Carson Lewis

Every year the most anticipated event on the calendar is the section tournament where the varsity wrestlers have been working hard, and adjusting their weight looking at state rankings. Meanwhile the coaches are doing the same thing trying to get their team and individuals the best chance at making the state tournament. The top two place winners in each weight earn a seat at the Minnesota state tournament. This year, the Warriors sent a full team of 13 wrestlers to the section tournament, with 12 of them placing and 2 of them making the state tournament.

The section tournament is double elimination with a true second, which means if the third place winner hasn’t lost to the 2nd place they will wrestle to determine who is true second. To be in a true second match is terrifying and exciting. And this year our 107 pound wrestler, Kaston Clarke lost his first match of the day to Keagan Steen who was 34-4 going into the section tournament. Kaston, with a record of 18 wins and 20 losses, was an underdog to say the least. The loss to Keagan sent Kaston to the consolation bracket where Kaston made short work of all his opponents until the 3rd place match where Kaston won by 7-6 decision against Logan Peterson of Tracy. The third place win put him in pace for the true second match. With the coaches split between two matches, Nick Henning coaching Luke Iverson in his 5th place match, meanwhile keeping a eye on Kaston in his true second match.

Keagan Steen was injured in his semifinals match against Carlos Perez Garcia of Pipestone 27-7 and Garcia gaining second place, set the stage for Kaston to have a chance at a true second match. Kaston is a tough wrestler who’s very hard to score against, always catching a leg when he’s shot on and getting a stalemate and a restart.

The first period went 0-0, as neither wrestler found a way to score, but in the second period, Clarke opened up and started scoring immediately with an escape from bottom referees position, then got in on a takedown, working to a nearfall, going up 6-0 against Garcia, a hammer for the Pipestone Arrows. Garcia chose neutral in the third period and Clarke, undeterred, stayed aggressive, taking Garcia down on the edge of the mat securing a pinning combination and landing the pin as the entire team, coaches, and fans leapt to their feet in hollers, screams, and fist pumps. Kaston’s first move after his hand was raised was to turn to the Warrior fans pointing to his mother. Kayla Clarke, always in the stands works hard keeping up, watching, cheering, and praying as Kaston wrestles. What an exciting moment in life to make it to the big show.

At 114 lbs, Mason Kirchner had a tough day, starting off against Wenton Marten of Tracy, losing by technical fall. Kirchners second match was against David Anaya of Adrian and fell with 36 seconds left in the first period. Mason Kirchner, an 8th grader, is developing and shows real promise as we look forward to seeing him next year.

Seventh grader Truman Olsem, at 121 with a record of 10-17, came in to the tournament as the 4th seed and his first match was against #5 Isaiah Nelson 13-13 of Redwood Valley. He won by pin fall with 23 seconds left in the second period. His semi final round was against 36-8 Isaac Rodriguez of Jackson County where Truman fell to a pin one minute and seventeen seconds in the first period. Truman went directly into the consolation semis where he went into overtime against Andres Guardado 11-19 of Pipestone. Guardado snuck in on a takedown against Olsem winning the match and putting Olsem into the fifth place match.

Olsem is a quiet soul and keeps to himself, but inside there is a storm brewing and when he opens up, good things happen. Fifth place would have to come to Olsem through Isaiah Nelson, his first opponent of the day. Olsem, in order to get the fire started, had to have Nelson score first with a takedown and a nearfall. Olsem fought back scoring on a reversal, a 3 point nearfall, then a 2 point nearfall. Olsem started the second period with a 7-5 lead. Nelson chose neutral to start the second period and scored the initial takedown and finished the period on top. Tied to start the third period, Olsem started on top and Nelson found an escape. This got Olsem’s

fire hot and he scored a takedown immediately. Allowing an escape, the score was tied and Olsem, needing another takedown, got it, winning the match 11-9 and fifth place in the tournament.

Our 127 pounder Brayden Gilb found his way to fifth place over Zachary Curry of St. James, after losing in the quarterfinals against Travis Wiess of Adrian and Mikale Goblirsch of Wabasso in the consolation semis.

Teague Meyer, tenth grader 29-23, drew David Schuh 3912 in the quarterfinal round and couldn’t quite get his offense going, scoring on a reversal in the second period and starting the third neutral and down 5-2 suffered another takedown and was pinned. Teague also fell to Charger Erlandson of Adrian in a decision, but for his fifth place match, Damian Ramirez of St. James went down in the first minute for Teague to earn fifth place with a pin.

Fifth seeded senior Denver Ash had Andrew Pankonin in the quarterfinal round and with 4 takedowns, a nearfall, and two escape points, dominated Pankonin, earning a seat in the semis where he fell to the #1 seeded state ranked Hudson Burnett. In the consolation bracket Ash lost to Damian Alatytriste in a 13-8 decision. Fifth place Ash found Pankonin of Red Rock Central again and this time scored the pin one minute into the first period to solidify his 5th place seed. Denver had a great high school career sticking with the program and leaving behind his personality, hard work, and dedication.

Senior Cowboy Aiden Lorenzen 37-15 came into the tournament as the 3 seed and performed well, winning by major decision in the first round over Garret Marotzke of Wabasso 10-1. In the quarter finals, he worked his takedowns and turns on Carter Beranek of Wabasso and landed another major decision 11-3. In the semifinals Aiden Lorenzen went up against a brick wall in the name of Alexander Schuh and fell by pinfall with one second left in the first period. Over to the consolation bracket, Cowboy’s first match was against Garret Marotzke of Wabasso again. This time Lorenzen wasn’t playing, as he pinned Marotzke in one minute and fifty three seconds. For the third place match Lorenzen had Mulvihill and after a scoreless 1st period started bottom in the second period and earned his escape and scored on a double leg, finishing the period on top. Mulvihill chose bottom for the third period and earned his escape, and Lorenzen took him down and scored a nearfall, finishing out the match and earning third place 7-1. There was no true second available for Cowboy as he and Schuh already met, thus finishing out his high school career. Thanks Aiden for your commitment to the program and leaving behind a legacy.

Sixth seeded 152 lb. Lucas Kuball fell to state ranked Evan Bartholomaus in the quarterfinal round. In the third consolation round Kuball took Rich Sobrecary for a ride, scoring 12 points in three periods, allowing 2 escape points and giving up a last second takedown. The consolation semis, Lucas fell to Gavin Marotzke mid way through the second period. For the fifth place match Kuball couldn’t get his offense going and Caleb Wolf of Adrian scored 12 points in a 12-2 major decision, and Kuball went home with sixth place.

#2 seeded 160 lb. 37-10 Quintin Lewis in his quarterfinals match wasted no time taking Devin Ramirez to his back scoring a 45 second pin. In Q’s Semi-final match against Lucas Thooft, the scoring started early, as he took Thooft to his back for a takedown and a nearfall in the first period. Starting neutral in the second period, Q scored the first takedown of which Thooft was able to escape and score a takedown. Going into the third period Q chose bottom with a 7-3 lead and scored his escape. Thooft scored a takedown on Q and couldn’t hold him down as Q scored his own escape. After being called for stalling, he got aggressive, scored a takedown and stayed on top, winning the match and going into the finals match for first. Quintin Lewis wrestles with the grace of an otter in the water as he moves around his opponents like an otter twists and turns over the rocks and through the water. Zachary Guggisberg a Redwood Valley junior with a 26-19 record made his way to the mat to take on Quintin Lewis. Both wrestlers, full of promise for the state tournament and neither wanting to wrestle a true second, fought for their right for first place and a guaranteed ticket to the big show. In ordinary fashion Lewis let Guggisberg in on the first shot and takedown and Lewis quickly fought back and scored a reversal and reached for the head and scored a 3 point nearfall, finishing the period on top. Lewis deferred to start the second period and Guggisberg chose neutral. The scoring for Lewis continued as he took Guggisberg to the mat for the initial takedown and scored a three point nearfall. Lewis’ hold slipped and Guggisberg took advantage and reversed, but Lewis held on and got back on top, scoring another reversal and trying for the pin, got a solid reverse half and chest to chest, put his weight on Guggisberg and got the pin for 1st place and trip to the state tournament. Lewis turned to the crowd, clapped his hands like a warrior, and put a hand up holding a V for victory. Congratulations, Quintin and good luck on your trip.

Carson Lewis a 5-15 172 lb. ninth grader in his second year of competitive wrestling, performed well after losing his first match in the quarterfinals against the number one seed Lucas Fuhr of Redwood Valley. The third round of consolation, Carson pinned Kody Bast, a junior with an 18-22 record. Then in the semifinals, pinned Peyton Wolner, a junior with a 23-27 record of St. James. For the third place round, Lewis found Rilee Heidebrink, a senior with a 28-22 record from Adrian. In the 3rd place match, Lewis held his own, going the distance, lost by major decision, winning 4th place in the section. Cant wait to see what next year brings for this young athletic man.

Junior Carson Klein, with a 33-19 record, pinned Gage Struchen of TMB to get into the quarterfinals where he met Jackson Melcher, a senior from Pipestone with a 36-5 record and performed exceptionally well staying aggressive he scored 2 stalling points on Melcher late in the third period, but just couldn’t find a way in finishing the match 6-5. After getting pinned by Ryan Haley of Jackson in the consolation semifinals. Klein went into the 5th place match where he met Gage Struchen of TMB again. Struchen went down with 3 seconds left in the second period and Klein had 5th place.

The 215 weight class had Luke Iverson for the Warriors and his first quarter finals match he fell to Julio Esqueda of St. James. In the consolation bracket, Iverson pinned Troy Ours of Wabasso in 37 seconds, then had Carlos Zepeda of Pipestone where Iverson won with a technical fall, scoring 17 to Zepeda’s 2. After a fall to Mitchell Streich of Springfield, Iverson went to the fifth place match where he met Brayden Winter of Jackson and scored the fall in the third period with 12 seconds left. Thank you, Luke Iverson for your hard work and dedication. See you next year.

Colby Kesteloot finished the tournament with a 31-16 record as a tenth grader, had Tommy Leopold a ninth grader with a 17-11 record and won by fall about half way through the second period. In his semifinals match, Colby had a big Willie Curry of St. James and couldn’t get his offense going, losing the match in a 6-0 decision, sending Kesteloot to the Consolation bracket. In the Consolation semi-finals, Colby made short work of Adam Mohr of Redwood Valley, pinning him with 25 seconds left in the first period. Kesteloot dominated Michael Hanson of Jackson until the fall 51 seconds in the third period, winning third place. Willie Curry got second place so there was no true second match.

Congratulations to Nick Henning, the captain of the ship, hauling the Warrior wrestling team to their victories, on getting coach of the year. Nick Henning with Cody Kramer, Clayton Hartle, and Ryan Olsem as his assistants, have performed exceptionally well as coaches, bringing the team from 6 wrestlers up to over thirty in the last 5 years. The last time the Warriors had a wrestler make it to the state tournament was eight years ago, and Nick has been waiting to go back until the team had a wrestler make it. This year we have two wrestlers making appearances. It takes sacrifices made by Clair, Nick’s wife, and Letty, Nick’s first born daughter. It takes a lot of time and energy to farm, run a business, be a husband and a father, and on top of all that provide the dedication it takes to help these wrestlers perform to the best of their ability. Nick and his assistants have a love for the sport, and a deeper love for their wrestlers. They are a family and along with raising good wrestlers, they are helping the parents raise good men. With Love, Respect, Honor, Integrity, and self-control these boys are becoming the best they can be.

Thanks and Congratulations Nick, Cody, Clayton, and Ryan on your dedication to the program, see you at the big Tournament, its gonna be fun seeing you on the floor with our boys.

Wrestlers also recognized as a MWCA Academic All-State Team with a cumulative GPA of 3.816!!!

Colby Kesteloot

Quintin Lewis

Teague Meyer