Arwards Night Set

Friday, April 19th @ 6:30 p.m. more details to come!

Crow and Fick Wrestle Their Way to State

By: Kevin Fick

“Mr. Meant To has a comrade

And his name is Didn’t Do.

Have you ever chanced to meet them?

Did they ever call on you?

These two fellows lived together

In the House of Never Win

And I’m told that it is haunted by

The Ghost of Might Have Been.”

                                                         -John Wooden

 Feb. 22-23

Individual Wrestling Sections…a place where diligence, hard work and preparation can bring the sheer joy of a state berth or throw the crashing reality of a gut wrenching loss into the face of a competitor who has towed the line and done what he thought would take him the distance.  Royal Crow and Hunter Fick will represent Section 6A in St. Paul this coming weekend, competing for all the marbles of the Minnesota High School wrestling world.  They will each join 15 other participants in their respected weight classes during the ‘Grand Daddy’ of what our state has to offer.  Although both grapplers have reached the same goal they have gone about it in very different fashions.  One has been a dedicated wrestler for years; the other is in it for his first year.  One has a quiet demeanor yet modern and up to date; the other runs with a mohawk and carries a gritty old-school approach to most situations suggesting a throwback of sorts.  One is a mat technician, flowing and graceful; the other is a ground and pound grappler who relies on power and strength.  As different as they sound make no mistake about it…both wrestlers have defeated not just some opponents but their ‘Ghosts’ as well.  They wrestled right past Mr. Meant To and Mr. Didn’t Do, they won when they had to and proved they can hang with the best in the section.  Next stop is Excel Center in St. Paul.  You have both made your communities proud! 

145 lb. Royal Crow (WCAAE) Soph. 2^nd seed [26-6] defeated Dylan Schleske (OTC) Fresh. 8^th seed [7-16] per major decision 13-1, Crow defeated Carter Behrens (BW) Fresh. 3^rd seed [19-12] per major decision 17-3, Crow defeated by Josh Stuehrenberg (Breck.) SR. 1^st seed per decision 3-10, True Second Match Crow defeated Alex Towbridge (BRNL) Jr. 4^th seed [23-6] per decision 6-2.

195 lb. Hunter Fick (WCAAE) Soph. 3^rd seed [23-13] defeated Aaron Bengston (OTC) Sr. 6^th seed [11-21] per fall 3:37, Fick defeated Dana Berg (BRNL) Soph. 2^nd seed [28-10] per decision 3-1, Fick defeated by Tyler Patron (NYM) 1^st seed [24-6] per decision 1-2.

There was success by other WCAAE wrestlers over the two days also.  Five of the other Knight wrestlers saw the medal stand.  132 lb. Fresh. Jake Larkin 4^th place, 106 lb. 8^th Jake Nohre, 113 lb. 8^th Tyler Onstad, 138 lb. Soph. Kyle Mickelsen, 152 lb. Jr. Braedon Long, 182 lb Fresh. Sid Kamrath all placed 6^th.

The 10 teams competing in Section 6A are as follows: Barnseville (BRNL), Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale (BHV), Border West (BW), Breckenridge/Campbell-Tintah (Breck.), New York Mills (NYM), Ottertail Central (OTC), Pelican Rapids (PR), Prairie Valley (PV), West Central Area/Ashby/Evansville (WCAAE), Wadena-Deer Creek (WDC)

About the two days Coach Gruchow states…”On Thursday afternoon the much anticipated section 6A wrestling tournament was in full swing and things were looking pretty well for us.   13 WCAAE wrestlers represented the team on Friday and Saturday.  We had 5 wrestlers within the top four seeds.  Those wrestlers seeded in the top 4 included: Jake Nohre 3rd at 106 lbs., Jake Larkin 4th at 132 lbs. Kyle Mickelsen 3rd at 138 lbs., Royal Crow 2nd at 145 lbs., and Hunter Fick 3rd at 195 lbs.  We ended up with 8 placers which I am very proud of....of course I wish there were 13 placers and all going to state but I am proud of what the boys accomplished over the last 2 days of competition.

It was nice seeing Jake Larkin get back into action after a long and nagging injury and he earned 4th place honors at 132 lbs. after bumping up a weight class.   Jake Nohre will be chomping at the bit for next season to start as he is not satisfied with finishing 6th place at 106 lbs. and will be ready to improve on that placing next year!  Jake is a very talented wrestler who is just a little undersized for the weight class.   Tyler Onstad wrestled hard for his 6th place medal and is ready to hit the mat this spring to improve next seasons section placing.  Kyle Mickelsen took 6th place honors.  Kyle Mickelsen had a great season and improved tremendously.  Kyle took 6th at 138 lbs. falling short of what he wanted but I know this will add fuel for the fire next season!  Braeden Long took 6th place at 152 lbs.  Braeden has made such an improvement because of his determination to improve. He is already talking about next year and is ready to take action to improve now!  Sid Kamrath also took 6th place. Sid competed at 182 lbs. and fought hard against his much older and tough competition. We are looking forward to continue watching Sid improve next year!  Keaton Long, Wyatt Odegaard, and T.J Waskosky did not place in the section but will be key wrestlers in the 2013-2014 team line-up. That is the good part, we get to work with all the same kids next year. We don't lose any seniors!

Anyone with any knowledge in the sport of wrestling, especially during the section tournaments, knows that upsets are a very common occurrence and we got to experience both sides of the upsets in the section tournament.  It's a very emotional tournament, the boys have prepared so long, worked so hard, and want to reach their goals in return for their great efforts. The winning, loosing, and close calls made by the referees bring out the agony of defeat and the ecstasy of winning not only in the wrestlers, but also the coaches and fans as well.  Although we would have loved to bring more than 2 wrestlers to the Excel, and trust me we do have others on the team that have the capability of making it to state, I am glad Hunter and Royal are representing WCAAE wrestling at the state tournament.

Royal did the extra work when no one was watching him to make his trip to the state tournament possible. Royal started every school day with an early morning workout. Coach Lorenson spent countless hours working out with Royal and helping him get to these workout sessions. I truly believe that this helped prepare Royal for his success he had at sections! He has a drive to be a great wrestler and that what makes him so good!  I am proud that Royal was able to refocus after his loss in his finals match with Stuehrenberg.  It's not an easy task to wrestle that true second match.  You wrestle a guy who is on a high from winning, while you're just coming off of a loss. Royal snapped out of the loss and got refocused within 5 minutes of completing his finals match. He wrestled with confidence to secure the true second match against Alex Trowbridge from Barnesville.

Hunter has done something that I personally don't know of anyone else doing.  I say this in a joking manner, but to make it to state in his first year of wrestling is almost unfair to us who spent years training to accomplish this feat.  However, Hunter is not like most people, he is ungodly strong, in fantastic shape, and has a drive for competition.  Hunter told me he wished matches were longer...most wrestlers would say 6 minutes of all out fierce battling is plenty but not Hunter. These attributes he carries in his daily character have made making it to state in his first year possible. Hunter has been a "sponge" since summer wrestling camp. I noticed he had a knack for learning and improving and that is what he did all season. He wrestled tough and smart throughout the whole tournament. His pin showed us he meant business in the first round. He then had a fantastic shot against Berg in the third period to seal the deal and put him in the finals. I hope there is a picture of his face while he was lifting him up...it was a look of determination at its finest. His finals match was by far the best he had wrestle all year, even though he lost 2-1 on a questionable stall point he looked good. 

I am excited for both of our wrestlers to compete with the best in the state. They deserve what they have earned. We will remind them not to be satisfied and to go for it down there!”

State wrestling action is held at the Excel Center in St. Paul.  The tournament begins with team wrestling on Thursday, Feb. 28th as Barnseville is representing Section 6A.  Friday is individual action.  The first round of Class A begins at 1 pm.  Finals are held Saturday.  Crow will take on Tanner Rohlik of Wabasso/Red Rock Central and Fick will face off with Colton Layman of West Marshall.  Best of luck to them both.

Parents and Wrestlers K-8

I just wanted to give all of you a heads up on the NWYA tournaments.  Wrestlers must first compete in the Districts tournaments.  I would encourage all of you to give it a try!  We have had great showings and results at the tournaments all year...lets keep it up!  Below is the information needed for NYWA Districts 4 and 5.  I will be attending Pelican on the 16th and Peirz on the 17th.  I believe coach Lohse will be attending Benson on the 8th.  There is a $12.00 membership fee to belong to the NYWA plus a tournament fee.  You may purchase memberships at the tournaments.  You can also find this information on the NYWA.  Lets show the state the talent we have in our club!  You can find more information at http://www.nywa-mn.com/

NYWA Districts are held at 20 different locations the first two weekends following the Minnesota State High School Wrestling tournament.  Wrestlers must attend one of the districts in order to qualify for regions.  Wrestlers can attend any district they choose to BUT if they qualify at that district, they MUST attend the regional tournament that that district is under.  For example, a wrestler who attends and qualifies at the Austin District MUST wrestle at the Region One tournament (Rochester region).  If a wrestler does not follow the proper advancement, they will be disqualified.  Wrestlers who place 1st or 2nd at districts will advance to the regional tournament.  At regions, a wrestler must place 1st, 2nd or 3rd in the weight class to advance to State (with the exception of the wildcard region which advances the top 4 to state).  Then those wrestlers who place 4th, 5th or 6th place at regions can advance to the Invite tournament if they wish.

Region 4 (New London/Spicer):

1.  Foley: Friday, March 8th
Contact: Jodi Henry
Phone: (320) 249-3857
View touranment flyer

2.  Pierz: Sunday, March 17th
Contact: Darren Girtz
Phone: (320) 360-2212
Pierz High School.  Weigh-ins from 9-10:30 am; wrestling begins at 11 am.

3.  Benson: Friday, March 8th
Contact: Steve Ricard
Phone: (320) 444-0569
View tournament flyer

4.  Belgrade: Saturday, March 9th
Contact: Nick Bents
Phone: (320) 894-7817
View tournament flyer

Region 5 (Bemidji):

1.  Greenbush: Saturday, March 9th
Contact: Ron Mooney
Phone: (218) 782-2278
View tournament flyer

2.  Pine River: Saturday, March 16th
Contact: Roy Swenson
Phone: (218) 232-2791
View tournament flyer
www.lakesareamatrats.org

3.  Pelican Rapids: Saturday, March 16th
Contact: Jeff Meyer
Phone: (218) 863-1774
View tournament flyer

4.  Deer River: Saturday, March 9th
Contact: Kevin Gullickson
Phone: (218) 246-2760
View tournament flyer

Bus Times for Individual Sections

Friday:  We will be leaving Barrett at 10:00 am. We will stop in Ashby to pick up at 10:20 am.

Saturday:  We will leave Barrett at 7:30 am.  We will stop in Ashby to pick up at 7:50 am.

WCAAE Grapplers Knock-Out the Knighthawks

By: Kevin Fick

Tuesday, Feb. 12^th

The West Central Area/Ashby/Evansville wrestlers traveled to Wheaton to open section 6A wrestling.  First round of the section tournament found #7 WCAAE facing #10 seated Prairie Valley.  The young Knight team performed well and dispatched the Knighthawks with ease finishing the match 50-29.  It was good to get sophomore Royal Crow back in the lineup having missed him last week.  The Knights should be back to full strength this week with Jake Larkin’s return for Individual Section competition.  The wrestler’s moved to the second round against the #2 seed Border West Bucs.  A heavily favored upperclass Bucs unit ended the Knights post season team wrestling 51-17.  There was a lot of good wrestling but perhaps the most important part will be carried into the teams next season.  Any win in the post season is big…a win by a group of sophomores, freshmen and 8^th graders is huge.  Should these young men decide to stick together and work in the off-season there is a very bright future in store for this team.

WCAAE 50, Prairie Valley 29

106-Jake Nohre (WCAAE) won per forfeit, 113-Tyler Onstad (WCAAE) defeats Nolan Hart per fall :46, 120-Wyatt Odegaard (WCAAE) won per forfeit, 126-Keaton Long (WCAAE) defeated by Thomas Leeseberg per fall 3:52, 132-Alex Olson (WCAAE) defeated by Derrick Leeseberg per fall 3:34, 138-Kyle Mickelsen (WCAAE) defeated Dylan Winkler per major decision 14-0, 145-Royal Crow (WCAAE) defeated Bryce Looker per fall 3:46, 152-Braedon Long (WCAAE) defeated Dillon Borchert per major decision 8-0, 160-Blake Amundson (WCAAE) won per forfeit, 170-Koel Seifort (WCAAE) defeated by Josh McKeown per fall 5:50, 182-Sid Kamrath (WCAAE) defeated Quentin Uran per fall :16, 195-Hunter Fick (WCAAE) won per forfeit, 220-T.J.Waskosky (WCAAE) defeated by Tyler Schlosser :53, 285-Jordan Bruns (WCAAE) defeated by Logan Nibbe per Technical Fall.

WCAAE 17, Border West 51

106-Jake Nohre (WCAAE) defeated Mason Pullis per decision 5-4, 113-Tyler Onstad defeated Dylan Menge per major decision 10-1, 120-Wyatt Odegaard (WCAAE) defeated by Cameron Sykora per fall 1:55, 126-Keaton Long (WCAAE) defeated by Bryce Nilson per Technical Fall, 132-Alex Olson (WCAAE) defeated by Tracer Lee per fall :52, 138-Kyle Mickelsen (WCAAE) defeated by Dylan Pullis per major decision 1-8, 145-Kode Seifort (WCAAE) defeated by Gus McCarthy per fall 1:12, 152-Royal Crow (WCAAE) defeated Carter Behrens per decision 10-4, 160-Braedon Long (WCAAE) defeated Cormick Combellick per major decision 11-2, 170-Blake Amundson (WCAAE) defeated by Nick Stafford per fall 2:30, 182-Sid Kamrath (WCAAE) defeated by Austin Maanum per fall 1:34, 195-Hunter Fick (WCAAE) defeated Bradan Krump per decision 3-1 in OT, 220-T.J. Waskosky (WCAAE) defeated by Seth Callenius per fall :26, 285-Jordan Bruns (WCAAE) defeated by Wyatt Tritz per fall 5:54

Although team competition is over the Knights will travel to Wadena Friday, Feb. 22^nd and Saturday, Feb. 23^rd for Section 6A individuals.  Wrestling will begin at 11 am.  The top two placers per weight class will continue on the following weekend to compete in the State Tournament.  Best of luck to the WCAAE grapplers!

Wrestler of the Week

Wrestler of the Week goes to Sid Kamrath.  Coach Gruchow states…”My choice for wrestler of the week is Sid Kamrath.  Sid is a young guy who more than not finds himself wrestling older kids.  Week in and week out Sid battles for the team and never misses a practice.  Sid is a great kid to have at practice as there is no complaining, no dodging, he just wrestles.  Sid is a second year wrestler and the staff sees a huge progression happening, he is on track.  With a win this week in the post season over Prairie Valley’s Uran Sid helped secure a first round team victory.  Sid has wrestled 170 and 182 this year.  We are excited for his future.  Keep up the great work Sid!”

Wrestler of the Week

Wrester of the Week is Braedon Long.  Coach Gruchow states…” Braedon is our lone junior on the team and one of our most seasoned wrestlers in the room.  I have been very impressed with Braedon’s jump in intensity and mental toughness these past couple weeks.  The road has been a little rough for Long as he has wrestled some tough competition.  His perseverance through the tough times has been remarkable; he has been doing all the right things including watching film, cleaning up technique, and getting in his extra workouts.  Braedon is learning what the sport takes to improve and he is doing a great job!  Keep up the great work Braedon!

WCAAE Wrestlers Finish Regular Season

                                                                                             

By: Kevin Fick

The wrestler’s completed their regular season with a makeup dual in Upsula with  the Royalton-Upsula Royals and a tournament in Morris.  The Royals proved hard to handle for the young WCAAE team.  In Fact the WCAAE grapplers pulled out just one victory.  There was some good wrestling in Morris and a bit more success was produced.

Part of athletics, especially during the physical contests, teaches an athlete a lot about themselves.  During the football season we promote the fact that everyone gets knocked down sometime…the successful athlete is the one who gets back up, learns from it and moves forward.  Each week these young men have taken the mat and faced in most cases an older more experienced wrestler.  There was plenty of being knocked down but during this time valuable experience has been picked up.  For some, this will pay dividends yet this season as sections are now upon us. For others, the experience gained this year will transfer into what should prove a very successful campaign next year as WCAAE will be very junior and sophomore heavy in the roster.

Thursday, Feb. 7^th    WCAAE 6   Royalton-Upsula 63

106-Jake Nohre (WCAAE)  defeated by Michae Petron per decision 4-8, 113-Tyler Onstad (WCAAE) defeated by Joe Jensen per decision 0-5, 120-Wyatt Odegaard (WCAAE) defeated by Matt Neu per fall 3:49, 126-Keaton Long (WCAAE) defeated by Cody Wensmann per technical fall, 132-Alex Olson (WCAAE) defeated by Brady Moulzolf per fall :45, 138-Kode Seifert (WCAAE) defeated by Brad Kroll per  fall 1:35, 145-Kyle Mickelsen (WCAAE) defeated by Tyler Hegna per decision 1-5, 152-Braedon Long (WCAAE) defeated by Shawn Urbanski per fall 3:01, 160-Blake Amundson (WCAAE) defeated by Tim Valencia-Louden per decision 2-7, 170-Koel Seifert (WCAAE) defeated by Kyle Lang per major decision 3-13, 182-Sid Kamrath (WCAAE) defeated by Mitch Lange per fall :30, 195-Hunter Fick (WCAAE) defeated Tony Gadacz per fall 5:33, 220-Cory Wensmann (RU) won per forfeit, 285-Clint Gadacz (RU) won per forfeit, the JV went 4-5

From Coach Gruchow…”We had two of our starters out of the lineup this week (Jake Larkin and Royal Crow), which did not help when we are young and struggle to fill the 14 weight classes the way it is.  Thursday night was rough but kudos to Hunter Fick for pulling off the team’s only win.  It is mentally tough to pull out a big win against a good wrestler when every other guys in front of you have all lost.  I was happy with the way the boys wrestled we were just overpowered by the age and experience of the RU wrestlers.  Saturday was a great learning experience for our wrestlers as the boys wrestled with the competition the Morris tournament had to offer.  This is a tournament we like to get in at the end of the year to boost the confidence in our wrestlers.  They wrestled well and for the most part I am pleased with their performance.”

Saturday, Feb. 9^th  MAHACA Tournament (Morris)

Teams participating…Benson, Breckenridge/Campbell-Tintah, Fosston/Bagely, Kerkhoven/Murdock/Sunberg, Morris Area/Hancock/Chokio-Alberta, Ortonville, Pequot Lakes/ Pine River/ Backus, West Central Area/ Ashby/ Evansville

2^nd Place 195-Hunter Fick, 3^rd 106-Jake Nohre,  4^th place 113-Tyler Onstad, 120-Wyatt Odegaard, 5^th Place 138-Kyle Mickelsen, 152-Braedon Long

Top three teams for the day were in order KMS, PLPB and MAHACA.  WCAAE finished 7^th. 

WCAAE will begin team sections Tuesday, Feb 11^th in Wheaton facing the Prairie Valley Nighthawks.  Like most sports this is a win and your in type event.  The winner of that match will face-off with #2 seed Border West the same evening.  Wrestling will begin at 5:30 and will be covered by KKOK 95.7 FM.

Best of luck to our grapplers in the post season!