Cotter sophomore Jack Vaselaar couldn’t get a grip on the wrestling season, literally.

Nursing a broken finger, Jack had to sit out the first portion of his  2016 season, which follows up on his impressive showing at the MSHSL state wrestling tournament last year. Now, Jack is back to lead his equally battered team to a strong finish.

“We have grown very strong bonds as team members this year and have had lots of fun… but we have had many injuries this year so we have not had a full team,” Vaselaar said .

Jack has a season record of 12-5 and has been working with his coaches on how to best improve his form heading into the end of the season.

“We have a strong core of coaches that care a lot about us getting better. I have been working (with them) on the bottom position,”  Vaselaar added.

Reaching the 3A Minnesota state tournament last year was the most recent highlight of his ten year wrestling career. Jack hopes to return to the Xcel Energy Center this year for a repeat appearance, this time in class 2A.

“Class 2A will definitely give Jack some tougher competition,” said coach Matt Drazkowski.

All Winona Senior High sports teams moved down one class for the 2015-2016 season. The change means that Jack will face new competition at the section tournament, despite weighing in at the same 132 pounds from last season.