2008 Woodie Awards
Dedication through pain
The toll four years of wrestling takes on the body
Beau Markut
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: Sports
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When the lights shut off at the Faganel Hall at Elmhurst College on Feb. 17, the hopes of a longer season for the Muskie Wrestlers died with them. Augsburg College dominated the Great Lakes Regional by qualifying their entire lineup. This left the fourteen other teams competing for the remaining ten invitations to the National tournament. Unfortunately, none of the Lakeland wrestlers grabbed one of them.
In order for a wrestler to qualify for a longer season, they need to take first or second. David Copp came very close with a third place finish on the day. Captains Paul Hartt and Mark Vanden Hoogan followed shortly after with fourth place finishes.
Vanden Hoogan is waiting for the surgery that will place screws into the broken foot that kept him on the sidelines for the conference tournament this year. The foot was in a cast and for a couple of weeks he searched for a doctor that would clear him to wrestle.
Once cleared, he took his cast off and put his wrestling shoes back on. On a broken foot, the senior captain wrestled his way into the semifinals where he lost a tie breaker into the championships and nationals.
"I didn't want to end my season," said Vanden Hoogan. "I talked to Pete (Rogers, head coach) and he reminded me of what my goals were and what I wanted to achieve."
Captains Matt Priemesberger and Vanden Hoogan, as well as Noe De Leon will graduate from the wrestling program this year, leaving a gaping hole for future leaders to step into. "This is going to hit the team hard, both in practice and on the mat," said fellow captain Paul Hartt. "This will be a huge impact. Hopefully, we can fill in next year."
De Leon has split time at 133 all year long despite many nagging injuries. "What kept me going all year long was basically Pete and the fact that I was able to help out the younger guys," said De Leon. "It was not about starting but about wrestling with people like David (Copp) and obviously I made him better."
In order for a wrestler to qualify for a longer season, they need to take first or second. David Copp came very close with a third place finish on the day. Captains Paul Hartt and Mark Vanden Hoogan followed shortly after with fourth place finishes.
Vanden Hoogan is waiting for the surgery that will place screws into the broken foot that kept him on the sidelines for the conference tournament this year. The foot was in a cast and for a couple of weeks he searched for a doctor that would clear him to wrestle.
Once cleared, he took his cast off and put his wrestling shoes back on. On a broken foot, the senior captain wrestled his way into the semifinals where he lost a tie breaker into the championships and nationals.
"I didn't want to end my season," said Vanden Hoogan. "I talked to Pete (Rogers, head coach) and he reminded me of what my goals were and what I wanted to achieve."
Captains Matt Priemesberger and Vanden Hoogan, as well as Noe De Leon will graduate from the wrestling program this year, leaving a gaping hole for future leaders to step into. "This is going to hit the team hard, both in practice and on the mat," said fellow captain Paul Hartt. "This will be a huge impact. Hopefully, we can fill in next year."
De Leon has split time at 133 all year long despite many nagging injuries. "What kept me going all year long was basically Pete and the fact that I was able to help out the younger guys," said De Leon. "It was not about starting but about wrestling with people like David (Copp) and obviously I made him better."
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