WARRIOR YOUTH 7/8TH GRADE TEAM

QUALIFIED FOR STATE

The Fulda/MCC Warriors wrestling team isn’t done quite yet even though the high school season is over and the state tournament medals have been distributed. The Varsity Wrestling team was awarded the MWCA (Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association) All-State Academic Team - Gold Plaque given to teams with a cumulative GPA of 3.5+ thanks to all their hard work on and off the mat.

The youth wrestling season takes a back seat to the high school until after the state tournament where the youth wrestlers take center stage. The NYWA “Northland Youth Wrestling Association”, is a wrestling organization that organizes and holds tournaments very similar to the high school league and all through the season these youth wrestlers are attending tournaments preparing for their own chance to make it to regions and state.

A big highlight this past weekend was the 7-8th grade team not only qualified for the state tournament but nearly shut out all their competitors and took 2nd place in their region. There are 5 regions in the state with each region sending 8 teams on to the state tournament in Rochester the end of the month. There are no classes so these kids are competing against all schools regardless of size and at the tournament in Le Sueur the 7-8th grade team took on Albert lea, and Marshall class AA in the state, and Minneota a wrestling powerhouse in class A.

Taking a 2.5 hour road trip to Le Sueur MN all the wrestlers met early to make weigh ins by 8 o’clock Saturday morning March 12th. As the coaches worked out their matchups sizing up the other team the wrestlers warmed up flooding three mats with takedowns and summersaults running and some just laying around waiting to wrestle.

The Warriors would get a by in their first round giving them a little more time to prepare for their match and observe their competition. Starting in the second round of the tournament the Warriors had Albert Lea the number 5 seed of the tournament. Kaston Clarke got the scoring started early with a decision over Maggie Olson of Albert Lea. After a Technical Fall and a Decision loss by Dane Hanson and Brayden Gilb giving Albert Lea an edge the score was 3-8 going into the the 115# bout and Ryan Collins wouldn’t let Teague Meyer score putting Albert Lea up even more at 3-11. Lucas Kuball at 125# drew Trent Ignaszewski and earned 6 points on the fall closing the gap 9-11. After Noah Mathiowetz took a fall against Jace Houston making the score 9-17 the Warriors had their work cut out for them. Quinten Lewis took the stage and went toe to toe with Esteban Mixteco and earned a fall Late in the second period closing the gap with bonus points 15-17. Owen Olsem at 160 took on Teaghen Tolbers and went the distance earning a decision with a score of 6-2 putting the Warriors on top. Colby Kesteloot the anchor of the team at heavyweight drew Landen Purdy and wasted no time getting the double underhook and putting Purdy on his back earning the pin and the team win. Every wrestler on the team did his best and even though there were losses they wrestled hard and held to decisions which makes a big difference.

The semi-final match would see the Warriors going up against the infamous Minneota Vikings and Kaston Clarke took center stage to start the dual and earned a 30 second pin giving the Warriors an early lead 6-0. Dane Hanson drew Blake Mead and took a fall putting the score 6-6. Brayden Gilb made up for the loss earning a decision against Quinton Anderson with a match score of 6-2. Teague Meyer wrestled hard for three periods and lost my major decision to Adam DeVlaminck. The score now 9-10 Minneota going into the the 125# bout where Lucas Kuball would win in a 7-2 decision over Cael Fier. Quinten Lewis opened the gap even more with a pin over Browdy Lozinski in 49 seconds. With a score of 18-10 going into the upper weights the Warriors would need the breathing room as Luke Iverson held Carson Javers to a decision at 7-4 and Owen Olsem lost by pin fall to Brock Fier. Down by one going into the heavyweight bout Colby Kesteloot was ready for the challenge. Phil Clarke met Colby on the edge of the mat and gave him some encouragement before heading out. The stage was set yet again putting the weight of the dual on the heavyweights shoulders and Colby pulled through waiting until the third period this time before scoring a fall and 6 team points for the victory over Minneota and putting the Warriors into the finals against Marshall with a final score of 24-19.

The Warriors were looking good and feeling good with their heads up waiting for the consolation matches to end and the finals to start. The championship mat took center stage and the Warriors took their place on the edge of the mat with Phil Clarke and Ryan Olsem holding down the corner.

Kaston Clarke earned a 2-0 decision, three team points, and his third win for the day against Keynan Coequyt. At 95lbs. Dane Hansen drew another tough match against Lincoln Christianson and took a fall with 3 seconds left in the first period. Marshall had an open weight at 105 and Brayden Gilb took the spot and got 6 points back for his team getting the lead at 9-6. Teague Meyer held his opponent Noah Frazee to a decision with a score of 6-2 and Lucas Kuball also held Dawson Decamp to a Major Decision 11-0. At 135 Luke Iverson fell to Tyson Louwagie and Quintin Lewis fell to Brayden Chandler in the 150 bout. With a score of 9-25 going into the last two matches the Warriors knew that second place was theirs. Owen Olsem at #160 scored a fall against Tyler Kraft and Colby Kesteloot won his third match of the day with his third pin of the day against Braedyn Van-Meveren.

2nd place is a great place to be going up against bigger schools and this wrestling team is complete without the kids in the background that make up the practice room and are their to fill slots in case of injuries or just to make a specific matchup. Wrestling at competition means that some kids have to take a back seat and be part of the team from the sidelines but here is just as important as one day they too will undoubtedly have their chance in the spotlight. Weston Kruger, Jaxon Wendorff and Mason Kirchner didn’t get to see a match today but they and their parents were there to support the team in anyway they can.

The Warriors will now wait for the K-6 team to finish up their regions this coming weekend in Tracy, and then make the trip to Rochester for the State NYWA tournament March 30 thru April 3rd.