Le Mars wrestling had a perfect dual record heading into Sergeant Bluff on Thursday night. They left with their first loss of the year at the hands of the second-ranked Warriors by a final of 52-27.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 21-12 lead through the upper weight classes in the dual with three fall wins from Alex Allen, Camden Feuerhelm, and Ayden Hoag. The latter two were wrestling up to try and maximize the point possibility for the Bulldogs. Head Coach Shane Hessenius says the strength of the upper-weight guys gives him the flexibility to do that.
Everything from 152 pounds down was pretty rough for the Bulldogs. Le Mars won just one match in the lighter weight classes. That win was an impactful one with Brock Hessenius scoring a third-period pin at 113 pounds after trailing 2-0 for most of the bout. Coach Hessenius says the physicality Brock has been wrestling with lately has helped him.
Prior to the loss to Sergeant Bluff-Luton, the Bulldogs were a perfect 11-0 in their duals. It has been a long time since the Bulldogs were better than 10-0 in duals to start a season. Coach Hessenius says that comes from the guys being a really tight-knit bunch.
Of course, that does not mean the Bulldogs are perfect by any means. The lower weight wrestlers are young and have chances to get better throughout the season. Coach Hessenius hopes those opportunities are well-used.
The Bulldogs are now 11-1 in duals. The second-ranked Warriors improved to 9-0 in duals on the season.
