The Le Mars Community boys wrestling team opened 2026 with a bang dominating Bishop Heelan in a dual on Senior Night by the score of 69-12.
Originally, the dual was scheduled for later in December, and the Bulldogs were not supposed to get back to action until Thursday. Head coach Shane Hessenius says that meant his guys had to make an adjustment to their holiday routine, but it worked out in the end.
In the six matches the Bulldogs won on the mat, they won five of them by pin and only one of those pins made it to the second period. Coach Hessenius says everybody wrestles differently making them tough to plan against.
Le Mars was up big in the dual right away with a 24-0 advantage thanks to four forfeits in the first four weights. That meant Jefferson Sitzmann led off the dual, and he did so with a pin in just a little over one minute. Coach Hessenius says that fired up the team to keep the momentum going.
Le Mars has a lot of tough competitions on their docket the next few weeks. They will head out east this weekend for the Linn-Mar Dual Tournament, and they host their home invitational the following Saturday with various duals scattered throughout. Coach Hessenius says his team is prepared for the challenges ahead.
Le Mars is now 2-2 in dual competition with a 2-1 record in the MRAC dual schedule.
