“Consistent and persistent” are the words head coach Tom Brands uses when he talks about sophomore Michael Kemerer. A tough guy, an anchor, a team captain, the role model. These are the qualities that lead to Kemerer’s success, and beyond that, the success of the entire wrestling program.
Kemerer isn’t the only one who needs to exude these qualities; expectation falls just as heavily on the 149 and 165 pound wrestlers that sandwich Kemerer at 157.
“Even though we’ve got some little holes in the lineup, we’ve got to put the team on our backs, and we’ve got to carry the team,” said freshman Alex Marinelli, the resident wrestler at 165.
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This pressure comes down to the gritty nature of how these three wrestle. Senior Brandon Sorensen is 15-0 for the season, and this is his third season in a row making it this far in his winning streak.
Kemerer is off to a hot start as well; this is his second-consecutive season making it to 16-0, and seven of those victories are pins.
Marinelli, also undefeated with a 9-0 record, is one of only two freshmen still undefeated this season. The pressure to remain undefeated weighs heavily on all three of them.
Kemerer explained how they keep finding success as the season progresses.
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“I go see Sorensen — he’s undefeated, he’s taking care of business. And then I’ve got to go out and do my job, and Marinelli’s doing the same thing,” Kemerer said. “It’s just being consistent and going out and wrestling hard. That’s what we’re all doing. It’s just good for the room, to have partners like that around my weight. Being able to wrestle with them on a daily basis is huge. It’s good when everyone’s undefeated, so you’ve got to keep winning.”
They do this by building off one another — the first one’s success is a reason for the next one to succeed.
“Tom says he doesn’t believe in senior leadership, and I agree; freshmen can be leaders, anyone can be a leader,” Marinelli said. “I think us young guys helping Sorensen — he’s an older guy — these guys gotta step up [because] that really helps him, to propel him to a win. You’ve gotta win, you’ve gotta produce wins. I just feel like you’ve got to lead by example, and if you win, it makes it a lot easier for people to follow you.”
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But there’s a lot more to remaining undefeated than just talking about winning, and that’s what sets these three apart.
“As a competitor, there’s always something you can do better. I look at the best guys we have in this room, the best guys who’ve been through our program, I look at Dan Gable and what he stood for, and ‘never satisfied’ comes to mind,” Brands said. “So guys like Kemerer and Sorensen and Marinelli, Spencer Lee, and really, all of the guys in our lineup — it’s hard to be satisfied when you walk off the mat.”
When talking about walking off the mat, the wrestlers are quick to list off what they could have done better and what they want to improve on for the next opportunity.
Brands not only reflects this attitude, but strongly approves of it.
“Marinelli had a tough win, and it was a big win for him in an arena he’s done very well in, and he was like, ‘I’ve got to get off the bottom,’ ” Brands said. “And really, as a coach, that’s how you want your guys thinking; forward thinking.”