Maroons Wrestling Season Comes to a Close, Freshman Ronald Baker Proceeds to State Finals

The Maroons Wrestling season is coming to an end after a long and exciting season. The wrestling team this year was filled with a bunch of experienced wrestlers as well as some new ones. Some of the more experienced wrestlers include Freshman Ronald Baker, Sophomore Jackson Dillow, Junior Owen Esslinger, Junior David Dorsey, Junior Isiah Yoakum, Junior Asher Koto, Junior Seth Bowers, Junior Zavier Neil, Senior Lavontae Pelmore, and Senior Liam Potenburg. Some new wrestlers are Freshman Samuel Kang, Sophomore Andrew May, Sophomore Rowen King, and Junior Ian Pan. The team clearly has a bunch of different ages and experience levels.

I asked Head Wrestling Coach Robb about how he believes the players have improved throughout the season. He said, “our wrestlers have really improved by believing in their technique and skills. We were a pretty small team and a few beginner wrestlings had to develop their skills quickly in-order to fill our varsity line up”. He also talked about the players learning from their mistakes and building off those mistakes for the future.

When asked about who were some of the wrestlers that stood out, Coach Robb said that “our three team captains did a remarkable job this year; Liam Potenberg (#152), Seth Bowers (#182), and Jackson Dillow (#145). They did what captains are expected to do without reminders, [they were] true leaders on and off the mat”. Coach Robb had high praise for these wrestlers and is clearly incredibly proud of what they were able to do.

When asked about what his favorite memories were from the season, he said “my favorite memory of the season would’ve have to be the Bloomington JV invitational. At that specific tournament, all the wrestlers (Sammy Kang, Andrew May, Ian Pan, and Isaiah Yoakam) demonstrated hard wrestling while executing their moves with accurate technique. It was a good culminating event to end our season which gets a coach excited for the next season.”

I asked Freshman Ronald Baker what his goals for his sophomore season were. He said, “to hopefully make it to state once again and hopefully make it to the finals at state”. He said he would achieve this “by putting some work in this summer and working out and trying to go to some camps this summer to become better”.

The wrestling season continued for one extra week for Baker, as he qualified to participate in IHSA State, which took place on February 17th. Coach Robb said about Baker, “he has been in some big matches for a Freshman varsity wrestler, and will continue to make a splash as he competes in the IHSA Wrestling State finals this weekend”. Baker was the only Maroon to make it to state this year, and was cheered on by friends and family at the State Farm Center. The Maroons had a great season and are all excited for what's to come next year.