The Northwestern wrestling team has been through an up and down year. With several injuries stacking up throughout the year, the team has struggled to wrestle at every weight at duals. The team is currently 0-4 in conference duals. Losing to Dakota Wesleyan, Briar Cliff, 16th ranked Morningside, and 6th ranked Doane. However as the season is coming close to an end and as we near senior day for the wrestlers, the team is looking in some of the best shape it has been all year. On Friday Jan. 26 the Raiders will dual Jamestown at home. They will then head to Sioux City on Saturday. The Raiders will walk out with a full starting line-up for their three duals against Concordia, Hastings and Midland.
The Raiders will walk out with some interesting bright spots on an otherwise painful year. Firstly, Logan Schroeder, He is the team’s current 125-pound wrestler and has grown as a wrestler a lot throughout the season.
Coach Rik Dahl said, ”I was proud of the growth and is excited to see him wrestle this weekend.”
Another sophomore on the team is making waves, Noah Parmalee has shown an immense amount of grit and perseverance throughout the season. He has battled through the bad parts of the sport and everybody knows he will toe the line when it is match time no matter what. He is a leader through his actions and finds a way to provide a spark that was previously missing in duals. A third stand out Raider on the wrestling team is Luke Jeness. Luke is the embodiment of consistency, It doesn’t matter if it is a GPAC dual or a tournament. You know what you are going to get out of Jeness. This year he has beaten the number one guy in the nation and recently took fourth in a very hard tournament that is renowned for its difficulty. Along with Jeness, there is yet another wrestler this year making headlines. Jaxon Hildebrandt is a freshman heavy weight. Being light for the weight Hildebrandt uses his speed to make his opponents guess constantly and try to put the puzzle together.
