stencel (134), Jeffery
Ansell (98), Alan Teet (92). Third row — Logan Chancey (92), Gabe Mendoza
(128). Caleb Nelson (104), Brant Anderson (142), Ben Andrus (245). Fourth
row — Tyler Koester (172), Bryce Anderson (122), Matt Clark (160), Brendon
Knorr (205), Kevin Whitt (150).
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The Falcons also won tournament titles at Fremont, Liberty Center and Northwood this season. They hosted the Patrick Barton Invitational and scored 243 points to win the event for the first time. Eisenhower also went 5-0 at the Maumee Duals.
“This is the hardest working team performance-wise,” Resendez said. “They did everything they were told, and they hit a lot of different moves. We tried to do it in sequence in the practice room, so when they're out on the mat they're doing the same thing. They're not caught in a situation they aren't familiar with. We did the same things every day, and that's why they got so good at it.”
Ansell and Mendoza, both eighth-graders, and Stencel, a seventh-grader, all finished the season undefeated. Ansell and Stencel both went 23-0 and Mendoza was 20-0.
Gaghen had a 20-2 record this season, while True and Witt both went 20-3 and Caleb Nelson, a 104-pounder, was 18-2. The Falcons' other top performers were Koester (18-3), Berning (18-5), Brant Anderson (18-5), Bryce Anderson (18-6), 205-pounder Brenden Knorr (9-6), heavyweight Ben Andrus (8-8) and 92-pounders Alan Teet and Logan Chancey.
Eisenhower had 33 wrestlers on its A and B teams this year. Its B team took first place at the Northwood Invitational and also beat Findlay Central. Nick Garcia and Troy Anderson were assistant coaches on this year's squad.
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