MAT RATS CLASS 6A PREVIEW 2011-2012

FAVORITES: BORDER WEST BUCCANEERS and the BARNESVILLE TROJANS


The Buccaneers of Border West had a great season last year, posting a 24-7 dual meet mark and a section championship. They lost two very close duals at the state tourney just missing out of team medals. They have back from that team three state qualifiers including two state place winners. The Buccaneers have four section place winners and five others with a great deal of experience. Despite the fact that they graduated a great bunch of seniors, in all six section place winners five state qualifiers of which three were state place winners. They will be looking to improve on those dual meet marks from last season. Look for the Buccaneers to make a strong challenge for section honors and possibly some state medals too. Cameron Sykora, Gus McCarthy, Austin Maanum, Austin Rinke and Charlie Maanum will be their key leaders thru out the season.

The Trojans of Barnesville have back from their 12-10 campaign a great deal of experience. They have ten section place winners back and five others with a lot of mat time. They did graduate four seniors including two section placer winners, so look for the Trojans to have a very successful season. They make a big improvement on those dual meet marks and make a big challenge for section honors. Stuart Brandt, Connor Meyer and Seth Hirsch will be their key leaders thru out the season.


DARKHORSES: BERTHA HEWITT/VERNDALE RAIDERS and the NEW YORK MILLS EAGLES

The Eagles of New York Mills will return from their 14-5 dual meet campaign two state qualifiers, six section place winners and one other with a great deal of experience. They did graduate four including four section place winners and one state qualifier, but look for the grapplers to improve during the course of the season. The Eagles should challenge those dual meet marks of last season. They should also make a challenge for both section and conference honors. Shane Novak, Noah Pesola and Tyler Patron should be their key leaders thru out the season.

The Raiders of Bertha Hewitt/Verndale have a very young team returning from their 4-18 dual meet campaign. They will return four section place winners including one state place winner and twelve others with a great deal of experience. The Raiders graduated one very good senior, with that in consideration, look for this young team to continue to improve during the course of the season. The Raiders should challenge for one of those top four spots in the section dual meet campaign. Also look for them to make a challenge for conference honors too. Colin Turchin and Dylan Koppendrayer should be their key leaders thru out the season.

Look for Breckenridge to also make a strong challenge for one of those top four spots in their section dual meet campaign. There are five state medal winners back from last season that includes: Cameron Sykora and Gus McCarthy of Border West, Colin Turchin of Bertha Hewitt/Verndale, Shane Novak of New York Mills and Stephen Erlandson of Breckenridge. There are a total of thirteen returning state qualifiers from last year's state tourney action. Those not mentioned above are: Greg Erlandson and Conrad Kondos of Breckendridge, Tony Reurink of Wadena-Deer Creek, Zach Johnson and Zach Matthys of Ottertail Central and Kyle Martineau of West Central Area.

Look for the following wrestlers; Kenny Steffens and Sam Waln of Wadena-Deer Creek, Nick Stafford of Border West, Isaac Goedtke, Alex Throwbridge, Kyle Johnson, Josh Harris and Ryler Anderson of Barnesville, Andrew Bounds and Justin Gordon of Bertha Hewitt/Verndale, Michael Meyer and Tyler Ehnert of New York Mills, Cole Praus, Jess Differding and Michael Whitney of Breckenridge, Allen Peyerl and Nolan Koch of Ottertail Central and Jesus Romero of Pelican Rapids to challenge for medals at the end of the season.


BORDER WEST BUCCANEERS

Head Coach: Paul Frisch
Enrollment: 129 Wheaton/25 Herman-Norcross/111 Clinton-Graceville/265 Total

24-7 Overall
Section 6A Champions
Thirteen Section Place Winners/Eight State Qualifiers/Five State Place Winners
First Place Benson "Braves Classic" Tourney: 218.5 Pts. (13 Placers)
Third Place Lisbon "Storhaug" Tourney: 125.5 Pts. (5 Placers)
Third Place West Central Area "Grant County" Tourney: 193.5 Pts. (10 Placers)
Fourth place Wahpeton "Dan Unruh" Tourney: 190 Pts. (9 Placers) (15 Teams)
Third Place Montevideo "Dave Roder" Tourney: 193.5 Pts. (10 Placers)
Third Place Minnewaska "Laker" Duals: (2-1)
Fifth Place Frazee "Les Kertscher" Duals: (2-1)

Returning Wrestlers:
Cameron Sykora 9th 44-4 1st Sec./State Champion
Gus McCarthy 11th 40-9 1st Sec./5th State
Austin Maanum 10th 33-11 2nd Section
Austin Rinke 12th 26-11 3rd Section
Charlie Maanum 12th 28-17 3rd Section
Nick Stafford 12th 30-15 4th Section
Peder Schmitz 11th 18-15
Leonardo Nicolette 12th 14-28
Chalmer Combellick 12th 9-29 4th Section
Wolfgang Brink 12th 2-4
Trace Lee 8th 5-4
Bryce Nilson 11th 3-8

Graduates:
Will McCarthy 43-4 1st Sec./2nd State
Mitch Andrews 46-3 1st Sec./5th State
Billy Connelly 41-8 1st Sec./5th State
Wylie Pulis 27-16 2nd Section
Taylor McCalip 33-11 1st Section
Nick Kleindl 13-8 4th Section



BARNESVILLE TROJANS

Head Coach: Art Meyer
Enrollment: 223

12-10 Overall
Twelve Section Place Winners
Final Four Section 6A
Second Place Barnesville "Trojans" Tourney: 180 Pts. (13 Placers)
Fifth Place Heart of Lakes Tourney: 103.5 Pts. (10 Placers)
Fourth Place Benson "Braves Classic" Tourney: 133 Pts. (10 Placers)
Sixth Place Lake Park "Terry Teiken" Tourney: 112.5 Pts. (7 Placers)
Twenty-Sixth Place Cass Lake "Big Bear" Tourney" 58 Pts. (1 Placer)

Returning Wrestlers:
Stuart Brandt 11th 31-9 3rd Section
Connor Meyer 8th 30-11 4th Section
Seth Hirsch 12th 25-13 3rd Section
Isaac Goedtke 11th 21-17 4th Section
Alex Trowbridge 10th 18-12 4th Section
Kyle Johnson 11th 20-18 5th Section
Josh Harris 12th 20-13 5th Section
Rylee Anderson 9th 17-11 4th Section
Alec Wheelright 10th 8-8 5th Section
Hunter Olson 11th 14-13
Maverich Brady 10th 5-7
Kyler Votava 10th 5-1
Jace Nosall 10th 3-14
Mason Berg 10th 2-7
Zach Anderson 9th 2-5

Graduates:
Hans Peppel 29-13 3rd Section
Matt Harris 10-9 6th Section
Trevor Nelson 13-20
Cody Egge 3-6


BERTHA HEWITT/VERNDALE RAIDERS

Head Coach: Mike Barthel
Enrollment: 111 Bertha Hewitt/126 Verndale/237 Total

4-18 Overall
2-5 Park Region Conference
Five Section Place Winners
Fifth Place BBE "Jaguar" Tourney: 48 Pts. (3 Placers)
Eight Place Parkers Prairie "Panther" Tourney: 78 Pts. (4 Placers)
Seventh Place Wadena-Deer Creek "Wolverine" Tourney: 115.5 Pts. (10 Placers)
Ninth Place Park Region Conference Tourney: 22 Pts. (3 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Colin Turchin 12th 24-3 1st Sec./4th State
Dylan Koppendrayer 12th 22-9 3rd Section
Justin Gordon 10th 13-12 6th Section
Andrew Bounds 10th 15-11 6th Section
Dalton Baker 10th 12-13
Jackie Swenson 11th 12-19
John French 10th 7-3
Nick Bennett 10th 6-11
Hayden Truax 9th 9-8
Dillan Card 9th 8-2
Josh Weekley 10th 6-9
Dakota Finck 10th 5-8
Eric Waln 11th 6-13
Dan Houchin 12th 4-14
Andrew Cihlar 10th 5-21
Marcus Willis 10th 2-4
Albert Boldt 9th 1-4
Tyler Lamb 9th 1-6

Graduates:
Kasey Horn 24-13 4th Section



NEW YORK MILLS EAGLES

Head Coach: Eric Niemi
Enrollment: 158

14-5 Overall
5-1 Park Region Conference
Final Four Section 6A
Twelve Section Place Winners/Three State Qualifiers
Second Place Park Region Conference Tourney: 174 Pts. (12 Placers)
Sixth Place Perham "Barrel O'Fun" Tourney: 128 Pts. (10 Placers)
Fifth Place Lake Park "Terry Teiken" Tourney: 114 Pts. (8 Placers)
Fourteenth Place Cass Lake "Big Bear" Tourney: 91.5 Pts. (3 Placers) (34 Team Field)
Tenth Place Wahpeton "Dan Unruh" Tourney: 80 Pts. (3 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Shane Novak 11th 37-6 2nd Sec./2nd State/AC
Noah Pesola 11th 24-13 2nd Section
Tyler Patron 10th 27-11 3rd Section/AC
Michael Meyer 12th 22-15 5th Section
Tyler Ehnert 10th 19-18 5th Section
Taylor Ericksrud 10th 11-19 4th Section
Kyle Vorderbrugen 12th 11-24 5th Section
Andrew Mindermann 12th 9-27 6th Section
Max Carlson 11th 12-14

Graduates:
Seth Hofland 32-10 2nd Section (70-55 Career Record)
Tommy Selander 26-8 5th Section/AC (76-37 Career Record)
Peter Stark 23-16 3rd Section (44-56 Career Record)
Ty Bell 10-20 5th Section



BRECKENRIDGE COWBOYS

Head Coach: Pat Vold
Enrollment: 261

7-10 Overall
Fourth Place Parkers Prairie "Panthers" Tourney: 137.5 Pts. (8 Placers)
Fourth Place Barnesville "Trojans" Tourney: 149 Pts. (11 Placers)
Sixth Place Benson "Braves Classic" Tourney: 127 Pts. (9 Placers)
Eight Place Lisbon "Storhaug" Tourney: 108 Pts. (6 Placers)
Eleventh Place Wahpeton "Dan Unruh" Tourney: 62 Pts. (3 Placers)
Eight Place Heart Of Lakes Tourney: 83 Pts. (7 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Stephen Erlandson 12th 38-2 1st Sec./2nd State/AC
Greg Erlandson 12th 25-7 1st Section
Conrad Kondos 10th 27-11 2nd Section
Cole Praus 12th 25-15 4th Section
Jesse Differding 12th 18-13 3rd Section
Josh Peterson 11th 20-18
Michael Whitney 11th 21-16 6th Section
Zach Willprecht 9th 3-5 6th Section
Josh Stuehrenberg 11th 7-4
Jake Hiedeman 10th 5-15
Mark Erickson 10th 3-21
Travis Miranwoski 8th 2-5

Gradautes:
Alex Banken 19-18
Avery Holzer 8-9
Connor Wilprecht 4-4
Erik Hiedeman 2-6
Randy Hodges 2-2
Jess Lee 3-6


WADENA-DEER CREEK WOLVERINES

Head Coach: Norman Gallant
Enrollment: 256

17-5 Overall
4-1 Mid-State Conference
Section 6A Runner Up
Eleven Section Place Winners/Three State Qualifiers
Second Place Wadena-Deer Creek "Wolverine" Tourney: 191 pts. (12 Placers)
Second Place Mid-State Conference Tourney: 174 Pts. (12 Placers)
First Place Cass Lake "Big Bear" Tourney: 136.5 Pts. (7 Placers)
Fourth Place Alexandria "Big Ole" Tourney: 130 Pts. (9 Placers)
First Place Park Rapids "Panther" Duals: (3-0)
Third Place Mahnomen "Cougar" Duals: (2-1)

Returning Wrestlers:
Tony Reurink 11th 36-10 2nd Section/AC
Kenny Steffens 12th 15-2 Injured/AC (31-7 2nd Sec. 2010)
Sam Waln 11th 26-16 3rd Section
Jacob Ludovissie 12th 12-18
Devin Barthel 10th 11-12 5th Section
Triston Sodel 9th 2-4
Josh Lawson 11th 15-22 6th Section

Graduates:
Jared Wegscheid 32-7 2nd Section/AC (133-80 Career)
Jordan Rentz 27-13 5th Section (117-69 Career)
Jacob Wegscheid 27-10 4th Section/AC (96-86 Career)
Derrick Rude 25-16 3rd Section (80-74 Career)
Isaac Lustila 24-16 4th Section (65-85 Career)
Dylan Anderseon 25-13 2nd Section (34-28 Career)
Zach Bernu 11-25 6th Section (38-71 Career)


OTTERTAIL CENTRAL BULLDOGS

Head Coach: Scott Hart
Enrollment: 130 Battle Lake/84 Henning/138 Underwood/352 Total

11-5 Overall
6-0 Park Region Conference Champions
Seven Section Place Winners/Five State Qualifiers
First Place Park Region Conference Tourney: 190.5 Pts. (14 Placers)
First Place Parkers Prairie "Panther" Tourney: 208 Pts. (12 Placers)
First Place BBE "Jaguar" Tourney: 187 Pts. (13 Placers in the Top Four)
Second Place Fosston "Alfred Olson Memorial" Tourney: 180.5 Pts. (10 Placers)
Seventh Place West Central Area "Grant County" Tourney: 82.5 Pts. (8 Placers)
Second Place Osakis "Silverstreaks" Duals: (2-1)

Returning Wrestlers:
Zach Johnson 12th 25-6 2nd Section/AC
Zach Matthys 12th 29-7 2nd Section/AC
Allen Peyerl 12th 16-6 4th Section/AC
Nolan Koch 10th 20-13 6th Section
Charles Johnson 12th 14-16
Dylan Schwartz 10th 14-23
Aaron Bengtson 11th 8-23
Soshiro Tachibana 11th 3-11
Aaron Kusler 9th 2-3
Brady Tostenson 12th 2-2

Graduates:
Brendan Hart 28-7 1st Section (132-88 Career)
Greg Blum 26-9 2nd Section (54-52 Career)
Tyler Olson 28-5 Injured/AC (106-70 Career)
Anthony Hinson 12-18
Kaleb Minten 13-17
Travis Freitag 2-12



WEST CENTRAL AREA KNIGHTS

Head Coach: Brandon Gruchow
Enrollment: 205

5-12 Overall
Five Section Place Winners/Three State Qualifiers
Fourth Place Royalton "Royals" Tourney: 149.5 Pts. (8 Placers)
Fourth Place Morris Area "Tigers" Tourney: 90.5 Pts. (Placers)
Fifth Place West Central Area "Grant County" Tourney: 90.5 (7 Placers)
Six Place Heart Of Lakes Tourney: 97.5 Pts. (8 Placers)
Seventh Place BBE "Jaguar" Tourney: 77 Pts. (5 Placers in top 4)
Nineteenth Place Cass Lake "Big Bear" Tourney: 72.5 Pt (3 Placers (36 Teams)
Fifth Place Staples "Don Dravis" Duals: (1-2)

Returning Wrestlers:
Kyle Martineau 12th 30-10 1st Section
Chase Odegaard 9th 18-16
Ethan Supler 12th 15-19 6th Section
Jon Sande 12th 7-7 5th Section
Jake Larkin 8th 19-18
Gage Odegaard 11th 12-19
Carter Duncan 11th 12-24
Alex Anderson 11th 4-4
Devin Buss 11th 4-13
Braeden Long 10th 4-17
Royal Crow 9th 2-5
Koel Siefert 9th 3-16
Buzz Miller 8th 4-8
Sean Albert 12th 1-2

Graduates:
Seth Felland 35-7 2nd Section (133-66 Career)
Jon Pikop 32-9 2nd Section (92-82 Career)
Chris Barrera 4-7




PELICAN RAPIDS VIKINGS

Head Coach: Harold Holt
Enrollment: 266

8-12 Overall
Seven Section Place Winners
Fifth Place Barnesville "Trojans" Tourney: 121 Pts. (11 Placers)
Fifth Place Parkers Prairie "Panthers" Tourney: 125 Pts. (9 Placers)
Seventh Place Lake Park "Terry Teiken" Tourney: 94.5 Pts. (6 Placers)
Seventh Place Heart of Lakes Tourney: 85 Pts. (9 Placers)

Graduates:
Jesus Romero 11th 24-16 3rd Section
Jed Evenson 12th 15-13 6th Section
Carlos Guiterrez 11th 14-15 6th Section
Dakota Pixley 8th 15-19
Felix Baragen 11th 7-14
Josh Klovstad 10th 3-7
Dan Franco 9th 4-14
Robert Mazoriegos 9th 3-11
Ben Barragen 11th 2-12

Graduates:
Jim Cossette 38-2 1st Sec./3rd State (117-39 Career)
Chris Bakken 30-8 3rd Section (73-49 Career)
Connor Holt 20-10 4th Section (49-61 Career)
Hector Lemus 10-14
Brandon Sehrman 6-17 6th Section
Dan Wood 6-8 3rd Section
Tom Gaustad 3-12
Stephan Jacobson 1-10


PARKERS PRAIRIE PANTHERS

Head Coach: Billy Wagner
Enrollment: 159

0-23 Overall
0-6 Park Region Conference
Four Section Place Winners
Sixth Place Barnesville "Trojans" Tourney: 61 Pts. (6 Placers)
Eight Place Park Region Conference Tourney: 32.5 Pts. (3 Placers)
Ten Place Glencoe/SL "Don Hall" Tourney: 48 Pts. (3 Placers)
Ninth Place Parkers Prairie "Panther" Tourney: 62.5 Pts. (6 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Mitch Westeberg 11th 20-21 5th Section
Logan Nebbe 9th 4-6 6th Section
Kyle Schlosser 9th 13-21
Mike Kalpin 12th 8-19
Bryce Looker 10th 6-10 6th Section
Trent Hagen 11th 5-18
O'Ryan Bosek 12th 5-29
Jesse Oeltjenbruns 12th 2-16

Graduates:
Kevin Hahn 32-7 1st Section/AC
Chad Knapp 1-15