Knights Ranked Ninth in Class A Wrestling Poll

By Craig Olson

The West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville wrestling team is ranked ninth in the latest Minnesota Class A poll.
Minneota, Adrian and Frazee are the top three teams in the poll, followed by Kenyon-Wanamingo, Lake Crystal-Wellcome-Memorial Area, Jackson County Central, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, Chatfield, WCA/A/BE, Pierz, Badger/Greenbush-Middle River and Zumbrota-Mazeppa. Barnesville is among the teams listed in the Lean and Mean category as receiving votes.
Individually, the Knights have three wrestlers in the top ten in their respective weight classes.  Hunter Fick is ranked number one at 195, Jake Nohre is third at 106 and Royal Crow is sixth at 152.
Barnesville has Zac Anderson ranked seventh at 138, Rylee Anderson eighth at 145 and Dan Berg sixth at 220.
Pelican Rapids senior Danny Franco is ranked tenth at 113 pounds.
Frazee has several ranked wrestlers, including top-ranked Garrett Malstrom (285), fourth-ranked Jonah Lange (182), sixth-ranked Tanner Reetz (120), seventh ranked Austin Skillings (145), eighth ranked Tanner Schermerhorn (106), Ethan Byer (126) and Byron Byer (132) and tenth-ranked Grant Jepson (138).
New York Mills has two ranked wrestlers, Jeremiah Harper is eighth at 120 and Sam Erkenbrack is ninth at 195.
From Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale, Dillon Card (220) is ranked first, Ethan Kimber (160) fifth and Anthony Kern (120) seventh.
Border West has Cameron Sykora (120) ranked number one and Tracer Lee (126) ranked third.

Knight Wrestlers Compete at Staples Quadrangular

Knight Wrestlers Compete at Staples Quadrangular
By Craig Olson - Staples, MN

The West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville Knights wrestled in the Staples Quadrangular on Friday night going 2-1 in their three duals.
Coach Brandon Gruchow commented, “As an unknown source once said, ‘There are no losers in wrestling, just winners and learners.’ Today we were put to the test against three solid teams. In our first dual against St. Cloud Tech we came up short losing 42-24. The team handled the loss well. We learned from it and responded in a positive way. We wrestled well against Section 6A opponent Staples/Motely and won in a dominating fashion 55-15. This boosted the confidence of the boys and they wrestled even better to get another win over Section 7A Blackduck-Cass Lake-Bena (ranked as a lean and mean team). It was great to see them learn from their mistakes and use the loss in a positive manner; it shows they have a desire to be winners.”
Gruchow continued, “Just a few highlights of the day included: #3 ranked Jake Nohre beating #2 ranked Andrew Nissen of BCLB 9-3. Nohre wrestled extremely smart and dominated the match. Drake Swanson had a great day going 3-0. Levi Larkin’s big win in our first dual against St. Cloud Tech winning a tough and close battle 3-1. His takedown in overtime sealed the deal. Keaton Long wrestled extremely well today earning two pins. It’s great having him back in the line-up as Keaton is a very dangerous wrestler. He wrestles from whistle to whistle and you never count him out of any match. Tyler Onstad had a huge confidence boosting win over Jake Swensrud of Staples/Motely. Tyler took him down to his back early in the first period and hung on for the victory with a 7-5 win. Jake Larkin went 3-0 today. Jake had one forfeit and wrestled well winning by fall and by decision. Jake hit a milestone today earning his 50th career pin! Kyle Mickelsen continues to prove that he is a top contender at his weight class by winning all three of his matches today. Kyle wrestled hard, confident, and smart to get all three win. Koel Seifert earned a second period win against Staples/Motley opponent; Koel started the match out strong taking his opponent down to his back right away in the first period. Blake Amundson had a big win to help out the team by pinning his BCLB opponent. Blake is another one of our wrestlers who just keep improving week after week. Hunter Fick dominated in both his matches he wrestled today, earning his 75th career win in his second match of the day. Buzz Miller had a great throw at the end of his first match of the day to secure a win. Buzz kept working to make something happen and with 12 seconds left he lateralled his opponent to his back! Sid Kamrath won twice today. He pinned his BLCB opponent and won in the last 5 seconds of his Staples/Motley match scoring with a defensive go behind. Today was all about getting better…that’s why we added this quad to our schedule. It was a great test to see where we are at. We have a tough schedule ahead of us, starting with a conference opponent Royalton/Upsala on Tuesday night starting at 6:00pm.”
106 – Drake Swanson (WCA) pin over Jack Latterell (SCT)
113 – Alex Kern (SCT) 6-5 dec. over Jake Nohre (WCA)
120 – Dallas Hooper (SCT) pin over Aiden Winter (WCA)
126 – Levi Larkin (WCA) 3-1 dec. over Graham Nistler (SCT)
132 – Luke Dorn (SCT) 11-2 maj. dec. over Keaton Long (WCA)
138 – Austin Brenner (SCT) pin over Tyler Onstad (WCA)
145 – Jake Larkin (WCA) 2-1 dec. over Henry Nistler (SCT)
152 – Kyle Mickelsen (WCA) 4-3 dec. over Joe Klontz (SCT)
160 – Lucas Grams (SCT) pin over Alex Butcher (WCA)
170 – Cole Schreder (SCT) 16-1 Tech. Fall over Koel Seifert (WCA)
182 – Jacob Johnson (SCT) pin over Blake Amundson (WCA)
195 – Hunter Fick (WCA) pin over Jeremy Nothom (SCT)
220 – Buzz Miller (WCA) 4-2 dec. over Tyler Hugg (SCT)
285 – Micah Mangel (SCT) pin over TJ Waskosky (WCA)

WCA 55, Staples- Motley 15                                                   
106 – Drake Swanson (WCA) pin over Spencer Miller (SM)
113 – Jake Nohre (WCA) pin over Blayne Dumprope (SM)
120 – Blake Gerard (SM) pin over Aiden Winter (WCA)
126 – Eric Lisson (SM) 5-3 OT dec. over Levi Larken (WCA)
132 – Keaton Long (WCA) pin over Jasiah Paskewitz (SM)
138 – Tyler Onstad (WCA) 7-5 dec. over Jake Swendsrud (SM)
           Loss of 1 team point for Unsportsmanlike conduct against WCA
145 – Jake Larkin (WCA) winner by FF
152 – Kyle Mickelsen (WCA) 2-1 dec. over Jeremy Miller (SM)
160 – Alex Erpelding (SM) pin over Alex Butcher (WCA)
170 – Koel Seifert (WCA) pin over Braden Tyrell (SM)
182 – Blake Amundson (WCA) winner by FF
195 – Hunter Fick (WCA) winner by FF
220 – Buzz Miller (WCA) winner by TF over Dillon Massey (SM)
285 – Sid Kamrath (WCA) 2-0 dec. over Kyle Serich (SM)

WCA 39, BLCB 28
106 – Drake Swanson (WCA) pin over Trenton Juelson (BCLB)
113 – Jake Nohre (WCA) 9-3 dec. over Andrew Nissen (BCLB)
120 – David Foster (BCLB) pin over Aiden Winter (WCA)
126 – Levi Larkin (WCA) 4-2 dec. over Lucas Reiplinger (BCLB)
132 – Keaton Long (WCA) pin over Ian Frenzel (BCLB)
138 – Kyle Michalek (BCLB) 8-0 maj. dec. over Tyler Onstad (WCA)
145 – Jake Larkin (WCA) pin over Tanner George (BCLB)
152 – Mason Frenzel (BCLB) pin over Kode Seifert (WCA)
160 – Kyle Mickelsen (WCA) 9-2 dec. over Jonathan (BLCB)
170 – Trevor Smith (BCLB) pin over Koel Seifert (WCA)
182 – Blake Amundson (WCA) 8-5 dec. over Hunter Wilcowski (BCLB)
195 – Hunter Fick (WCA) 2-0 dec. over Cooper Jedlicka (BCLB)
220 – Sid Kamarath (WCA) pin over Nate Yeats (BCLB)
285 – Tanner Templin (BCLB) pin over Buzz Miller (WCA)

JV Results Kaleb Getz 2-0 Chase Veldhouse 0-2 Bret Duncan 1-1 Jannis Knothe 1-1 Hunter Hanson 0-2 Cody Nadgwick 0-1 Austin Aufdenkamp 0-1

Five Little Knight Wrestlers compete at the Hawkeye National Tournament…Four Place!

Anthony Sykora, Hunter Gruchow, Colbe Tappe, Cooper Tappe, and Owen Gruchow who all wrestle with the Little Knight program in Barrett, participated in the Hawkeye National Tournament in Waterloo Iowa this past weekend.  There were over 640 registered wrestlers from 9 different states entered into the tournament.  This tournament was the first of a series of three tournaments.  This tour of tournaments will go into February with wrestling action taking place in Minnesota (Gogher State Nationals) and Wisconsin (Badger Land Nationals).  If a wrestler is able to place in the top six they are awarded a championship belt for their efforts.

Anthony Sykora competed in the 3rd and 4th grade 85 pound division. Sykora advanced with a bye in the round of sixteen, he then pinned his next opponent in his quarter finals match. He ran into an East Ridge opponent who is currently ranked #1 in the country by USA wrestling in the semifinals. Sykora was tech falled by this gifted wrestler. Sykora then beat his next opponent 6-0 to get into the 3rd place match. Sykora wrestled another dominating match in the third place match winning 7-2. 

Anthony Sykora Places 3rd

Four year-old Cooper Tappe wrestled in the Pk-K 40 pound weight division. Cooper gained some great exerience after going 0-2. Cooper will have another 2 years to wrestle in this division. Going into this tournament, it was all about the experience for him.

Owen Gruchow, who is a Kindergartner, took second place in the 55 pound PK-K division. Owen went 4-1. Owen's loss came in the first round. His opponent from Iowa beat him 8-4.  He wrestled his way back through the bracket winning his next four matches, one of which was won in overtime.

Owen Gruchow Places 2nd

First Grader, Colbe Tappe entered the tournament at the 54 pound 1st-2nd grade division. Colbe wrestled well against his opponents who were mostly second graders. Colbe went 3-2 and took 4th place. He wrestled hard and had this to say about his match, "I wrestled with one of the best wrestlers in the nation...he was a two time National champion and I only lost 3-7."

Colbe Tappe Places 4th

  

Second grader Hunter Gruchow went 4-1 on the day, earning second place. Hunter lost by fall in the second period to his Iowa opponent. Hunter was winning in the match, but was headlocked, and tried to roll through it. He ended up not getting off his back and was pinned.

Hunter Gruchow Places 2nd

 It was a great experience for all 5 of our Little Knight Wrestlers, competing against some of the best wrestlers in the Midwest.  This tournament will definitely give these young wrestlers a marking point of where they are at and what they need to work on going into the new season.  It was a great learning experience.

Knight Wrestlers Earn Pair of Section 6A Wins

The West Central Area Knights faced Barnesville and Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale on Thursday night in a triangular in Bertha.
“There was a little more pressure going into tonight’s tri against two great section 6A teams,” commented Head Coach Brandon Gruchow.  “Both teams have quite a few talented individual wrestlers and we knew we had to wrestle well to beat both teams.  The boys did a great job staying focused and getting prepared one dual at a time and one match at a time.  Most of them did their jobs and we are very pleased to see their continuous efforts pay-off.”
The Knights beat the Trojans 48-30 and defeated B-H/V 52-18.
“Drake Swanson earned wrestler of the match tonight, well deserved after pinning both of his opponents,” noted Gruchow.  “Drake has been putting in the time doing the extra work all summer and reaping the benefits.” 
Jake Nohre, Kyle Mickelsen, Jake Larkin, Royal Crow, and Hunter Fick each posted two more wins to their records on Thursday night.  Chris Onstad, Levi Larkin, Koel Seifert, Buzz Miller, and Sid Kamrath each added a win to their records as well.   
“We know that both teams rosters will most likely change by the next time we wrestle them,” said Coach Gruchow.  “And it’s likely that they will only get tougher.  It was an uplifting night; being able to go out and get both wins was exactly what we wanted to do.  We know we have to stay after it in the practice room, clean up our techniques, and keep healthy to do it again at the end of the season.”
It was a little tougher night for the Jv/Jr. High wrestlers.  “There were also fewer matches so not all of the boys got a match,” reported Gruchow.  “They wrestled well but had some unfortunate turn of events in many of the matches resulting in 5 losses.  Hunter Hanson earned the sole win for the JV/J.H. team.”
Austin Aufdenkamp 0-2, Kaleb Getz 0-1, Jared Lock 0-1, Hunter Hanson 1-0, Jannis Knothe 0-1.

SCORING SUMMARY:

West Central Area 52, Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale 18

SCORING SUMMARY:

West Central Area/Ashby/Evansville 48, Barnesville 30

Knights Open with Dual Meet Win Over WDC

By Craig Olson - Wadena, MN


The West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville Knights opened the high school wrestling season with an impressive 66-9 road win over Wadena-Deer Creek on Tuesday night.
“We were very pleased with our wrestler’s performances on the mat tonight,” said Head Coach Brandon Gruchow.  “The first match of the year is usually one of the hardest due to many reasons.  Conditioning usually seems to be one of the major factors that hinder a wrestler.  However, I feel that this team is in very good shape due to the fact that they work extremely hard in practice and have also done a great job preparing for the start of the season by practicing and competing in the spring and summer.  It was a great feeling as a coach to see these boys come in to a match focused, determined, and confident.”
Chris Onstad (106) got the Knights rolling with a 4-1 decision over Mason Snyder and back-to-back pins from Jake Nohre (113) and Drake Swanson (120) gave the Knights an early 15-0 lead.
“Chris Onstad pushed his way through a 3 period match earning a win in his first ever varsity appearance,” said Gruchow.
At 126 Chase Godel of the Wolverines posted a 9-3 decision over Aiden Winter.
“Aiden wrestled a hard fought match,” reported Gruchow.  “Although he came up just short on points, he saved the team 3 points.  In a match that can be huge.  In Aiden’s case tonight the scoreboard didn’t add up in his favor, but he found a way to help out his team by saving points.”
Forfeit wins by Levi Larkin (132) and Tyler Onstad (138) kicked the Knights lead up to 27-3, however, a fall by Carter Wright (145) of Wadena-Deer Creek over Wyatt Olson cut the lead to 27-9.
“Wyatt Olson an 8th grader, stepped up tonight for the team and weighed in at 145 pounds to fill a gap in the line-up due to a couple of different reasons,” added Gruchow. “Wyatt  lost by a fall against his Wadena opponent but stepped in to fill a gap for his team and that's just another example of how these guys are willing to do what it takes to help out their teammates.”
Jake Larkin (152), Kyle Mickelsen (160) and Royal Crow (170) each recorded a pin as the Knights increased their lead to 45-9.
Blake Amundson (182) made it 48-9 with a 7-5 decision over Kobe Weller.
“Blake scrapped his way through all three periods to win a close match,” noted Gruchow.
Hunter Fick (195) and Buzz Miller (220) continued the pin parade and TJ Waskowsky (HWT) won by forfeit, putting the final at 66-9.
“We will hit the practice room tomorrow morning at 6:30 am knowing that we need to continue to work hard, improve our conditioning, and fine tune our technique,” concluded Coach Gruchow.  “These guys know they need to have continuous improvement to reach their team and individual goals that they have set for themselves.  Once again, I am proud of these boys for their efforts and accomplishments in tonight’s dual!”
The JV rebounded very nicely against Breckenridge and Wadena’s JV following a tough outing at the BBE tournament last Tuesday.  “It was extremely pleasing to see how well they wrestled tonight,” commented Gruchow. “These young men wrestled tough and made their coaches and teammates proud.”
Chase Veldhouse went 1-0, Hunter Mickelsen went 1-0, Zack Salo 1-0, Jannis Knothe 2-0, Austin Aufdenkamp 0-2, Kaleb Getz 2-0, and Hunter Hanson 1-2.

SCORING SUMMARY:

WCA/A/BE 66, WDC 9 106 Chris Onstad WCA dec 4-1 Mason Snyder WDC 113 Jake Nohre WCA fall 1:32 Colton Knudson WDC 120 Drake Swanson WCA Fall 1:01 Cody Wheeler WDC 126 Chase Godel WDC dec 9-3 Aiden Winter WCA 132 Levi Larken WCA wins by Forfeit 138 Tyler Onstad WCA wins by forfeit 145 Carter Wright WDC fall :41 Wyatt Olson WDC 152 Jake Larkin WCA fall 2:41 Tyler Wheeler WDC 160 Kyle Mickelsen WCA fall 1:40 Blaine Snyder WDC 170 Royal Crow WCA fall 3:43 Steven Erkenbrack WDC 182 Blake Amundson WCA dec 7-5 Kobe Weller WDC 195 Hunter Fick WCA fall 2:46 Isaac Malone WDC 220 Buzz Miller WCA fall 1:29 Joseph Baker WDC HWT TJ Waskowsky WCA wins by forfeit

Parent Meeting For Wresttling7

The 7th -12th Grade Wrestling Parent/Wrestler Meeting Date and Time Has Been Set

We will meet in the High School Choir Room at 6:30 pm on Thursday November 13th.  Each wrestler, manager, and statistician is to be there with at least one parent.  The meeting will last approximately 45 minutes.