John Raffel
Sports Scene
Austin Wamser wants to achieve a lot as a Cedar Springs wrestler this season, and he is ready and raring to go.
Wamser, a senior wrestling at 160 pounds, has gotten off to a 9-1 start. Last season, he had the team’s best performance in the state finals, taking eighth place in Division 2 at 160 pounds. He also earned all-conference honors in the O-K Blue. He’s currently ranked seventh in the state by Michigan Grappler in Division 2.
“I want to be all-conference again and place higher in the state,” Wamser said. “I think I’ve improved a little bit because we have a new coach, and he’s teaching us different moves and different things I didn’t know last year.”
He’s happy with his start.
“I still have a lot of work to improve on,” Wamser said. “It’s a good way to start off the season.”
Wamser said he’s working on getting in better condition than his opponent. He also wants to utilize more moves from on top.
His only loss has been to Jordan Sullivan from Coopersville, and Wamser admits that it wasn’t even close.
“I wrestled really bad that match,” he said, adding that if and when he has a chance to see Sullivan in a rematch, “I just need to be more prepared, I guess, and try wrestling better than I did.”
Wamser takes pride in his takedowns and escapes.
“I can’t make mistakes, and I want to beat kids that are challenge matches and aren’t just easy kids,” he said. “You have to win the harder matches too.”
The Redhawks have a young team, Wamser acknowledged.
“We’re young, but I don’t think we’re too young,” he said. “It just seems like we are. We’re decent.”
Wamser also plays football and baseball, and he said baseball is his best sport. He pitches and plays shortstop and third base and was honorable mention all-conference last year.