Some commentary on the Minnesota match...

Jeff Vesta and Nathan started us out great and Nathan looked fantastic against an overwhelmed opponent. Sharky did a great job of shaking off a slow start to win the last two periods 1-0, 1-0. David Thorn was too much for Jake at 125, although he battled through the entire match. Minnesota had a beast at 130 in a match that was never close. CJ's match at 135 was tightly fought with the typical low scoring on their feet and late scores in each period. Having lost 125, 130 and 135 in a row, 140 was the defining turning point in the dual. Aldon seemed to have lost his gut defense skills and lost the first period 6-0 pretty quickly. The second period started much the same way until we realized that nobody had told the Minnesota kid to beware of the left handed headlock that you can't see coming! I started to say that it surprised me but then remembered that I had seen that same headlock from Aldon in clutch situations his entire HS career. It was locked up tight and BAM, there went the 0-6 first period and the "penciled in" 4 point win for MN. Instead, 5 points for the good guys! The only thing that could top that was the very next match. Fisher lost a close first period and was down 0-3 in the second with 7 SECONDS to go. He got extended on a shot, then elevated both legs to end up stacking the kid and getting the press fall! I'm not even sure Brent knew he had it. The MN crowd was left staring at each other as high fives ripped through the Kansas faithful! (We weren't obnoxious, were we Aldon Sr.?) Well, I know the grin was hurting my face. Caldwell took care of business, controlling the entire match. Koehn then delivered another one of his patented "I dare you to score on me" matches against what looked like a quality MN kid. Grant Hinckley then showed extreme heart against the toughest MN wrestler on their roster, Travis Rutt. In one spot late in the match, Grant fought off his back from a VERY tight reverse half. That saved a team point at a critical time. Our new addition to the team that came to the aid of his home state at 189, Dereck Heckel was matched against an Incredible Hulk look-a-like. Dereck won the first period 1-0 on a coin flip clintch. He the lost the second period 0-1 by stepping on the out of bounds line during a drop-step offensive shot! The cardio conditioning that he was worried about caught up to him in the third, but he scored a team point to give us a 5 point lead with two to go. Caylor had a great first period, winning 3-0. He also hit a conditioning wall in the second, dropping the next two periods leaving Big Steve with a 3 point lead to bring home for dinner. Steve played it safe with two 1-0 periods to beat Minnesota. (That sounds nice...).

Can't wait till tomorrow! Pack your Kansas shirts and drive on down. This team can flat out wrestle!