N-P wrestlers learn, grow at Battle of Waterloo

PREP WRESTLING: BATTLE OF WATERLOO

N-P wrestlers learn, grow at Battle of Waterloo

Senior Mason Hyde escapes with three wins Saturday

WATERLOO — Early in the first period of his match, senior Mason Hyde found himself in a bind — literally. Almost completely pinned to the ground, Hyde wiggled his arm free and got on to the second period.

There was only one thought going through his mind: “This is not going to happen. Not now,” Hyde said. “Crazy, crazy stuff. I thought I was pinned, but I got my arm through and got a couple back points, tied it back up.”

Then, in the second period, Hyde earned the victory by fall after coming so close to losing himself.

It was the kind of win that exemplified the Huskies weekend at the Battle of Waterloo tournament at the Young arena in downtown Waterloo.

The Huskies had a challenging weekend, especially for the young lineup they carry along with them.

On Friday, the Huskies placed eighth of eight teams in bracket competition, fighting against some of the best teams in the state. In a mini-state tournament, the Huskies found some positives on Saturday, when they finished 2-1 in pool play, taking second place.

Head coach Al Frost said Saturday’s competition gave his team more freedom to mentally prepare for matches it knew it could win.

“Mentally, it gave the guys more confidence,” Frost said.

“It’s tough to get a kid going against Prairie or Linn Mar or West Delaware to wrestle. You just say, ‘Go out, see what you can do.’” Frost said the better matchups on Saturday helped give the Huskies a little bit of confidence heading into winter break this week. He hopes his wrestlers can reflect on the positives they had in Waterloo, but also enjoy a little time off before having to come back and make weight in 2016.

“Overall, the guys are feeling pretty good. It’s Christmas break time now and no more weight-making until after Christmas,” Frost said.

“Got a couple dual wins, and we’re just keeping everything on a positive note as we head into January.”

UP next

The Huskies will come back and have their next meet on Jan. 5, 2016, a triangular with Saint Ansgar and Forest City at Saint Ansgar High School at 6 p.m.

By Stephen Koenigsfeld sports@charlescitypress.com