It was with great interest that I read your 25 years ago 1983 entry in the Jan. 16 edition of The Globe. I would like to share the rest of the story.
After losing 27-26, ending the Mariners eight year winning streak, the wrestlers on that team, most of whom were freshmen and sophomores, never lost another dual meet in their high school career. They were undefeated in the 83-84, 84-85, and 85-86 seasons. They also came back in the year of the loss (the 82-83 season) to win both the district and the regional championships.
I guess the myth of invincibility, a term we never embraced, incidentally, ended again when we lost after another streak, this time of 37 straight wins, when Auburn beat us in the middle of the 86-87 season.
One of the wrestlers on the team which set the existing state record of 112 consecutive wins (all comers, including the best teams in the state, not just league matches), was my eldest son, Rick Burns.
It has always been a source of aggravation to me that this group of kids, including Rick, are always identified as the team that finally lost as opposed to being the ones who set the record. As a very young team, the fact that they won the first eight or nine matches of the season against some tough competition was a credit to their effort, perhaps more so then their record which followed.
Rick, a Marysville resident, now has a son, my grandson, Matt Burns, who wrestles at 125 pounds for M-PHS. Several of Matts coaches are ex-M-PHS wrestlers who wrestled against my Mariner teams, including the head coach, Craig Iversen. As a former coach, I can only say how blessed the people of Marysville are to have this great coaching staff. To a man, they are well-versed, caring and passionate. Most notable to me is Coach Cliff Johnson, who has taken Matt under his wing and helped him so much. Cliff, incidentally, is one of the guys who was crucial in M-PHSs win over Mariner in 1983. he is a perfect example of the wrestler who got a lot from the sport and is now giving back in kind. God bless guys like Cliff.
Wrestling is a great sport, a visceral experience yet an experience that galvanizes people, even old rivals.
When I yelled my brains out as Matt beat a tough opponent from Mariner at the Marysville Premier Tournament, I guess a form of the circle of life was completed.
And I even wore a red hat.
Bruce W. Burns
Marysville