The Packers didn’t send any wrestlers to the state meet last year, but they’re hoping to change that this season as they will compete at the individual Section 1AAA meet this Friday and Saturday at Mayo Civic Center.

Austin’s four wrestlers with the best chance to get to state are Brandon Cotter at 152, Braden Eggum at 160, Kole Igou at 170, and Mitch Tebay at 195.

The Packers will be heading into section with a lot of unfamiliar opponents and they will be up against some of the top wrestlers in the state as Owatonna, Hastings and Farmington are all in Section 1AAA.

There’s also the added pressure of wrestling in Mayo Civic Center.

“There’s thousands of people there, there’s whistles, there’s screaming and there’s everything,” said Tebay, who was one win away from state last season. “You’ve just got to be focused on your match and zone everything out.”

A lot of wrestlers change weights around section time, so the Packers will have to wait and see who they’ll be going up against. Cotter said he’s not worried about who he’s wrestling and he’s focused how he will wrestle.

“We’re going in blind. Nobody’s really wrestled anyone. It doesn’t really impact me because I don’t know much about them and they don’t know much about me,” Cotter said. “We’ve been practicing non-stop trying to prepare for [this meet]. It’s a big one.”

Eggum said the that Austin wants to send a wrestler to state in the worst way after the team didn’t send anyone last season.

“We had nobody go to state last year for the first time in a lot of years,” Eggum said. “That drives everybody to not let that happen again.”

The pressure of a section meet in a big venue can be quite distracting, but the Packers will have to forget about everything but their match to be successful. Igou said he thinks the team is up to the challenge.

“It comes down to who wants it more,” he said. “You’ve got to go in there and wrestle your style. You’ve got to take it to them and get first points. That’s everything.”