MAT RATS SECTION 8AAA 2011-2012 SEASON PREVIEW

Favorites: LITTEL FALLS FLYERS and the ST. CLOUD APOLLO EAGLES

Dark Horses: BEMIDJI LUMBER JACKS and the BRAINERD WARRIORS


BRAINERD WARRIORS

Co-Coaches: Mike Boran and James Kath
Enrollment: 1,685
Section 8AAA

The Warriors had a good season as they posted 10-6 dual meet marks and they had thirteen section place winners. They have back from that team, two state qualifiers, six section place winners and seven others with a great deal of experience. Despite the graduation of six seniors including four section place winners, of which two were state qualifiers, look for this young Warrior team to improve over the course of the season. They should improve on those dual meet marks and challenge for both section and conference honors. Dan Babineau, Nate Adams, Luke Boran, Bryton Mutz, Tommy Schlosser and Shane White should be their key leaders thru out the season.

10-6 Overall
6-3 Central Lakes Conference
Thirteen Section Place Winners/Four State Qualifiers
First Place Blue Earth "Dick Maher" Tourney: 170 Pts. (12 Placers)
Second Place Elk River "Elks" Tourney: 203 Pts. (12 Placers)
Second Place Moorhead "Gadberry" Duals: (3-1)
Fifth Place Cambridge "Bluejacket" tourney: 123 Pts. (11 Placers)
Ninth Place Cass Lake "Big Bear" Tourney: 116.5 Pts. (5 Placers) (33 Team Field)
Seventh Place Brainerd "Paul Bunyan" Tourney: 99 Pts. (11 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Dan Babineau 11th 27-14 2nd Section/AC
Luke Boran 11th 24-12 4th Section
Bryton Mutz 11th 21-14 5th Section
Tommy Schlosser 9th 22-15 3rd Section
Nate Adams 12th 17-9 2nd Section
Shane White 12th 16-5
Jamie Wright 12th 13-9 3rd Section
Casey Biever 11th 14-12 6th Section
Jace Englemann 11th 11-18
Levi Rubin 11th 7-4 4th Section
Sam Adams 10th 5-16
Dillon Solid 10th 5-18
Zach Shepersky 11th 2-6
Jake Zelinske 9th 2-5
James Weiss 10th 4-22

Graduates:
Mack Glasby 31-7 1st Section
Tyler Kohlmeier 29-7 1st Section
Jessen Franzen 29-9 3rd Section/AC
Matt Solid 22-17
Josh Anderson 3-9 5th Section
Charles Kassulker 0-4



ST. CLOUD APOLLO EAGLES

Head Coach: Tim Bengtson
Enrollment: 1,031
Section 8AAA

The Eagles of St. Cloud Apollo posted 7-13 dual meet marks last season, but they should be very excited about the upcoming season. They have back three state qualifiers, two of which are state place winners, five section place winners and seven others with a lot of varsity experience. The Eagles only graduated one senior last spring, so look for the Eagles to challenge for both section and conference honors in 2011-2012. Mitch Bengtson, Grant Nehring, Grant Dullinger, Matt Braun and Dylan Tilbury should be their key leaders thru out the season. There also seems to be a chance that Nam Nguyen and Nick Stram will return to the team this season too.

7-13 Overall
6-3 Central Lakes Conference
Eight Section Place Winners/Three State Qualifiers/Two Place Winners
Second Place STMA "Knights" Tourney: 143 Pts. (9 Placers)
Fourth Place Big Lake "Hornets" Tourney: 155 Pts. (10 Placers)
Sixth Place Foley "Tom Keating" Tourney: 110 Pts. (5 Placers)
Seventh Place Albany "Purple Pride" Tourney: 82 Pts. (8 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Mitch Bengtson 11th 41-0 1st Sec./State Champ/AC
Grant Nehring 11th 34-10 1st Sec./3rd State/AC
Grant Dullinger 12th 28-12 1st Sec./AC
Matt Braun 11th 20-18 5th Section/AC
Dylan Tilbury 11th 15-6 5th Section/AC
Markus Mehr 10th 18-17 6th Section
Austin Rice 12th 16-22 5th Section
Jared Morford 12th 9-23 6th Section
Nick Stram 12th 16-12
Bryce Kirchner 10th 7-12
Austin Swenson 11th 6-33
Devon Johnson 10th 9-8
Brady Mehr 8th 4-25
Brandon Karolus 10th 2-4
Nam Nguyen 12th 13-6

Graduates:
Colton Holley 10-24




LITTLE FALLS FLYERS

Head Coach: Mike Hendrickson
Enrollment: 654
Section 8AAA

The Flyers had a solid season last year with their 20-11 mark Co-Conference championship, however they are looking at a new conference with two of the long time state powers as foes. They will return five section place winners and ten others with a great deal of experience. Despite the graduation of four very good seniors look for this young to team a make a lot of improvement over the course of the season. The Flyers will not only be a force in this new conference, they should be one of the favorites what should be a very balanced section dual meet campaign in section 8AAA this season. Dillon Kifer, Frank Wilczek and Conor Swanson should their key leaders thru out the season.

20-11 Overall
7-2 Central Lakes Conference Champions
Final Four Section 6AA
Nine Section Place Winners
Third Place Brainerd "Paul Bunyan" Tourney: 142 Points (8 Placers)
Second Place Monticello "Magic" Duals: (4-1)
Third Place Fergus Falls "Pudge Anderson" Duals: (2-1)
Fourth Place Mounds View "Mustangs" Duals: (2-2)
Fifth Place Cambridge "Bluejacket" Tourney: 132 Pts. (10 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Dillon Kifer 12th 39-8 2nd Sec./6th State/AC
Frank Wilczek 12th 33-6 4th Section/AC
Conor Swanson 11th 30-11 3rd Section/AC
Connor Scherping 11th 21-20 5th Section
Adam Grams 12th 13-16
Jordan Petrone 11th 11-19
Austin Olson 10th 11-16
Justin Jenks 8th 12-16 6th Section
Alex Lange 9th 12-17
Luke Lodermeier 12th 8-21
David Copa 11th 5-9
Tyler Gastecki 10th 5-5
Levi Hoffman 10th 3-16
Derek McMahan 10th 2-7
Dan Mushel 10th 2-0

Graduates:
Joe Tuholsky 35-7 3rd Section/AC (86-58 Career)
Jack Jendro 24-7 4th Section (30-11 Career)
Bryant Bue 14-11 4th Section (73-52 Career)
Dilan Gasteski 20-21 5th Section (42-58 Career)


MOORHEAD SPUDS

Head Coach: Skip Toops
Enrollment: 1,356
Section: 8AAA

The Spuds of Moorhead posted 10-10 dual meet marks last season; made a final four appearance in the section dual meet campaign and they had eleven section place winners. Back from that very good team they have three state qualifiers, nine section place winners and four others with a great deal of varsity experience. If this young team continues to improve over the course of the season they should challenge those dual meet marks from last season. Look for the Spuds to challenge for section dual meet honors. Chase Morlock, A. J. Wheeler, Joe Carpenter, Jacob Rositas and Kenny Mark will be their key leaders thru out the season.

10-10 Overall
Final Four Section 8AAA
Ten Section Place Winners/Tree State Qualifiers
First Place Fertile "Pine to Prairie" Tourney: 209 P:ts. (11 Placers)
Second Place Lake Park "Terry Teiken" Tourney: 167 Pts. (11 Placers)
Third Place Alexandria "Big Ole" Tourney: 150.5 Pts. (9 Placers)
Tenth Place Cass Lake "Big Bear" Tourney: 102.5 Pts. (3 Placers (36 Teams)
Thirteenth Place Brainerd "Paul Bunyan" Tourney: 58 Pts. (6 Placers)
Fifth Place Fergus Falls "Pudge Anderson" Duals: (2-1)
Third Place Moorhead "Gadberry" Duals: (3-2)

Returning Wrestlers:
Chase Morlock 11th 43-3 1st Sec./4th State
A. J. Wheeler 11th 26-17 2nd Section
Joe Carpenter 11th 24-18 2nd Section
Jacob Rositas 11th 30-12 5th Section
Kenny Mark 10th 20-14 4th Section
Dan Evert 11th 10-15
Ryan Schock 10th 17-20 5th Section
Ben Herbst 11th 13-16 4th Section
Tommy Wychor 11th 6-30 6th Section
Taylor Laidlaw 10th 6-6
Nick Lorenzen 12th 6-8 6th Section
Aaron Connor 11th 3-3
Landon Dickhaus 10th 3-11

Graduates:
Brock Tallakson 33-8 3rd Section
Evan Gary 19-15 4th Section
Isaac Mulinix 20-16
Kelvin Bennett 5-8
Nate King 10-15


BEMIDJI LUMBERJACKS

Head Coach: Rance Bahr
Enrollment: 1,145
Section: 8AAA

The Lumberjacks of Bemidji had a great season posting 21-11 dual meet marks, section championship and seven section place winners. Back from that team are one state qualifier, five section place winners and seven others with a great deal of varsity experience. Despite the graduation of five seniors including one state qualifier, look for them to challenge those dual meet marks. The Lumberjacks should challenge for one of those top four spots in the section dual meet campaign. Colton Doty, Logan Crosby, Craig Maas, Brian Maas, Kade Johnson, Codi Craft and Brenden Fredrickson should be their key leaders thru out the season.

21-11 Overall
Section 8AAA Champions
Seven Section Place Winners/Two State Qualifiers
Fifth Place Bemidji "Rick Lee" Tourney: 148.5 Pts. (10 Placers)
Tenth Place Brainerd "Paul Bunyan" Tourney: 74 Pts. (4 Placers)
Thirteenth Place Thief River Falls "Prowler" Tourney: 27 Pts. (2 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Colton Doty 12th 30-9 1st Section
Logan Crosby 11th 27-9 3rd Section
Alex Johnson 11th 30-14 3rd Section
Kade Johnson 10th 24-15 4th Section
Craig Mass 11th 22-14
Brian Maas 9th 19-5 Injured
Kodi Craft 12th 16-17 5th Section
Brenden Fredrickson 12th 17-18 5th Section
Dustin Greenman 12th 12-17
Kyle Masterson 10th 11-15
Micheal Fogarty 8th 7-14
Dylan Hardy 10th 3-11
Keefer Bender 12th 1-6

Graduates:
Jake Crosby 31-13 1st Section
Tyler Molitor 14-20
Nick Maggert 12-20
Gary Molash 6-7
Logan Knutson 1-0


ST. CLOUD TECH TIGERS

Head Coach: Bob Boeck
Enrollment: 1,241
Section 8AAA

7-19 Overall
The Tigers had a tough year last year with 7-19 dual meet marks, but when healthy they had eight section place winners. With only two seniors graduating, including two section place winners, look for the Tigers to make a big improvement on those numbers. If this young team continues to improve and stays healthy they could possibly make a challenge for a top four spot in this very balanced section. Jerrad Nieland, Tommy O'Brien, Maurice Martin, Austin Klaverkamp and Jacob Nehl should be their key leaders thru out the season.

2-7 Central Lakes Conference
Eight Section Place Winners
Fifth Place STMA "Knights" Tourney: 105 Pts. (10 Placers)
Eight Place Mora "Mustang" Tourney: 104.5 Pts. (7 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Jerrad Nieland 11th 27-8 1st Section/AC
Tommy O'Brien 12th 20-9 2nd Section
Maurice Martin 12th 19-17 4th Section
Austin Klaverkamp 10th 17-14 4th Section
Jacob Nehl 9th 10-6 6th Section
Bryant Amundson 12th 9-10 6th Section
Nate Lortz 10th 10-21
Brady Brouwer 12th 8-15
Patrick Niehaus 11th 5-5
Eli Stark-Haws 9th 4-11
Noah Voigt 10th 4-7
Linkcoln Brouwer 11th 3-14
Joey Reed 10th 3-10
Cole Schreder 8th 3-11

Graduates:
Tim Mueller 23-13 5th Section
Jesse Thompson 13-15 4th Section


SARTELL SABRES

Head Coach: Cody Olson
Enrollment: 992

Section 8AAA
The Sabres posted 3-15 dual meet marks last season and yet they had a very good season with many good individual tourney showings. With the graduation of just two seniors look for the Sabres to make a big improvement on those dual meet marks from last season. If this young team does continue to improve they could have a chance at the end of the season to upset one of top four teams in this very even conference and section. Josh Halicke, Daniel Vitale, Brady Goebel and Drew Bienusa should be their key leaders thru out the season.

3-15 Overall
0-9 Central Lakes Conference
Four Section Place Winners
First Place Ogilvie "Lions" Tourney: (14 Placers)
First Place Meadow Creek "Saints" Tourney: 201 Pts. (12 Placers)
Fourth Place Melrose "Early Bird" Tourney: 155 Pts. (14 Placers)
Sixth Place Big Lake "Hornet" Tourney: 133 Pts. (10 Placers)
Eight Place Paynesville "Bulldog" Tourney: 102.5 Pts. (8 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Josh Halicke 12th 32-3 3rd Section/AC
Daniel Vitale 9th 25-6 6th Section/AC
Brady Goebel 11th 29-7 4th Section/AC
Garrett Counter 9th 15-23 6th Section
Drew Bienusa 10th 19-15
Zach Motschke 10th 14-23
Zach Pederson 11th 19-19
Jed Anderson 12th 9-25
Collin Wervey 12th 4-16
Jon Pelach 9th 4-30
Theo Deuel 11th 3-6
Tucker Isaacson 11th 2-16
Nick Jensen 9th 2-0

Graduates:
Tyler Tabatt 21-11
Brandon Larsen-Miller 13-17

SAUK RAPIDS STORM

Head Coach:Wade Cruser
Enrollment: 1,078
Section 8AAA

The Storm of Sauk Rapids posted very good 20-11 dual meet marks despite all the injuries they have had thru out the season. They will be hard pressed to challenge those number with the graduation of thirteen seniors, of which eight were section place winners. Seven of those seniors won over twenty matches each. They will return four section place winners including one state place winner and six others with some varsity experience. However look for the Storm to improve over the course of the season and possibly upset one of those top teams for a top four spot in this dual meet campaign. Erik Olson, Dalton Siemers, Austin Walz and Chris Keske should their leaders thru out the season.

20-11 Overall
6-3 Central Lakes Conference
Final Four Section 8AAA
Ten Section Place Winners/Three State Qualifiers
First Place Saint Paul Highland Park Tourney: (14 Placers)
Third Place Foley "Tom Keating" Tourney: 145 Pts. (11 Placers)

Returning Wrestlers:
Erik Olson 12th 39-6 1st Sec./4th State/AC
Dalton Siemers 11th 26-15 5th Section
Austin Walz 11th 20-6 4th Section
Chris Keske 11th 24-26 2nd Section
McKay Ness 11th 11-7
Sean Pearson 12th 12-10
Charlie Rudy 11th 6-5
Korey Keske 8th 4-1
Taylor Rau 8th 4-0
Dustin Sobania 12th 3-4

Graduates:
Mitch Mehrwerth 20-6 2nd Section (72-69 Career)
Stephen Bucholz 24-5 3rd Section (80-80 Career)
Caleb Studenski 29-11 3rd Section/AC (59-47 Career)
Tyler Rudy 28-7 1st Section/AC (42-23 Career)
Ryan Prueher 25-9 6th Section/AC (45-40 Career)
Ryan Medlen 23-8 6th Section (47-12 Career)
Tyler Diederich 22-16 5th Section (62-58 Career)
Luke Enders 9-27 6th Section
Pat Keller 3-6
Eric Helgeson 1-8
Phil Henkemeyer 1-2
Trevor Kampa 2-7
Andrew Wienand 4-1

ALEXANDRIA CARDINALS

Head Coach: Tom Ellison
Enrollment: 1,126
Section 8AAA

The Cardinals posted 4-16 dual meet marks last season as they struggled thru some injuries. They have back three section place winners and eight others with varsity experience. They did graduate five very good seniors including three state qualifiers. The Cardinals however if they stay healthy and improve over the course of the season should improve on those dual meet numbers. Anthony Hubbard and Trent Piepenburg should be their key leaders thru out the season.

4-16 Overall
2-7 Central Lakes Conference
Six Section Place Winners
Sixth Place West Central Area "Grant County" Tourney: 88 Pts. (9 Placers)
Seventh Place Litchfield "Dragons" Tourney: 84 Pts. (7 Placers)
Eight Place Alexandria "Big Ole" Tourney: 57 Pts. (7 Placers)
Ten Place Foley "Tom Keating" Tourney: 67.5 Pts. (4 Placers)



Returning Wrestlers:
Anthony Hubbard 11th 24-12 4th Section
Trent Piepenburg 10th 26-11 3rd Section
Ariel Way 11th 7-14
Tristan Johnson 9th 4-21
Justin Cumberlatch 9th 4-2 4th Section
Isak Hurlen 12th 5-21
Jacob Schiltgen 10th 3-25
Jake DeLaRosby 12th 2-14
Landon Anderson 10th 2-22
Dylan Kreise 9th 3-7
Jake Nienber 9th 2-7

Graduates:
Andy Bouressa 24-10 2nd Section (42-17 Career)
Cole Ellison 27-10 2nd Section (72-63 Career)
Dillon Schauff 18-14 2nd Section (39-58 Career)
Ross Carlson 5-0 Injured (30-14 Career)
Brian Eipperle 6-17