Photo courtesy of Photoworks Pictured is the 2019-20 Marshall wrestling team.

MARSHALL — A year removed from last season’s historic run to the state tournament, the Marshall wrestling team had another season to remember in 2019-20 that culminated in a repeat trip to the section finals against Fairmont-Martin County West. In addition to the team success, the Tigers had three individuals in Dylan Louwagie, Hsa Khee Lar and Spencer Wambeke all earn medals at the state tournament.

Knowing this year’s team would have large shoes to fill, Marshall wrestling coach Justin Bouwman is proud of the way some of the younger wrestlers stepped up in the absence of last season’s senior class and said it was another great season for the program.

“Overall the season was really, really good,” said Bouwman. “We knew we were going to have a hard time replacing some of last year’s seniors, but a lot of kids stepped up and did a really nice job for us.”

The success of Marshall’s newcomers came as a direct result of them building confidence early on in the season and realizing that they belonged at the varsity level, according to Bouwman.

“As the season got going they started to realize that they belonged where they were,” said Bouwman. “They felt comfortable and were able to just go out and wrestle and not worry about making a mistake or anything like that. They were able to just go out, be themselves and let it all hang out and wrestle their best.”

The Tigers–for a second straight season–finished with nine wrestlers garnering All-Conference honors in the Big South, including: eighth graders Dylan Louwagie and Tate Condezo; seniors Hsa Khee Lar, Hsa Law Eh, Noah Jensen and Jaiden Bahr, and juniors Brett Regnier, Grant Louwagie and Spencer Wambeke.

The three juniors Wambeke, Louwagie and Regnier highlight what will be a strong senior class, which has Bouwman optimistic about what the team can accomplish.

“Next season, our expectations don’t drop any. We expect to be in the final four and competing for that section title,” said Bouwman. “We’ve got kids that are ready to step in and take over some of those shoes. We’ve got a junior class that has a lot of experience and some really great leadership that will lead us to where we want to keep going.”