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The Elks had five wrestlers with two wins for the night as Maggie Petersen (103 pounds), Erica Dopp (112), Jason Benak (119), Pat Bruening (152) and Jeff Steinbeck (285) led the way.

"We started off a bit slow against Frankfort and gave up some losses due to mistakes," Elk Rapids coach Rob Petersen said. "Frankfort has a very tough team through the middle weights, and we were fortunate to pick up a couple of crucial wins from Bruening and Steinbeck."

"Forest Area was a much better meet," he added. "Our lower weights dominated the mat, and our upper weights held their own. At 119, Jason Benak wrestled a superb match and handed Dan Karlskin only his third loss of the season.

"This was a good night for Elk Rapids wrestling."

TCSF 41, ER 27
Elk Rapids wrestler Aaron Gillett waited until the closing seconds before he decided to end his 171 pound dual meet opening match against Traverse City St. Francis on Thursday, Jan. 11.

Gillett was facing a third-period, 11-4 deficit to Gladiator Brandon Bradfield when he turned the tide and pinned his man with just two seconds remaining in the match.

Elk Rapids captured two more victories on the mat as Jason Benak earned a 5- 2 decision at 119 pounds and Derek Peterson pinned his opponent at 1:33 of the 125-pound match.

St. Francis won eight matches and took advantage of one void to defeat Elk Rapids, 41-27.

"I'm happy with the team's growth and with their overall attitude on the mat," Petersen said. "The team is becoming more confident, and as they fine tune their abilities that will continue. Right now we are at the point where we need some solid wins as a team. It's a difficult stage to get through, but I'm confident that we'll see it happen yet this season."

In an exciting 189- pound match, Elk Dylan Helferich and Gladiator Paul Britten traded leads five times in back-andforth action before Britten prevailed to take a close 7- 6 decision.

Elk Rapids travels to Grayling on Thursday, Jan. 18, and travels to Charlevoix on Saturday, Jan. 20.