On Jan. 21, FHN’s freshman wrestling team defeated the only team that was able to beat them in a previous match, Troy.

“I think we did pretty good,” freshman in 113 weight class Anthony Steck said. “We fixed the problems that we had last time when we faced Troy, and we just improved overall from our last meet with them.”

The final score for the freshmen that night was 57-18. It was a close match for a while, but after Zach Anderson had a quick pin during his match, the whole game changed. FHN gained traction and won the match.

“I think [what impressed me most was] seeing our team utilize what we’re teaching at practice every day over the last couple weeks, more so than the beginning of the season,” freshman coach Trevor Locke said. “I think the last couple of weeks has been good to see our kids really take hold of what we’re doing at practice and putting it to use out on the mat.”

This was the second time FHN faced Troy this season. The score from the match on Dec. 17 was a 37-42 FHN loss. Since that match, the coaches have been working with the team to gain experience and knowledge.

“I think we did really good,” freshman in 138 weight class Dillon Lauer said. “We just didn’t have the guys in the heavier weight classes, so we just fell short.”

In the overall season, this group of freshman wrestlers have managed to impress Locke, who believes that they’re good athletes who have worked hard.

“I think it’s been a lot of positives [since the last match against Troy],” Locke said. “I think we’ve gotten kids that are training hard and are working towards getting better every day, so it’s good. We haven’t lost any kids since then, I don’t think, as far as kids not coming back out. I think what we’ve gained is experience and knowledge which has been good.”

Their next match is Jan. 28. GACs will be Jan. 23.