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The Fulda/MCC K-6th Grade Team punched their ticket to the NYWA State Tournament with a 6th Place finish at the NYWA Region 2 Tournament! Pictured: Back Row (L to R): Ryan Olsem (Coach), Matt Hanson (Coach), Ivan Olsem, Mason Stoppell, Adam Iverson, Mason Kirchner, Truman Olsem, Levi Lewis, Curtis Johnson, Phil Clarke (Coach), Nick Henning (Coach); Front Row (L to R): Dane Hanson, George Rosenbrook, Holden Clarke, Jonah Paulzine, Oliver Staples, Brenner LeTendre, Max Ray, Brady Haken, Brodik Clarke, Luke Sweetman; Not Pictured: John Klein (Coach), Teddy Paulzine, Brantly Klein.
Six days after the Fulda/ MCC Warriors 7th/8th Grade wrestling team qualified for the NYWA State Tournament, the K-6 (kindergarten through sixth grade) Team set out to punch a ticket of their own. The team would enter as the #8 seed with seventeen teams competing in the event in Tracy, MN on Saturday, March 19th.
In the first round of the tournament the Warriors would face off against #9 NRHEG (New Richland, Hartland, Ellendale, Geneva). The dual would go back and forth with NRHEG leading 12-18 heading into the 70# match where the Warriors would rattle off four consecutive wins by Brodik Clarke, Luke Sweetman, Dane Hanson, and Mason Kirchner. The run would put the Warriors up 27-18 before the Panthers would go on a run of their own, taking the next three matches and pushing themselves into the lead 27-33. Fulda/MCC would pick up a forfeit at 115#, so with two matches to go the score would be evened up at 33-33. The Warriors would pick up a decision from 5th Grader Truman Olsem at 130 and a pin at HWT by 3rd Grader Levi Lewis to win the dual 42-33 and advance to the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals the young Warrior squad would face off against a very experienced #1 Worthington. The Warriors would pick up wins by Brady Haken, Luke Sweetman, Mason Kirchner, and Truman Olsem; however, Worthington had too much fire power and would end up taking the dual 60-22.
With the loss, the boys would drop down into the consolation bracket to battle back for a state tournament birth. First up in the consolation bracket would be #10 Albert Lea. The Warriors started hot winning ten of the first eleven matches, including five pins, pushing the lead to 43-9 heading into 102#. The Tigers would pick up victories at 102#, 115#, and #130 before Truman Olsem would seal the deal with a pin at HWT. The Warriors would advance to the consolation semifinals with the 49-27 victory.
Next the Warriors would face off against #5 Canby who had beaten Fulda/MCC twice this season. Trailing 6-9 heading into #60, the boys would use pins by Jonah Paulzine, George Rosenbrook, Brodik Clarke, and Luke Sweetman to push the score to 30-9. The Warriors wouldn’t look back, they would pick up pins by Adam Iverson at 93# and Truman Olsem at HWT to win the dual 45-36. The win would push the Warriors into the consolation championship and secure their trip to the state tournament.
In the consolation finals their opponent would be unseeded Maple River/USC. Maple River/USC lost to the eventual champion #4 Minneota in the first round 40-34 before defeating Redwood Valley 51-29, #3 Marshall 42-33, and #7 Wabasso 59-31. The Warriors proved to be outmatched in this dual. They would pick up pins from Holden Clarke at #50, Mason Kirchner at #84, Truman Olsem at #130, and Levi Lewis at HWT. The final score of the dual was 52-27 and the Warriors would end the day in 6th Place.
Next up, many of the Warrior wrestlers from Kindergarten to 8th Grade will be competing in Windom on Saturday, March 26th at the NYWA Region 2 Individual Tournament where the top two individuals in each weight group will advance to Rochester on March 31-April 3rd. The 7th/8th Grade Team will be competing at the NYWA Team State in Rochester on March 31 & April 1st while the K6 Team will be competing at the same venue on April 2nd & 3rd.
