Mike Finch has been wrestling longer than he has been in school. The Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn junior's years of hard work paid off last week when he became just the third member of the school's Century Club. Finch got his 100th career victory on a third period reversal to defeat Okoboji's Matt Tschetter 2-0. He is pictured surrounded by the H-M-S wrestling cheerleaders, who presented him with a plaque commemorating his accomplishment.
"It's not really my goal to get 100 wins. My goal is to become a state champion," he said last weekend. "I'd hoped to get it before Christmas but didn't have enough matches. Now my goals are the school's career wins record and 150 wins."
Going into Saturday's H-M-S round robin tournament, Finch boasted a season record of 25-1. Saturday he added five more wins to his total.
Asked about his most memorable match, he pointed to his first varsity match-up as a freshman.
"I was up 2-0 against Spirit Lake Park's Chris Sandy but I got tired and he pinned me in the third period," he recalled. "I'll never forget it because losses motivate me to work even harder."
