"If a PEM wrestler works hard in the classroom they will work hard in the practice room!" That is a quote I took from Hall of Fame wrestling coach Larry Goodnature of Albert Lea. Not only did Larry have great teams at Albert Lea, but also had a record of having his wrestlers achieve great things in their classes too
I've adopted that same philosophy for the PEM wrestling program. So it gives me great satisfaction that the PEM wrestling program once again has been named by the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association (MWCA) and the Guillotine Wrestling magazine as a Gold Academic Team award winner for the 2023-2024 wrestling season. The Gold award goes to the teams in Minnesota who finish with a 3.5 Grade Point Average or higher. PEM's overall team GPA stood at 3.82 which not only qualifies them for this award but ranked them as the 8th best in Class AA. Matter of fact of all 235 wrestling programs in Minnesota, PEM finished 13th overall!
Continuing on with academic success, the PEM wrestling team will also have 5 wrestlers that are recognized by the Three Rivers Conference for Academic All Conference. These wrestlers will have lettered on varsity and have achieved a GPA of 3.5 or higher. The Bulldog wrestlers will be recognized at the PEM wrestling banquet this Thursday. Stay tuned to next week's Plainview News for coverage of the event and all of the award winners.