MAT RATS SECTION 7AAA 2011-2012 SEASON PREVIEW

Favorites: SAINT MICHAEL ALBERTVILLE KNIGHTS and the CAMBRIDGE-ISANTI BLUEJACKETS

Dark Horses: FOREST LAKE RANGERS and the COON RAPIDS CARDINALS

SAINT MICHAEL ALBERTVILLE KNIGHTS

Head Coach: Dan Lefebvre
Enrollment: 1,314
Section: 7AAA

The Saints had a great season with a 33-5 dual meet mark runner up in the state, section and conference championships. Back from that team are three state qualifiers including three place winners, three section place winners and four others with a great deal of experience. So despite the fact they graduated ten seniors including eight section place winners, four state qualifiers, three were state place winners, they should have yet another great season. They should make a major challenge both section and conference honors as well as state honors. Cole Sladek, Tommy Thorn, Mark Voss, Lincoln Mallinger, Wayne Voss, Ricky Briggs and Nick Edling all won over twenty-nine matches, should be their key leaders thru out the season.

33-5 Overall
8-0 Mississippi 8 Conference Champions
Section 7AAA Champions
Second Place AAA State
Fourteen Section Placers/Seven State Qualifiers/Six State Placers
First Place STMA "Knights" Tourney: 281 Pts. (14 Placers)
Fourth Place Rochester "Minnesota Christmas" Tourney: 154 Pts. (7 Placers)
First Place Owatonna "Federated" Duals: (4-0)
Second Place St. Cloud "Kiffmeyer" Duals: (2-1)
First Place ANML "Lightning" Duals: (3-0)
First Place STMA "Knights" Duals: (4-0)

Returning Wrestlers:
Tommy Thorn 10th 46-2 1st Sec./State Champ/AC
Cole Sladek 11th 44-4 1st Sec./2nd State/AC
Mark Voss 10th 34-15 2nd Sec./5th State/AC
Lincoln Mallinger 11th 30-15 3rd Section/AC
Wayne Voss 11th 34-11 3rd Section/AC
Ricky Briggs 11th 29-16 3rd Section/AC
Mitchell Eull 11th 3-4
Nick Edling 12th 30-3 Injured
Michael Kessler 11th 7-0
Aaron Dick 10th 5-2

Graduates:
Parker Betts 46-4 1st Sec./5th State/AC (125-34 Career)
Shaun Little 41-3 1st Sec./2nd State/AC (123-62 Career)
Ryan Stott 32-16 2nd Sec./5th State (50-32 Career)
Jake Lillie 39-7 3rd Section/AC (124-52 Career)
Lucas Martin 28-18 5th Section
Michael Nerdahl 23-22 2nd Section/AC
Michael Lindquist 27-15 4th Section/AC
David Zachmann 15-15 AC
Evan Gammell 8-3
Michell Kolles 11-15 5th Section


CAMBRIDGE-ISANTI BLUEJACKETS

Head Coach: Neil Jennissen
Enrollment: 1,367
Section: 7AAA

The Blue Jackets of Cambridge-Isanti had a very good season last season as they posted 27-5 dual meet marks and won section runner up honors in the dual meet campaign. Back from that team are four state qualifiers including three state place winners, three section place winners and ten others with a great deal of experience. Despite the fact that they graduated six seniors including four state qualifiers, three of which were state place winners, they will challenge those dual meet marks. Look for the Blue Jackets to be a force to dealt with as they will improve over the course of the season. They should make a strong challenge for both section and conference honors. Clayton Jennissen, Cody Skog, Travis Holt, Tyler Tischer and Ty Torgerson should be their key leaders thru out the season.

27-5 Overall
6-2 Mississippi 8 Conference
Second Place Section 7AAA
Eleven Section Place Winners/Eight State Qualifiers/Six State Placers
First Place Cambridge "Bluejacket" Tourney: 202.5 Pts. (12 Placers)
Sixth Place Fargo "Rumble on the Red" Tourney: 140.5 Pts.
First Place Cambridge "Bluejacket" Duals: (3-0)
Eleventh Place Rochester "Minnesota Christmas" Tourney: 110 Pts.
First Place White Bear Lake "Bear" Duals: (3-0)
Third Place Anoka "Tornado" Duals: (2-1)

Returning Wrestlers:
Clayton Jennissen 12th 39-7 1st Sec./2nd State/AC
Cody Skog 10th 39-9 1st Sec./3rd State/AC
Travis Holt 11th 37-9 2nd Sec./2nd State/AC
Tyler Tischer 12th 17-5 2nd Section
Tanner Torgerson 10th 12-12 5th Section
Ben Hartnett 12th 7-5 4th Section
David Kent 9th 7-4 4th Section
Ty Togerson 11th 28-9 Injured
Jon Knowlton 12th 12-20
Nate Medin 12th 11-16
Robbie Phillips 12th 5-4
Nate Nassif 12th 5-6
Brennan Olson 12th 3-6
Tommy Guy 10th 4-16
Monte Frederiksen 8th 3-5
Russel Leboe 11th 3-0
Trent Chromey 12th 1-4
Dakota Johnson 10th 1-2
Cole Bakke 12th 1-2

Graduates:
Adam Kelling 34-11 2nd Sec./5th State/AC (165-75 Career)
Cody Glines 20-14 2nd Sec./5th State
Mark Volker 30-13 2nd Section/AC (76-52 Career)
Derek Swanson 38-7 2nd Section/5th State/AC
Landon Chumley 17-10 (77-65 Career)
Joey Illg 6-8
Ty Hitchings 0-5
Forrest Tompkins 0-2
Jake Michelson 0-2


FOREST LAKE RANGERS

Head Coach: Billy Pierce
Enrollment: 1952

The Rangers posted 19-8 dual meet numbers last season and earned a final four spot in this very tough section dual meet campaign. Back from that team are four state qualifiers, two of which were state place winners. Four section place winners and one other with a great deal of experience. They did graduate three section place winners last season, but despite that, they should challenge those dual meet marks from last season. They should challenge for conference honors and a final four appearance in this very good dual meet campaign. Ben Morgan, Tyler Isaacson, Michael Pieski, James Pieski, Austin Boniface and Jason McLaughlin should be their key leaders thru out the season.

19-8 Overall
8-1 Suburban East Conference
Final Four Section 7AAA
Second Place Pine Island "Panthers" Tourney: 254.5 Pts. (14 Placers)
Eight Place Rochester "Minnesota Christmas" Tourney: 119 Pts. (4 Placers)
Seventh Place Fargo "Rumble on the Red" Tourney: 137 Pts. (3 Placers)
Fourth Place Forest Lake "Ranger" Duals: (1-2)

Returning Wrestlers:
Ben Morgan 12th 40-4 1st Sec./3rd State
Tyler Isaacson 12th 35-5 1st Sec./4th State
Michael Pleski 12th 36-9 2nd Section
James Pleski 9th 26-16 2nd Section
Austin Boniface 11th 25-15 3rd Section
Jeremy McLaughlin 11th 20-14 6th Section
Michael Urban 12th 20-17 5th Section
Ryde Paggen 12th 20-19 4th Section
Cody Paggen 12th 14-13

Graduates:
Jake Toupal 22-17 2nd Section
Tony Smith 15-12 4th Section
Joe Joyer 24-12 3rd Section


COON RAPIDS CARDINALS

Head Coach: Bob Adams
Enrollment: 2150

The Cardinals posted very good 19-5 dual meet marks last season, a conference championship and they were a final four team in this very tough section dual meet campaign. Back from that team are two state place winners, six section place winners and nine others with a great deal of experience. With the graduation of just two seniors look for the Cardinals to challenge those dual meet marks. They should make a strong challenge for conference honors and push for one of those top four spots in this very tough section. Michael Burckhardt, Tanner Lowe, Brandt Halseth, Corey Vaillancourt, Austin Lubinski and Joe Anderson should be their key leaders.

19-5 Overall
10-0 Northwest Suburban Conference Champions
Final Four Section 7AAA
Eight Section Place Winners/Two State Qualifiers
Second Place Hastings "Raider" Duals: (2-1)
Second Place Eastview "Lightning" Tourney: 145.5 Pts. (13 Placers)
Twenty Place Fargo "Rumble on the Red" Tourney: 89 Pts. (2 Placers)
Eighteenth Place Rochester "Minnesota Christmas" Tourney: 70 Pts. (3 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Michael Burckhardt 11th 32-10 1st Sec./4th State/AC
Tanner Lowe 12th 40-6 2nd Sec./3rd State/AC
Brandt Halseth 12th 25-13 3rd Section/AC
Corey Vaillancourt 10th 21-10 3rd Section/AC
Austin Lubinski 12th 24-16 6th Section/AC
Joe Anderson 11th 22-13 6th Section/AC
Darren Gagne 12th 19-11 AC
James Magaard 11th 21-17 AC
Jonathon Chimilowsky 10th 16-18 5th Section
Riley Lawson 11th 15-22 6th Section
Brad Danielson 11th 15-18
Reec Althsten 12th 17-6
Mike Bothwell 9th 17-9
Josh fleck 12th 22-11
Shad Olson 10th 28-11
Nate Julkowski 11th 28-7
Jarrod Julkowski 9th 20-6

Graduates:
Kahron Nix 18-7 (116-34 Career)
Zach Lindberg 18-14 AC



ST. FRANCIS FIGHTING SAINTS

Head Coach: Keith Lipinski
Enrollment: 1504

The Fighting Saints posted 16-15 dual meet marks, back from that team are one state place winner, seven section place winners and five others with a great deal of varsity experience. Despite the graduation of six seniors, including three section place winners they should challenge those dual meet marks from last season. Austin Leibel and Kolten Oie should be their key leaders thru out the season.

16-15 Overall
7-2 North Suburban Conference
Fifth Place Mora "Mustangs" Tourney: 130.5 Pts. (10 Placers)
Twenty First Place Rochester "Minnesota Christmas" Tourney: 49.5 Pts. (1 Placer)
Fifth Place Champlin "Rebels" Duals: (2-1)
Fifth Place Monticello "Magic" Duals: (2-2)
Third Place ANML "Lightning" Duals: (2-1)

Returning Wrestlers:
Austin Leibel 12th 35-3 1st Sec./2nd State/AC
Kolten Oie 10th 31-9 4th Section
C. J. Leibel 10th 19-22 5th Section/AC
Alex Olson 12th 17-17 5th Section
Alex Eastman 11th 15-25 6th Section
Nate Lipinski 12th 13-14 6th Section
Jordan O'Connell 11th 13-17 5th Section
Cody Broman 12th 8-7
Alex Simmoneau 12th 9-9
Preston Flaherty 9th 8-12
Sam Gerlach 11th 5-23 6th Section
Adam Blie 10th 5-13
Conan Sandberg 11th 4-9

Graduates:
Jayce Oie 21-12 4th Section
Dalton Winkelman 16-21 5th Section
Jared Goldeman 14-15
Josh Bishop 6-16 6th Section
Travis Kapol 7-11 (51-45 Career)
Zach Eich 11-20


ELK RIVER ELKS


Head Coach: Paul Nelson
Enrollment: 1,570
Section: 7AAA
The Elks posted 11-7 dual meet marks; were conference runner ups and they had nine section place winners. Back from that team are five section place winners and three others with a great deal of varsity experience. Despite the graduation of five very good seniors including four section place winners they should challenge those dual meet marks from last season. Look for the Elks to improve over the course of the season and possibly upset one of those top four section teams in the dual meet campaign. They should also make a strong challenge for Northwest Suburban Conference honors. Kyle Wiemann, Jory Lubinski, Evan Caldon, Abe Williams and Cory Collins should be their key leaders thru out the season.

11-7 Overall
9-1 Northwest Suburban Conference
Nine Section Place Winners
Third Place Elk River "Elk" Tourney: 167.5 Pts. (11 Placers)
Third Place Cambridge "Bluejacket" Tourney: 165 Pts. (11 Placers)
Sixth Place STMA "Knights" Tourney: 92.5 Pts. (8 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Kyle Wiemann 12th 27-13 3rd Section/AC
Jory Lubinski 12th 23-11 3rd Section/AC
Evan Caldon 11th 23-12 3rd Section/AC
Abe Williams 12th 21-14 5th Section/AC
Mitch Beaudry 12th 9-15 5th Section
Cory Collins 12th 19-16 AC
Yong Yee Vang 12th 12-16 AC
Kevin Weeks 12th
Adam Peterson 11th
Andrew Perry 10th
John Reitter 10th
William Hoff 10th
Zach Brown 12th
Ryan Osberg 10th 2-14

Graduates:
Holton Lubinski 23-4 1st Section (Career Record ????)
Eric Stevens 27-7 3rd Section (Career Record ????)
Jake Staffenhagen 25-10 3rd Section (Career Record ????)
Austin Stevens 13-7 6th Section (Career Record) ???)
Zang Vang 15-16 Career Record



ANOKA TORNADOES

Head Coach: Todd Springer
Enrollment: 2157

Tornadoes posted 10-8 dual meet marks last season, back from that team are a state champion, one state qualifier, five section place winners and eleven others with a great deal of experience. With just the graduation of four seniors including three section place winners, they should challenge those dual meet marks from last season. If their younger wrestlers do progress over the season they could possibly challenge for conference honors as well as possibly a top four spot in this very good section dual meet campaign. Kyle Begin, Jeremy Beaman, Ryan Norton, Brandon Krone, and James Pinewski should be their key leaders thru out the season.

10-8 Overall
8-2 Northwest Suburban Conference
Eleven Section Place Winners
Second Place Litchfield "Dragons" Tourney: 191 Pts. (14 Placers)
First Place Totino Grace "Eagles" Tourney: 188.5 PTs. (14 Placers)
Seventh Place Rochester "Minnesota Christmas" Tourney: 70.5 Pts. (3 Placers)
Twenty Sixth Place Fargo "Rumble on the Red" Tourney: 74 Pts.
Fifth Place Anoka "Tornadoes" Duals: (2-1)

Returning Wrestlers:
Kyle Begin 12th 45-2 1st Sec./State Champ/AC
Ryan Norton 12th 25-8 3rd Section/AC
Brandon Krone 10th 22-14 5th Section/AC
Jeremy Beaman 12th 22-13 2nd Section/AC
James Pinewski 10th 17-16 5th Section
Nick Matthew 12th 15-15 4th Section
Anthony Bush 12th 14-14
Dan Davitt 12th 10-16 4th Section
Anthony Dattalo 12th 8-3
Matt Njos 9th 8-13
Cody Moshey 12th 4-3
Austin McNallan 12th 4-5 6th Section
Clay Wherley 12th 5-4
B. J. Seestrom 12th 5-2
Kodi Kron 11th 5-17
Ryan Herbst 10th 5-11
Jared Bachler 9th 4-10
Devin Murphy 11th 2-1
Sam Begin 10th 3-4

Graduates:
Mike Coleman 20-16 4th Section
Cole Harris 16-15 4th Section
Gustavo Beccerra 15-16 4th Section/AC
Jacob Niemann 1-3


ANDOVER HUSKIES

Head Coach: Jeff Thompson
Enrollment: 1614

The Huskies posted 7-12 dual meet numbers, back from that team are two state qualifiers, one section place winner and thirteen others with a great deal of experience. With the graduation of just one senior look for the Huskies to challenge those dual meet numbers from last season. Sam Stewart, Corey Parsons, Jesse Dilly and Tim Hanlin should be their key leaders thru out the season.

7-12 Overall
4-6 Northwest Suburban Conference
Three Section Place Winners/Two State Qualifiers
Fourth Place Tartan "Clash of the Titans" 126.5 Pts. (8 Placers)
Seventh Place Faribault "Dick Shiels" Tourney: 88 Pts. (7 Placers)
Seventh Place South St. Paul "Pete Veldman" Tourney: 96 Pts. (7 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Sam Stewart 12th 38-5 1st Section
Corey Parsons 10th 29-8 1st Sec./4th State
Jesse Dilly 12th 18-8 4th Section
Tim Hanlin 12th 16-10
Danny McLaughlin 12th 14-15
John Reynolds 10th 12-11
Tom Sperl 11th 8-6
Connor Schlotfeldt 11th 8-9
Brandon Orhn 10th 7-16
Hunter Wathen 9th 5-14
Zach Maaninga 12th 4-6
Luke Kothman 12th 5-12
Tyler Wathen 11th 4-9
Cullen Lyons 12th 5-7
Mitch Donohue 12th 5-3
Josh Ripley 11th 2-5

Graduate:
Eric Derrosier 2-6


BLAINE BENGALS

Head Coach: Josh Prokosch
Enrollment: 2551

The Bengals posted 9-20 dual meet marks last season, back from that team are three section place winners and four others with a great deal of experience. They did graduate four wrestlers last spring, so they will have a tough time to challenge those numbers from last season. Joe Carlson and Craig Boster will be their key leaders thru out the season.

9-20 Overall
Three Section Place Winners
3-7 Northwest Suburban Conference
Eight Place Cambridge-Isanti "Bluejacket" Tourney: 40 Pts. (3 Placers)
Eleventh Place South St. Paul "Peter Veldman" Tourney: 75.5 Pts. (3 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Joe Carlson 9th 15-16 6th Section
Craig Boster 10th 16-19 6th Section
Jack Duffy 11th 10-17
Jimmy Kittleson 10th 11-13
Jonah Allen 12th 6-22 6th Section
Tim Stefczak 12th 9-22
Jameson Allen 10th 5-25

Graduates:
Gabe Nah 19-9
Colby Mothershead 17-6
Mitch Boster 11-19
Mike Brumm 9-14