Brandywine junior Jesse Lochmondy has made it a goal to get back to the MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals at The Palace of Auburn Hills in March. (Leader photo/RON HARNER)

You know where Brandywine junior wrestler Jesse Lochmondy keeps his medals.

Hanging on his letter jacket are reminders of his personal achievements in wrestling.

Lochmondy isn’t even sure about how many medals are layered thick on his jacket.

“Seventeen or 18,” Lochmondy said. “Something like that.”

Lochmondy’s most prized possession is his medal for making it to the state finals as a freshman at 103 pounds.

“I want to get back to The Palace (for the state finals),” Lochmondy said. “I lost in the blood round as a freshman at the state finals. I was pretty disappointed.”

Lochmondy was even more dejected last year when he didn’t make it past the regionals at 112 pounds.

The challenge this season for the Brandywine wrestling standout is to maneuver his way past opponents at 130 pounds.

Lochmondy improved his record to 14-6 after picking a pair of pins on Wednesday against Eau Claire and Cassopolis in B.C.S. Athletic Conference action.

“When I was at 112 pounds it seemed a lot easier,” Lochmondy said. “At 130, every kid is tough. You have to be flexing the entire time.

“I want to get better at neutral, get my shots better, get better at my set-ups and get quicker off the whistle. Those are small things, but it will pay off in the end.”

Brandywine wrestling coach Rex Pomranka likes the direction Lochmondy is headed.

“He started out really slow this year,” said Pomranka. “We’re working on stuff. He’s not a little guy anymore. He’s been wrestling at 103 and 112. Now he’s up to 130 and he’s had to adjust to that. He’s coming on good.”

Lochmondy is learning from his mistakes and teammates are in the same position. Brandywine beat Eau Claire, 53-19, but fell to host Cassopolis, 39-35, on Wednesday. The Bobcats fell to the Rangers for the first time since 2005.

A pin in the final match at 135 pounds by Cassopolis’ Nick Baker gave the Rangers the win.

“We wrestled good in our first match and then in our second match a couple of our guys got caught when they had a lead,” Lochmondy said. “It’s like small stuff. We’ll just learn at practice and get better and try to be Cass later in the season.”

Lochmondy is one of four team captains, along with Charlie Rodriguez, Kaci Lintz and Michael Kachur. Lochmondy embraces the role of being a team leader.

“I talked to a couple of guys who were pretty upset after they got caught in their matches (against Cassopolis),” Lochmondy said. “I’ll talk to them again. We’ll fix it and get better. It happens to all of us. We all get caught in matches.

Pomranka, who saw his 152-pounder Sam Burge record a pin against Cassopolis and Ryan Buchar (140), Conner Earles (152), Rodriguez (215), Aaron Casto (285), Kachur (112) and Lintz (125) record pins against Eau Claire, isn’t discouraged by what he saw from his team against Cassopolis.

“We preach to the kids that this is just preseason,” Pomranka said. “When it becomes February 13th and 14th (at districts) that’s when it really counts.

“We’ll go back to the drawing board and start working on our mistakes and go from there.”