The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Trying to take down Creighton Kodiaks wrestler, Mike Sutherland, might be hard, but he has no problem doing so to his opponents. "Wrestlers couldn't handle his takedowns," coach Pat Mackenzie said of Mike, who is in the 62 kg weight group. Placing second among 12 competitors in North Battlefords' during regionals on March 9, MacKenzie said what the grade nine student accomplished is impressive because there are a lot of good wrestlers in the region. The province is broken up into three regions with Saskatoon and Regina making up two and the rest of Saskatchewan the final region. Mike lost his match when his opponent pulled a leg lace move Ð an ankle tilt Ð from which there is no escape. Mike was surprised by the move and he couldn't recover. This is something that Mackenzie plans to fix. Listening to his coach is one of the things that makes Mike so good. "He wants to win and he does everything I tell him to do," Mackenzie said. This weekend in Saskatoon, Mike intends to win provincial gold and is confident he can do it. Since working with MacKenzie, Mike has improved. "I wrestled a bit in Prince Albert but I have learned more here," he said. "He (MacKenzie) showed me a lot of moves." Mike likes wrestling because he doesn't have to depend on anyone else. "There's no team to help out," he said. Speaking of team, the Kodiak wrestling team has had a good season, according to MacKenzie. "They've come a long way and next year they will be better," he said. What has impressed the coach most is that his wrestlers have never missed practice. "They work hard," he said. "That's why they've come so far."
