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Egan places sixth at state wrestling

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In his third trip to the state wrestling tournament, MFL MarMac junior Michael Egan earned a medal, placing sixth at 138 pounds in Class 1A. He did it all with a torn ACL.

Head coach Chet Bachman credited Egan for taking on some tough competition, as all but one of his opponents were ranked. He also commended Egan’s ability to bounce back from defeat.

Egan said his first-match victory was key to his state tournament success. “Once I got that first win, I knew it was right there for me to go out and take,” he shared. “I knew I could get a medal.”

Egan said his achievement was most meaningful because of the hard work he’s put in, not just during the wrestling season, but throughout the whole year.

Egan poses with assistant coach Tracy Decker, head coach Chet Bachman and assistant coach Collin Stubbs.

By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times 

For Michael Egan, the third time really was the charm. In his third trip to the state wrestling tournament, the MFL MarMac junior finally earned a medal, placing sixth at 138 pounds in Class 1A.

Egan said having a taste of that state experience the past two years helped him reach the podium this time around.

“The first time I was there, I was like ‘Oh,’ when I walked out and saw everyone,” Egan said. “This time, I was able to focus. I didn’t let that get in my head.”

Egan punched his ticket to state after placing second in a tough District 6. He carried that momentum into his first match against Clarinda’s Austin Gutknecht, earning a pin in 2:43.

“He came out and really did well,” said head coach Chet Bachman.

The second match was tougher, as Egan lost a 13-4 major decision to Kolton Roth, from  Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire, who was the eventual second-place finisher.

Egan soon got back on track, though, defeating New London’s Javis Krieger 6-2. He then secured another victory, beating Wilton’s Cory Anderson 5-3, assuring himself a finish of no less than sixth place.

Spencer Griffin, from Emmetsburg, kept Egan out of the third-place match, however, winning 6-4.

“He was beating the kid from Emmetsburg,” Bachman said, “but he got caught in a cradle.”

Then, it was on to Denver’s Riley Wright, who had beaten Egan to win the district title.

Egan was behind early in the fifth-place match, which Bachman labeled a barn-burner, but had a head lock to send the contest to overtime. There, Wright got a takedown to defeat Egan 8-6.

“It was a good match to watch,” Bachman remarked.

Bachman credited Egan for taking on some tough competition, as all but one of his opponents were ranked. He also commended Egan’s ability to bounce back from defeat.

“It’s a hard way to earn a medal, with a loss in the quarterfinals,” he said. “But he learned a lot. I thought he wrestled the best he’s ever wrestled.”

Egan agreed, noting that his first-match victory was key.

“Once I got that first win, I knew it was right there for me to go out and take,” he shared. “I knew I could get a medal.”

Bachman added that Egan’s sixth-place finish was even more remarkable because he wrestled throughout the season with a torn ACL.

“That says something about the type of kid he is,” Bachman said. “He earned it the hard way.”

Egan said his achievement was most meaningful because of the hard work he’s put in, not just during the wrestling season, but throughout the whole year.

“I put in a lot of work in the spring, in the summer,” he said. “To finally get a medal, it feels nice.”

He credited his family, teammates, coaches and fans for their support throughout the season. Next year, his senior season, Egan said he hopes to perform even better.

“This was a tough year, with people hurt and sick,” he said, “but we’ll be back next year.”

Bachman was also hopeful, noting that there’s a lot to look forward to for the MFL MarMac program.

“We take a lot of pride in what we do, and I think we’ve started a pretty good tradition in wrestling,” he said. “We’re homegrown and we work hard. We don’t just teach kids about wrestling; we teach kids something about life.”

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