Throughout the first five West Region duals of the season, the Dickinson wrestling team has been in the friendly confines of the DHS gymnasium.
The No. 9-ranked Midgets have one last West Region dual at home against Mandan at 6 p.m. today. After that, they're on the road for the remainder of the season.
"It's going to be long," Dickinson senior Michael Dobitz said with a smile. "It's going to be a grind."
Dickinson freshman Jaret Lee, who splits time between the 113- and 120-pound weight divisions, said it will be different not being able to wrestle at home.
"Pretty much all the duals this year have been at home, so it's just going to be different with the crowd and stuff," Lee said.
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Dickinson has one priority on its mind -- bouncing back after Tuesday's 63-10 loss against Bismarck High. The loss marked the Midgets' first West Region loss of the season.
"We're already trying to forget about Bismarck," Dickinson co-head coach Pete Dobitz said. "What matters now is you get back on the mat and get the taste of the loss out of your mouth. We have to go back out and be physical."
The Midgets have a 4-1 record against West Region opponents with wins over Minot, Williston, Bismarck St. Mary's and Turtle Mountain.
Michael Dobitz said the victory against Turtle Mountain might turn out to be the biggest win all season.
"You always want to win," he said. "Our main goal is make it to state as a dual team and see how far we can go with it.
"Beating Turtle Mountain was huge. It got us out of that No. 4 spot, if we keep winning."
Dickinson has faced a couple of the wrestlers from Mandan already this season in the Mandan Lions Tournament on Dec. 14-15 and at the Dickinson Classic this past weekend. Mandan has four ranked wrestlers including Ryan, Brandon and Curt Zachmeier.
"Right now our mindset is one match at a time," Pete Dobitz said. "Wherever we start in the lineup, we have to take it one match at a time. We have to give everything we have left in the tank after probably the toughest week we'll have during the regular season."
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Michael Dobitz and Lee each said they've been impressed with how the team has been able to overcome some obstacles this season. One area in particular is giving up weight in certain matchups.
"The fact that we are so small it's nice to see kids bump up and getting the job done even though they are giving up weight," Michael Dobitz said.
"We've all wrestled pretty hard, but sometimes it just doesn't turn out the way we want," Lee added.
The one area Pete Dobitz said the team is still working toward is establishing a mental toughness. He said the physical toughness is there, but the mental toughness is getting there.
"I really am," he said. "We were half and half with experience and inexperience. Now we're over halfway through the dual and I'm happy that we've progressed on the physical side. Sometimes the mental side might be a little bit behind, but even the mental side is coming along."
