'We're pretty scrappy': Mayo's wrestling culture on full display

Feb. 27—There's a culture surrounding Mayo wrestling that's very real and very noticeable.

The Spartans care about each other deeply. They're locked in on the sidelines, and they embody coach Art Trimble's calm, steady personality.

The Spartans sit at 15-6 on the year after falling 39-25 to Big Nine powerhouse Northfield and walloping undermanned Winona 67-6. They're off to an outstanding start thanks to the effort and leadership from their eight seniors.

That was on full display Saturday.

Northfield is a tough matchup for Mayo, according to Trimble. The Raiders' lineup is just stockpiled with beasts like Sam Holman, Mason Pagel, Nick Lopez and Chase Murphy. Plus, Mayo star Calder Sheehan was still out nursing a concussion.

But the Spartans still battled and fought. They're a scrappy bunch.

Senior 138-pounder Marshall Peters came from behind and stunned Holman in triple overtime with a 4-3 victory.

"Marshall and Sam Holman have been going back and forth for a couple years now, but he was confident going into second and third overtime that his gas tank was ready to go," Trimble said. "He's always a little slow at the beginning of the year. He was 4-4 at the start of the season, but after that, he was a little down, but he just picked up that focus. His confidence blows up, he always gets better as the season comes down the stretch."

Fellow seniors Dedric Burger and Ethan Smith also notched big-time victories.

"Ethan Smith has been coming on really strong," Trimble said. "I was wrestling him in practice the other day and I was like, 'Oh, who are you?' He's been hanging around our program for years and years and senior year, he's just exploding. Dedric is looking good too."

Trimble is blessed with a knack to develop talent, unlike many others. He's shortened the practices this year, but his crew is still able to get what they need to do done. Trimble doesn't force his team to cut weight. He wants them to wrestle at the weight that they're comfortable with. The environment is inviting. Mayo football's star quarterback Bennett Ellsworth didn't wrestle until high school, but he's gladly on the team despite inconsistent playing time. Ellsworth wants to be a part of the environment that Trimble and the seniors have created.

"The culture this year has really taken a step forward," Trimble said. "The senior leadership is so fun this year. That will be missed next year, but we have great leaders coming back. The good kids in our program help keep kids around. They all hang out and are good friends. You just need hard-working athletes and if they hang around a couple years, they're going to be good."

The Section 1AAA tournament is right around the corner. The Spartans are hoping for another shot at Faribault — the potential No. 1 seed — who they battled tooth and nail on Feb. 18.

But regardless, they'll be in a position to succeed. Because every team that Trimble has coached somehow finds a way to put it together once the bright lights of tournament time come.

"That's one thing we always pride ourselves with as a program," Trimble said. "When it comes to Section time, we're pretty tough, we're pretty scrappy. We're ready to go. It's been a fun year. We weren't sure if we were even going to have a season. We want to make it count."

Northfield 39, Mayo 25

106: Jackson Barron (N) pins Adam Buenger, 1:15. 113: Keith Harner (N) dec. Kai Kobayashi 2-0. 120: Ben Timmerman (M) pins Brody Gorr (N), 2:18. 126: Chase Murphy (N) wins via forfeit. 132: Jack Messner (N) dec. Rick Kobayashi 7-1. 138: Marshall Peters (M) dec. Sam Holman 4-3. 145: Ian Funk (M) dec. Owen Murphy 6-1. 152: Gavin Anderson pins Cason Larson, 2:31. 160: Ethan Smith (M) maj. dec Carter Seeley 11-2. 170: Logan Burger def. Jayce Barron 8-2. 182: Nickolas Mikula (N) def. Dylan Pepper 9-2. 195: Mason Pagel (N) pins Sam Allen, 1:42. 220: Dedric Burger (M) pins Quinn Ertz, 3:33. 285: Nick Lopez (N) wins via forfeit.

Mayo 67, Winona 6

106: Adam Buenger (M) wins via forfeit. 113: Kai Kobayashi wins via forfeit. 120: Ben Timmerman wins via forfeit. 126: Calder Sheehan wins via forfeit. 132: Rick Kobayashi (M) dec. Logan Henningson 6-5. 138: Marshall Peters (M) pins Evan Maurud, 1:42. 145: Ian Funk (M) maj. dec. Peyton Hoff 13-1. 152: Cason Larson wins via forfeit. 160: Ethan Smith wins via forfeit. 170: Logan Burger pins Camryn Sense, 1:05. 182: Dylan Peper pins Andrew Meyer, 1:56. 195: Sam Allen wins via forfeit. 220: Dedric Burger wins via forfeit. 285: Zander Rusert (W) wins via forfeit.