There wasn’t a hint of tension in the air, no drama at Ove Berven Gym on Thursday.

Friday, February 11, 2000

There wasn’t a hint of tension in the air, no drama at Ove Berven Gym on Thursday.

No grand post-match celebration either.

The only thing that made Austin’s 63-6 destruction of Mayo anything to look at was the Packers’ go-to-work dominance, which earned the team its 17th win of the season – a new school record.

"It’s pretty much been our goal from day one," T.J. Parlin said. "We expected to do it."

Two years ago, no one would have expected this. The Packers hit rock bottom in 1997-98, winning three matches.

Less than 24 hours ago, those very same Packers (17-4) made history.

"It’s been very impressive," Coach Bill Kinney said. "It’s essentially a lot of the same guys. It’s a tribute to their work ethic, a tribute to their willingness to go the extra mile – to go to camps over the summers, to wrestle freestyle in the offseason."

For Kinney, it was the second time one of his teams has established a new school record. In 1995-96, the Kinney-led Packers went 16-7, breaking the previous wins record of 13 set in 1973.

"It means I’ve been blessed with a lot of good athletes," Kinney said.

One of those athletes, Randy Smith, is now the team’s assistant coach. Smith, wrestling at 140 pounds, was the leader of that ’95-96 team.

"That team had a lot of good weights, but we were shallow in others," Smith said. "This team is really good all the way through the lineup."

The Packers proved that against Mayo’s pudding lineup on Thursday. Even in the Packers’ only loss, Austin’s 160-pounder, Willie Clennon, led 1-0 after the first period to state qualifier Rick Ties.

But it was Austin’s wins that were most telling.

Against Jesse Schrieber at 152 pounds, Mike Cunningham (26-1) opened the match with perhaps the quickest takedown in school history. Cunningham flashed low, wrapped Schrieber’s legs and sent him to the mat in move that would’ve made a cobra blush.

The snake-like strike was in sharp contrast to younger brother Joe Cunningham’s trials at 140. Mayo’s Jesse Ptacek led the match 8-4 after near-falling Cunningham, who summoned the reserves necessary to pin Ptacek with just 1 minute, 9 seconds remaining in the match.

As usual, the 103-pound Parlin and 112-pound Spencer Wolner set the tone. With Austin’s intelligent wrestling crowd calling for their wrestlers to "Break ’em down," the lightweights oblidged, sending their opponents to their stomachs over and over again.

The two takedown artists started the avalanche by combining to score 42 points in their victories.

With two matches down, the record was already secured. And the Packers were looking forward.

"There’s plenty more in store for this team," said Kinney, who will attend a seeding meeting on Monday in Rochester that will determine Austin’s Section 1AAA playoff path.