Colbe Tappe represented the Little Knights Wrestling program well after winning the MYAS Gopher State Nationals this weekend at the 50 pound PreK-Kindergarten division.

Wrestler of the Week

Sid Kamrath has become a new wrestler in the last couple of weeks. After his confidence boosting win in the conference tournament last weekend he has been acting and wrestling like a totally new person! Everything from how he is practicing, what he is eating, and how he is preparing for matches has changed. What a great time of the year to break out and turn a corner. We are very proud of Sid and his latest accomplishments. Thursday night he wrestled the same BHV opponent as he did last Saturday in the conference tournament and he beat him again. Sid wrestled very well Saturday in Morris and earned 4th place at the tournament. Sid is fairly new to the sport of wrestling and he hasn't had the success that he wants. If Sid keeps his "new" wrestling ways up he will start gathering those wins he wants. Keep up the great work Sid!

Knight Wrestlers are PR Conference South Champs By: Kevin Fick

The final week of regular season competition provided conference championship wrestling and a last chance for the grapplers to tune up their skills before sectional competition begins.

The wrestlers began their week in search of the Park Region South conference championship.  The wrestling took place in Elbow Lake against a depleted Long Prairie/Grey Eagle Thunder team.  With a fleet of forfeits by the Thunder a win was not the question but could the Knights score enough points (52) to separate them in the three way tie with Osakis and Roylaton/Upsula.  Following a 63-13 decision the boys in red clearly took their destiny into their own hands and doing so in front of a large crowd as it was ‘Parents Night’ for the Knights.  Royal Crow picked up his 75^th career victory against the Thunder.  The Knights finished the regular dual season 16-3.

The win against the Thunder enabled the Knights to challenge for the overall conference championship against the victors from the north side.  Thursday the Knights traveled to Bertha to face off with a very upperclassman heavy Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale team.  The Raiders took it to the Knights with a 43-24 win as WCAAE had too many starters out of the lineup with injuries to put up any real fight.  This may change in a week though as the Knights are seated number three in the section and Raiders are seated second.  If both teams make it to the semi-finals with a healthy lineup this competition should be much closer than Thursday evening.

The WCAAE wrestlers traveled Saturday to Morris for the MAHACA Invitational.  With this being the last chance during regular season to sharpen the tools in the tool box we saw 10 of the 13 athletes competing place.  It was interesting watching the wrestlers as some switched up styles.  We saw some of our aggressive wrestlers slow it down and work on riding skills, we saw some of the non-aggressive kids turn it up and take it to the opponent.  There was good competition in Morris and even without two of the top scoring starters the Knights managed a 3^rd place finish with four athletes making it to the first place round, four making it to the 3^rd place round and one making it to the 5fth place round.  Jake Nohre picked up his 50^th victory in Morris.

Tuesday, Feb. 4^th   Elbow Lake

WCAAE 63, LPGE 13

106 lb. Jake Nohre (WCAAE) defeated Jaden Buntjer per fall 4:43

113 lb. Levi Larkin (WCAAE) won per forfeit

120 lb. Aiden Winter (WCAAE) won per forfeit

126 lb. Nicholas Middendorf (LPGE) defeated Keaton Long per major dec. 14-4

132 lb. Tyler Onstad (WCAAE) defeated Thomas Pesta per major dec. 9-1

138 lb. Creg Donabauer (LPGE) defeated Alex Butcher per fall 1:54

145 lb. Remington Meagher defeated Kyle Mickelsen per dec. 6-5

152 lb. Royal Crow (WCAAE) defeated Cody Johnson per fall 1:40

160 lb. Zach Salo (WCAAE) won per forfeit

170 lb. Blake Amundson (WCAAE) won per forfeit

182 lb. Sid Kamrath (WCAAE) won per forfeit

195 lb. Hunter Fick (WCAAE) won per forfeit

220 lb. Buzz Miller (WCAAE) defeated Keegan Cavellero per tech fall

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

Thursday, Feb 6^th Bertha

Coach Gruchow…“Tonight wasn't our night. It's as simple as that. We have to go back to the drawing board improve on some things and we need to get everyone healthy to beat BHV. Being banged up and having nuisance injuries is common problem this time of year. These boys have put their bodies through a lot in the last 3 months, competition has been tough, practices have been intense, and they have been pushing themselves through the season as hard as they can. If we can get things back on track and we beat Staples on Tuesday I think we could score more points and give up less on Saturday if/when we wrestle them next Saturday.”

106 lb. Jake Nohre (WCAAE) defeated Jarrett Kveton per fall :45

113 lb. Anthony Kern (BHV) defeated Levi Larkin per dec. 6-1

120 lb. Justin Gordon (BHV) defeated Keaton Long per dec. 10-4

126 lb. Tyler Onstad (WCAAE) defeated Marshall Willis per dec. 7-0

132 lb. Zack Waln (BHV) defeated Wyatt Olson per fall :16

138 lb. Holton Truax (BHV) defeated Alex Butcher per fall :30

145 lb. Ethan Kimber (BHV) defeated Kyle Mickelsen per dec. 6-3

152 lb. Royal Crow (WCAAE) defeated Bradey Baker per fall 4:26

160 lb. Andrew Cihlar (BHV) defeated Zack Salo per fall 2:34

170 lb. Nick Bennett (BHV) defeated Blake Amundson per major dec. 15-1

182 lb. Sid Kamrath (WCAAE) defeated John French per dec. 2-1

195 lb. Hunter Fick (WCAAE) defeated Andrew Bounds per fall 3:06

220 lb. Dillon Card(BHV) defeated Buzz Miller per fall 2:09

285 lb. Dalton Baker (BHV) defeated T.J.Waskosky per fall :34

Saturday, Feb. 8^th  Morris

Coach Gruchow…“We wrestled not having our best performance today but it definitely wasn't our  worst performance either. We had the majority of our guys place and we took third in the tournament. I think some of our wrestlers know as well as I do that they could have placed higher than they did. It was a great tournament in the fact that we knew that each wrestler could only get a maximum of 3 matches. It gave our wrestlers like Jake Nohre a chance to wrestle without going over match count. Freshman Jake Nohre earned his 50th win today as well, which is pretty awesome! Jake has only been able to wrestle the last two seasons because he was not heavy enough his seventh grade year. I felt we were a little flat in the last round, we weren't moving as well as I thought  we could. I think the wear and tear of the season has hit our guys. It will be good for them to have Sunday to rest and recuperate. We will have an intense-shorter practice on Monday and prepare for our first round match against Staples on Tuesday.”

1.      247 Kerkohvan/Murdock/Sunburg

2.      171 Morris Area/Hancock/Chokio-Alberta

3.      147 West Central Area/Ashby/Evansville

4.      140 Fosston/Bagley

5.      122 Benson

6.      101 Holdingford

7.      80 Ortonville

8.      45 Breckenridge

106 lb. Jake Nohre    1^st Place

Defeated Cody Ballard (ORT) per fall :33, Defeated Jacob Carlson (KMS) per fall :50, defeated Jared Knutson (BEN) per major dec. 12-1

113 lb. Levi Larkin     3^rd Place

Defeated Wyatt McGee (BEN) per fall 2:29, defeated by Jamey Koetter (HOLD) per dec. 9-2, defeated Tristan Eastman per fall 3:41

120 lb. Keaton Long    3^rd Place

Defeated Jared Rohloff (MAHACA) per dec. 9-2, defeated by Casey Thorson (KMS) per dec. 9-2, defeated Ryan Skroch (HOLD) per fall 2:50

126 lb. Tyler Onstad    3^rd Place

Defeated Chase Young (BEN) per fall 1:08, defeated by Cody Peters per fall 1:43, defeated Lane Olson per dec. 6-4

145 lb. Kyle Mickelsen   5^th Place

Defeated by Nicholas Meyer (KMS) per dec. 7-0, defeated Dan Lenarz (BEN) per fall 3:08, defeated Devin Larson per fall 5:50

152 lb. Royal Crow    2^nd Place

Defeated Austin Snyder-Lein (BRECK) per tech fall 19-2, defeated Jake Ubert (FB) per fall 4:41, defeated by Bryce Goeff (BEN) per dec. 5-2

160 lb. Chase Kamrath

Defeated by Mitch Koosman (BEN) per fall 3:33, defeated by Danny Tracy (MAHACA) per fall 2:28

170 lb. Koel Seifort     5^th Place

Defeated by Travis Lamecker (KMS) per major dec. 16-3, defeated Steven Kohl (MAHACA) per dec. 6-3, defeated Matt Wieber (BEN) per dec. 8-7

170 lb. Blake Amundson

Defeated by Jordan Thooft (MAHACA) per fall :53, defeated by Matt Wieber (BEN) per dec. 8-4

182 lb. Sid Kamrath    4^th Place

Defeated Aaron Nelson (MAHACA) per dec. 6-4, defeated by Karter VanHeuvlen (KMS) per fall 3:46, defeated by Zach Larson (FB) per dec.3-1

195 lb. Hunter Fick     2^nd Place

Defeated Kyle Wrobleski (BEN) per fall 1:06, defeated Zach Como (FB) per dec. 3-1, defeated by Chase Norton (KMS) per fall 3:38

220 lb. Buzz Miller     2^nd Place

Defeated Tyler Jacobson (ORT) per fall 1:01, defeated Alec Gausman (MAHACA) per dec. 4-2, defeated by Luke Juve (FB) per fall 1:26

285 lb. T.J.Waskosky

Defeated by Mathew Collins (KMS) per fall :46, defeated by Taylor Zeltwanger (MAHCA) per dec. 1-0

WCAAE will open up Tuesday, Feb. 11^th in Elbow Lake hosting a team section meet against Staples-Motley.  Wrestling will begin at 7pm.  Should the Knights win they will travel Saturday, Feb 15^th to Pelican Rapids to wrestled in the section semi-finals and possible finals.

Please Watch: Benefits of Wrestling Freestyle and Greco

Video: Why Should I Wrestle Freestyle and Greco

Congrats to Our Wrestlers Who Entered the 50 and 75 Wins List

Coach Gruchow… Wrestler of the Week

 Wrestler of the Week goes to Royal Crow.  Royal just won the PRC tournament and also went undefeated in dual competition this week.  Royal who is a junior and captain of the Knights wrestling team is a very dedicated wrestler.  An interesting fact about Royal is that he did not start wrestling until he was a 5th grader.  His hard work and willpower to be a better wrestlers has made up for his lost time in elementary wrestling .  In the off season he spends time wrestling, lifting weights, and conditions.  These extra efforts have allowed him to surpass his competition.  Royal is a prime example of “doing the extra pays of in the end.”  Royal also earned his 75th career win this past week vs his LPGE opponent.    Keep up the great work Royal…..Congratulations!

Knight Wrestlers Improve to 15-3 By: Kevin Fick

The past week found the WCAAE Knights on the road on three consecutive nights.   The Knights wrestled a section match in Breckenridge dismantling the Cowboys with ease.  The following evening the boys in red traveled to Osakis to dual the Silverstreaks and stay in the hunt for a conference championship.  After a gutsy display the Knights found themselves down by one point with one match to go when Buzz Miller pulled out a decision giving the Knights a victory and putting them in a three way tie for the title with Osakis and Royalton.  By 6:30 am the boys were back on the bus in route to Osakis for the Park Region Conference Individual Tournament. 

This is the time of year when athletes in any sport feel the mental and physical strain after two months of hard competition.  Wrestling is no different.  Coach Brandon Gruchow has consistently put together a team that is ready to compete in the duals and in doing so was recognized by his peers as the Park Region Conference ‘Coach of the Year’.  Congratulations Coach Gruchow!  During last week several other career milestones were reached.  Jake Larkin secured his 75^th career victory in Breckenridge.  Hunter Fick and Kyle Mickelsen both reached their 50^th career victories during the PRC tournament.  Congratulations Jake, Hunter and Kyle!

Thursday, Jan. 30^th  Breckenridge

WCAAE 69, Breckenridge 11

Coach Gruchow…”On paper with the size of the team Breckenridge has been wrestling with the dual was in our favor.  We also knew Breckenridge had some good individuals and it was important that our individuals that had matches were focused and ready.  This can be difficult when there are so many forfeits; it’s hard to keep the momentum going.  I was happy with the performance of our wrestlers who had a match.  Keaton Long bumped up a weight class to wrestle Conrad Kondos, and even though he lost he managed to save a team point by not giving up the pin.  Doing these kinds of things is what makes a person a better wrestler.  Tyler Onstad has been wrestling with much more confidence, it showed in his dominant win by fall in the second period.  Larkin, Mickelsen, and Fick all completed their duties on the mat with wins as well tonight.  Braeden Long was winning until he got a nagging injury while wrestling that prevented him from wrestling like he could have.  We hope it heals soon and he can get back into action.”

106 lb. Drake Swanson (WCAAE) won per forfeit

113 lb. Jake Nohre (WCAAE) won per forfeit

120 lb. Levi Larkin (WCAAE) won per forfeit

126 lb. Conrad Kondos (BRECK) defeated Keaton Long per tech fall 20-3

132 lb. Tyler Onstad (WCAAE) defeated Tony Emerfoll per fall 3:34

138 lb. Jake Larkin (WCAAE) defeated Mark Erickson per fall 1:11

145 lb. Kyle Mickelsen (WCAAE) defeated Devin Larson per dec. 13-6

152 lb. Royal Crow (WCAAE) won per forfeit

160 lb. Travis Miranowski (BRECK) defeated Braedon Long per fall 5:19

170 lb. Blake Amundson (WCAAE) won per forfeit

182 lb. Sid Kamrath (WCAAE) won per forfeit

195 lb. Hunter Fick (WCAAE) defeated Zach Hasse per fall :49

220 lb. Buzz Miller (WCAAE) won per forfeit

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

Friday, Jan. 31^st   Osakis

WCAAE 32, Osakis 30

Coach Gruchow…”Going into this dual tonight we knew it was going to be a barn burner.  If things went our way we were going to win.  To beat Osakis we had to wrestle with confidence and attitude.  We needed to want it!  The boys wanted it tonight and they wrestled like they wanted it.  They wrestled for the team all the way through the line-up.  There were some great matches throughout the dual, some went our way, and some didn’t.  It was a great atmosphere in the Osakis gym; both teams were good, the benches on both sides were into the dual, the crowd was into it and it was intense.  It was fun to be a part of and even made it just that much better that we came out on top.  It was a big dual to get tonight, I think we have worked our way out of the little slump we had last week!”

106 lb. Jake Nohre (WCAAE) defeated Devyn Johnson per major dec. 16-8

113 lb. Levi Larkin (WCAAE) defeated Darrin Stoetzel per major dec. 11-0

120 lb. Trenton Coyer (O) defeated Keaton Long per dec. 11-8

126 lb. Brendan Coyer (O) defeated Tyler Onstad per fall 2:52

132 lb. Colton Waldvogel (O) defeated Wyatt Olson per fall :22

138 lb. Jake Larkin (WCAAE) defeated Ryan Engfer per dec. 3-1

145 lb. Kyle Mickelsesn (WCAAE) defeated Garret Sunder per dec. 9-3

152 lb. Kode Seifort (WCAAE) won per forfeit

160 lb. Royal Crow (WCAAE) won per forfeit

170 lb. Blake Amundson (WCAAE) defeated Austin Sunder per dec. 14-8

182 lb. Nils Hagen (O) defeated Sid Kamrath per fall 1:28

195 lb. Tyler Spanswick (O) won per forfeit

220 lb. Peter Hagen (O) defeated Hunter Fick per dec. 3-1

285 lb. Buzz Miller (WCAAE) defeated Mitch Sunder per dec. 6-4

Saturday, Feb. 1^st    Osakis

Gruchow…”We were a little banged up going into today’s Conference Tournament.  We had some of our big point getters out due to injuries.  We finished in 6th place…. which I know we are better than but just not today.  In general we wrestled well, we did have one round that took the wind out of us a little.  I thought Levi Larkin wrestled very well today.  Jake Nohre also wrestled well.  He fell a little short of his goal to be conference champ, but wrestled a great match in the finals against state ranked Noah Becker.  Royal Crow also had a fantastic day; he wrestled a smart match in the finals and brought home his second gold medal for the season.  It would have been interesting to see how we would have finished with Jake Larkin, Braeden Long, and T.J. Waskosky in the line-up.  We hope to have them all back this upcoming week as we have another action packed week ahead of us!”

1. Osakis 158.5

2. United North Central 156

3. New York Mills 155

4. Royalton/Upsula 147

5. Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale 121

6. West Central Area/Ashby/Evansville 111

7. Long Prairie/Grey Eagle 83

8. Ottertail Central 75

9. Browerville 46

10. Prairie Valley 42

106 lb. Jake Nohre  2^nd place

Defeated Cole Scofield (R/U) per fall 4:40, defeated Ben Johnson (UNC) per major dec. 17-5, defeated by Noah Becker (BROW) per dec. 4-2

113 lb. Levi Larkin 3^rd place

Defeated Brayden Bertram (BHV) per fall 1:14, defeated by Jeremiah Harper (NYM) per dec. 4-0, defeated Levi Cochran (UNC) per injury default, defeated Jose Funes (LPGE) per dec. 5-4

120 lb. Keaton Long

Defeated by James Holen (OTC) per dec. 1-0, defeated Toby Hintzman (UNC) per dec. 3-2, defeated by Justin Gordon (BHV) per dec. 4-1, defeated by James Holen per major dec. 13-3

126 lb. Tyler Onstad 5^th place

Defeated by Sam Naddy (OTC) per major dec. 8-0, defeated by Nicholas Middendorf per major dec. 12-5, defeated Darrin Stoetzel (O) 11-0

145 lb. Kyle Mickelsen 4^th place

Defeated by Taylor Ericksrud (NYM) per dec. 3-0, defeated Garrett Sunder (O) per dec. 5-2, defeated by Wyatt Puttonen (UNC) per dec. 4-0

152 lb. Royal Crow 1^st place

Defeated Shawn Urbanski (R/U) per dec. 3-1, defeated Sam Tellers (UNC) per dec. 3-2

170 lb. Blake Amundson

Defeated by Nick Bennett (BHV) per major dec. 10-1, defeated by Brian Pyle (NYM) per fall 2:41

182 lb. Sid Kamrath 5^th place

Defeated by Nils Hagen (O) per fall 1:11, defeated John French (BHV) per dec. 2-1, defeated by Sam Erckenbrack (NYM) per fall 2:11, defeated Gavin Brendefur per injury default

195 lb. Hunter Fick 3^rd place

Defeated Keegan Cavellero (LPGE) per fall :23, defeated by Tyler Spanswick (O) per fall 3:43, defeated Tyler Ukkelberg (OTC) per dec. 7-1, defeated Charlie Neinaber (BHV) per fall 5:20

220 lb. Buzz Miller 3^rd place

Defeated by Taylor Carlson (UNC) per fall 3:19, defeated Mitch Sunder (O) per fall 2:59, defeated Cole Graybow (NYM) per fall 1:15

Gruchow will lead his team to its last regular season dual when Long Prairie/Grey Eagle Thunder comes to Barrett Monday, Feb. 3rd for the final conference dual.  The Knights find themselves in control of their destiny and will be wrestling for the conference championship.  Saturday, Feb 8^th the wrestlers will travel to Morris for the Morris Invitational Tournament.  This is the last competition before section wrestling starts.