WCAAE Grapplers Back in Action! By: Kevin Fick

The West Central Area/Ashby/Evansville (WCAAE) Knight wrestlers have resumed action.  Coaches Gruchow, Onstad and Lorenson have the group looking great and one can sense the hunger in this team.  Last season a group of young wrestlers put in their time.  They took their lumps and came out at the end with a 7-13 dual record and two state participants.  This season the hopes and expectations are ratcheted up a few notches.  The Knights are no longer riddled with underclassmen but boast a healthy supply of mid and upperclassmen. 

Like chapters in a book that set up characters and tell a story, the same can be said of any athletic season.  These young men will write a story this year, the interesting part is that no one can flip to the end of the book to find out the ending!  As the story unravels and we learn of the characters we will read of their adventures and find tales of courage and bravery mixed with heart and emotion.  We will read about duals, triangulars and tournaments.  By the end we will find wrestlers finding their section wrestling weights and fighting for their spots to make a run at that all important spot of a berth in the state tournament…a chance to compete with the other 15 top athletes the state has to offer in their respective weights.  The readers will develop favorite characters as the season moves on.  There will be individuals who excel and teammates left with a taste in their mouths that say…I should have…I want that…I will do it!  It should prove to be a most interesting story complete with all the essential drama.  Make no mistake in thinking that this cast of characters is not ready to give its readers the excitement desired.  Knight Wrestlers….we look forward to your season…give us a story.

Thursday, December 5^th found the Knights opening the season in Graceville with the Prairie Valley Knighthawks and the cross county rival Border West Buccaneers.  The Knights looked strong and easily dispatched a depleated Prairie Valley team 67-6 in their first team dual.  The second match marked a couple milestones as the WCAAE boys knocked off the Border West Bucs 45-21.  This win was Coach Gruchow’s first ever over the Buc’s and Jr. Royal Crow picked up his 50^th Varsity victory.  Congratulations Coach Gruchow and Royal!  Coach Gruchow said this about Thursday night…” Going into Thursday night we knew we had to wrestle extremely well to walk out of the Graceville gym with two wins. That’s just what our Knight wrestlers did. I was satisfied with their conditioning and composure on the mat. Prairie Valley was plagued with opens spots so we weren’t too concerned about the match with them. Border West however, is always a solid team. We knew we had to win some key matches and we did. We still need to improve our positioning in some area, if we want to beat Border West at the end of the season. They fought for every point, wrestled like a team, and I am proud of them. They deserve both the wins tonight! “  In regards to his 50^th victory Crow had this to add...”It's been a long wait.  There were only two wins my 8^th grade season and last year finishing just two wins short of 50 made the offseason seam to take forever as I just wanted to get back on the mat!  I am anxious to see how this season turns out for the team and myself.”  The JV finished 8-9 in their matches that night.

Friday, December 6^th had the Knights at home hosting the Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale Raiders and the Barnesville Trojans.  Both visiting teams proved very tough and are favored to win the section.  The Knights battled hard but in the end BHV defeated them 49-24 and the Trojans dispatched the home team with a score of 48-18.  Although the scores may seem a bit lopsided these matches were closer than the reader may realize and with a win in the right place the boys from WCAAE are within striking distance of these two heavyweight and section favorite teams.  Gruchow adds…”These two teams cleaned our team right up last season. We knew we had our work cut out for us. We came out a little flat in our first match against B-H-V. I feel like we got a good warm-up in but I don’t think we were completely focused mentally to wrestle a team like B-H-V. We focused in for the next match against Barnesville and although we lost I feel like we wrestled much better than in our first match. I feel that if we can improve and stay focused throughout the season this will be a much closer dual the next time we wrestle them.”

“I am choosing Levi Larkin for Wrestler of the week this Week.  Levi is currently 3-1 on the season and is looking and practicing tough.  Levi earned a major decision against his Border West opponent on Thursday night to help keep the momentum going.  Levi is an 8th grader who didn’t get into the line-up as much as he wanted last season. I feel that he is practicing and wrestling like he is trying to make up for some lost time. Levi has been around the program for a long time and has dedicated himself to the sport.  He has had some great success as an elementary wrestler… his efforts and dedication are starting to pay off at the Varsity level”…states Gruchow.

The WCAAE wrestlers will host another home meet on Tuesday, December 10^th with a triangular against the Pelican Rapids Vikings and the Ottertail Central Bulldogs.  Wrestling will commence at 5 pm.  Saturday the 14^th will find the Knights hosting the Grant County Tournament when 10 schools do battle to find their champions.  Action begins at 9 am.

Thursday, December 5^th

WCAAE  67, Prairie Valley 6

106-Jake Nohre (WCAAE) defeated Justin Mattocks per major dec. 17-4

113-Levi Larkin (WCAAE) won per forfeit

120-Keaton Long (WCAAE) won per forfeit

126-Tyler Onstad (WCAAE) won per forfeit

132-Double Forfeit

138-Jake Larkin (WCAAE) defeated Nolan Hart per fall 1:24

145-Kyle Mickelsen (WCAAE) defeated Tom Leesberg per dec. 7-3

152-Royal Crow (WCAAE) defeated Nic Shircliff per fall 1:23

160-Braedon Long (WCAAE) defeated Kyle Schlosser per fall :31

170-Koel Seifort (WCAAE) won per forfeit

182-Trent Telkamp (WCAAE) won per forfeit

195-Hunter Fick (WCAAE) won per forfeit

220-Buzz Miller (WCAAE) defeated Eric Brauch per fall :37

285-T.J. Waskosky (WCAAE) defeated by Logan Nibbe per fall 1:23

WCAAE 45, Border West 21

106-Jake Nohre (WCAAE) defeated Kaden Spindler per dec. 8-3

113-Levi Larkin (WCAAE) defeated Dylan Menge per major dec. 10-2

120-Keaton Long (WCAAE) defeated Jason Martinez per tech. fall 21-5

126-Tyler Onstad (WCAAE) defeated by Cameron Sykora per fall 1:24

132-Mason Pullis (BW) won per foreit

138-Jake Larkin (WCAAE) defeated by Tracer Lee per dec. 0-3

145-Kyle Mickelsen (WCAAE) defeated Chase Odegaard per dec. 5-3

152-Royal Crow (WCAAE) defeated Dylan Pullis per dec. 5-4

160-Braedon Long (WCAAE) defeated Carter Behrens per dec. 6-3

170-Koel Seifort (WCAAE) defeated Eric Schwagerl per fall 5:18

182-Trent Telkamp (WCAAE) defeated by Austin Maanum per fall 1:55

195-Hunter Fick (WCAAE) defeated Zack Ottoman per fall 1:27

220-Buzz Miller (WCAAE) defeated Chris Kleindl per fall :37

285-T.J. Waskosky (WCAAE) won per forfeit

Friday, December 6

WCAAE 24, Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale 49

106-Jake Nohre (WCAAE) won per forfeit

113-Levi Larkin (WCAAE) defeated by Antione Kern per dec. 0-4

120-Keaton Long (WCAAE) defeated by Justin Gordon per fall 1:34

126-Wyatt Odegaard (WCAAE) defeated by Marshall Willis per fall 1:14

132-Tyler Onstad (WCAAE) defeated by Zach Waln per fall 1:27

138-Jake Larkin (WCAAE) defeated Nick Peterson per fall 1:39

145-Kyle Mickelsen (WCAAE) defeated by Holton Truax  per major dec. 20-9

152-Royal Crow (WCAAE) defeated Ethan Kimber per dec. 8-4

160-Braedon Long (WCAAE) defeated Andrew Cihlar in triple OT per dec. 10-5

170-Koel Seifort (WCAAE) defeated by Nick Bennett per fall 3:47

182-Trent Telkamp (WCAAE) defeated by Hayden Truax per fall 2:25

195-Hunter Fick (WCAAE) defeated Andy Bounds per fall 4:27

220-Buzz Miller (WCAAE) defeated by Dillon Card per fall 1:52

285-T.J. Waskosky (WCAAE) defeated by Dalton Baker per fall :46

WCAAE 18, Barnesville 48

106-Jake Nohre (WCAAE) defeated by Brady Tweeton per fall 3:04

113-Levi Larkin (WCAAE) defeated by Brady Martz per dec. 1-5

120-Keaton Long (WCAAE) defeated Michael Farrick per fall 3:24

126-Tyler Onstad (WCAAE) defeated by Zach Anderson per major dec. 2-11

132-Tyler Votova (Barns.) won by forefeit

138-Jake Larkin (WCAAE) defeated by Connor Meyer per dec. 2-4

145-Kyle Mickelsen (WCAAE) defeated by Riley Anderson per major dec. 2-10

152-Royal Crow (WCAAE) defeated Alex Peppel per fall 2:36

160-Braedon Long (WCAAE) defeated by Alex Trowbridge per fall :56

170-Koel Seifort (WCAAE) defeated by Kieran Johnson per fall 2:17

182-Trent Telkamp (WCAAE) defeated by Maverick Brady per fall 2:10

195-Hunter Fick (WCAAE) defeated Ryan Kisch per fall 1:08

220-Buzz Miller (WCAAE) defeated by Dana Berg per fall 3:50

285-Alexander Settlemeyer (Barns.) won by forfeit