MONTAGUE — Montague wrestler Jimmy Thommen wanted to wrestle at Muskegon Community College no matter what, but he really wanted to get on the mat with teammate Chris Aebig beside him.
It took some convincing, but Thommen got his wish, and the duo will both be Jayhawk wrestlers next year. They celebrated the occasion with a signing ceremony Wednesday at the high school.
“To be quite honest, I didn’t think I was going to be wrestling or doing anything in college, so when Jimmy was saying he was going to do it - we all knew Jimmy was wrestling in college last year - he definitely persuaded me a lot,” Aebig said. “I would definitely say it was a package deal. I wouldn’t have done it if he didn’t go.”
“When you have that chance to go with your friend, it’s really cool and you want to see it,” Thommen said. “I was encouraging him to do it the whole time.”
Aebig said chronic injuries - he still isn’t all the way back from injuries suffered last year - were part of the reason he originally didn’t plan to compete in college, but the lure of joining his longtime sparring partner as a Jayhawk was too enticing to turn down.
Both Aebig and Thommen were remarkably successful at Montague; Aebig is the first and so far only Wildcat to qualify for state four times in Division 3, and Thommen capped his own great career with a fourth-place finish this March.
Aebig and Thommen had a preexisting connection with MCC coach Cody Carpenter, who coached at Ravenna during their high school careers, that helped sweeten the deal to head 20-ish miles south.
“I’ve known these guys for a long time,” Carpenter said. “I’ve practiced with them at the Jayhawk Club and in the summer at different times. I really like that they’re positive, they have good energy and they work really hard, and they’re coachable. I think it’s a great trait. I think they’ll do really well at the next level.”
Both Aebig and Thommen earned the Promise scholarship with high grade point averages - Aebig said his is 4.27, and Thommen’s is 3.95 - so they didn’t need to wrestle at MCC to get college money, but both said the love of the sport is keeping them going. Aebig plans to major in management, while Thommen will major in education.
The duo said they will miss the atmosphere created by Montague coach Kris Maddox, citing a culture that’s made the Wildcats a bigger factor on the wrestling scene than they previously had been.
“The culture is complete,” Thommen said. “It’s amazing. The relationships we’ve made with the coaches and our teammates is really cool. I’ll miss that.”
