Glen Lake made history on last week as the Laker wrestling program had its first home meet since the early 2000s, marking a milestone for the revitalized program.
Glen Lake junior Boden Fisher tallied the first-home individual win for Glen Lake in this new era of Laker wrestling in a quad meet against Mancelona, Frankfort, and Grayling.
“There was a little bit of pressure going first, but it was definitely a big relief winning and it was very exciting after seeing those points up on the board for the first time in a long time,” Fisher said.
Glen Lake sophomore Jacob Peplinski won the second match for the Lakers.
“There was a lot of pressure with this being a homecoming meet, but I guess it felt like a huge weight off my shoulders after I got the second win,” Peplinski said.
The home meet has been a long time coming, since the program was approved by the Glen Lake Board of Education in May 2023.
Despite being a first year program, the Lakers proved they can compete on the mat against anyone.
“The environment, the community support … It felt like a home meet,” Glen Lake Wrestling coach Luke Moeggenberg said. “The kids were wrestling with a little more enthusiasm, a little more pride… It was good recognition for the kids, these student athletes.”
Despite not winning either of the dual matches against Mancelona and Grayling, it was a win for the program overall.
“I think it showed on their faces when they were done, even though we didn’t win either of the dual matches, I felt like it was a win for the program and for these kids,” Moeggenberg said.
The biggest issue building a new athletic program is to have the support of the community around them, according to Moeggenberg.
Glen Lake High School Principal Jaime Smith, who’s a former athletic director at Frankfort, has been a part of wrestling in northern Michigan her whole career.
“I thought that our crowd was phenomenal. It was one of the best events that I’ve been to in my 13 or 14 years coaching up here,” Smith said. “I’m super thankful to the Glen Lake community for showing up and cheering loud.”
Smith credits Glen Lake wrestlers for always giving it their all.
Twenty-two years without wrestling. A lot of the kids, including some of these athletes right there, had no idea what wrestling even was … So to actually see it and to see our kids being successful and every single kid kept themselves in a match. They represented Glen Lake really well,” Smith said.
