On a night to honor the past, the current edition of Jackson County
Central wrestling was impressive in a 76-0 dual win over Blue Earth
Area.
It was Hall of Fame Night as the first 14 inductees into the Jackson
County Wrestling Hall of Fame were honored at a program prior to the
dual.
The Huskies won 11 matches by falls, one by major decision and two by decision.
Winners by fall for JCC were Daric Vancura (103), Bronson Steuber
(112), Patrick Hanson (119), Taylor Menke (130), Cole Von Ohlen (135),
Randy Hummel (145), Devin Bezdicek (160), Calvin Ferguson (171), Caleb
Lines (189), Travis Rutt (215) and Joe Skow (285).
Torey Stewart won a major decision at 152. Winning by decision were Cooper Moore (125) and Andrew Hodnefield (140).
The Huskies are 3-1 in duals.
Inducted into the Hall of Fame were Dean Libra, Wayne Ailts, Jim Hart,
Gary Natterstad, Rich Benda, Larry Michelson, Bill Johnson, Gary
Huhnerkoch, Scott Vancura, Tim Jansma, Chad Kraft, Matt Kraft, Jeff and
Martha Johnson and Terry Wheeler.
'It turned out really well,' JCC coach Randy Baker said of the night.
'It was enjoyable to have a lot of people turn out and reminisce about
their walk through the sport and how wrestling has impacted their lives.
“Our kids were able to focus and wrestle well,” Baker continued. “Blue
Earth Area has a nice team. I know their coaches are going to work hard
and they’ll improve as the season goes on. They’ll be a pretty solid
team by the end of the season.”
In the match, JCC wrestlers wore uniforms honoring past county
wrestling teams, the Jackson Blue Jays, Lakefield Panthers, Heron
Lake-Okabena-Lakefield Silver Bullets and HLOL/Jackson Jaguars.
“I had a chance to look around in the stands a few times once our guy
took the mat and it was fun to see people talking and a little buzz
going through the crowd about what uniform the kid was wearing and what
era it was from.”
Wrestling in Jackson County started in 1959 with the formation of
Jackson High School’s program and plans are being formulated to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of the sport sometime in 2009.
