For the past two weeks the Cardinal wrestlers have been busy in the practice room, gearing up for the next two months. During January and February the Staples Motley boys will see 13 meets before sections start on Feb. 20.

“ W e h ave a busy two months ahead of us, we will return to the mat on Thursday with a triangular against Pequot Lakes and Park Rapids, which are both in the Mid-State Conference. They both have some decent wrestlers. We are going to be quite busy, most of the guys will see another 24-25 matches before the season is over,” Coach Dan Bjerga said.

Leading the team this year is a solid group of seniors. These four: Sam Duberowski, Jordan Bendson, Dylan Shequen and Ryan Detloff have all been wrestling for a quite a few

years, and Bjerga says they

are a great group of guys, “I couldn’t ask for a better

group of seniors.”

Bendson, Shequen and Detloff all made All Conference last season and took first, fourth and third in the section tournament. Bendson went on to the 2009 State Tournament, finishing in second place in the 145 bracket for the second time in two years.

So far each one is having a good 2009-10 season as well. Duberowski is wrestling at 130 pounds for the Cards and has seven wins under his belt, five of which were falls, and just three loses. Bendson at 152 is 10-1, pinning three of those opponents. Shequen has the 171 pound slot and has put down 10 of his twelve rivals, pinning four. Detloff, the 215 pound senior, has a 10-1 record, which includes four falls. “These guys have done pretty much everything that I have asked of them and more,” their coach said. “I have a high level of respect for them, and I am confident that their hard work and dedication is going to pay off over the next couple of months.”

Sam started wrestling in second grade, but quit after fifth grade. “I came back out in tenth grade, so I’ve been wrestling for seven years.” This year he would like to place first or second at sections and qualify for the state meet. “I think my biggest challenge would be being mentally ready for every match,” he said.

Duberowski says this has

been a good season so far, “It’s been a lot of fun this

year, as a team we all really like our new coach, and we think he’s doing a good job.”

Dylan has been a wrestler for ten years, and this season, his last in the Cardinal program, he would like to make it to state. Last year he missed qualifying for the meet by just one match, as he placed third in the section.

Jordan has wrestled since elementary school as well. To improve on last year’s season Bendson needs just one more win, the state championship. He placed second at the state tournament in 2009 and was second in ‘08.

Ryan has been wrestling since first grade, making this his twelfth season. Like the other three, Detloff has his sights set on the 2010 State Meet, “I need to keep from not getting injured and stay focused. There are some tough kids in my bracket, so I need to keep focused on what I want.” Looking back on his wrestling career Ryan

says there are a few things

he wishes he could change, “You know you can’t do that,

but I’ve been able to learn from my mistakes and keep going on.”

“Dedication. Team work. Knowing how to work hard. Discipline.” These were some of the things the

boys said wrestling over

the years has taught them. “Probably the biggest thing

is team work,” Detloff said, “but things like learning to

keep my weight down has really taught me a lot of discipline.”

Bjerga is optimistic, “I talked to the guys just the other day, and asked them what their team goal was. We discussed what we needed to do to reach that goal; we are going to have to pick it up, as far as in the practice room and increase our workouts until we are to the level that we need to be to reach this goal.”

The Cardinal team is 4-1 in dual meets, and took second place in tow tournaments. This week they will be hosting Park Rapids and Pine River Backus in a dual meet on Thursday night, Saturday the boys will be competing in Fertile and then next Thursday, Jan. 14, they will be in Bertha.