Believe it or not, we're just six weeks away from the state wrestling tournament. Which means we're four weeks away from section tournaments. Which means there's about three-and-a-half weeks left until my head explodes.
West Central Minnesota has a storied tradition of producing some of the state's top wrestlers and that has certainly been on display to this point. Three area teams are ranked by The Guillotine, with three others cited under the Lean and Mean category. But that's probably not a surprise if you've watched any prep wrestling in the area this year. What may be surprising, however, is just how good these teams truly are. Let's take a deeper look, shall we?
Cardinals ready for crown
It may be possible to start a column about wrestling in this newspaper without starting with the Willmar Cardinals but let's not force things. The Cardinals are about as good as it gets in Minnesota without having the name Apple Valley and, okay, without getting ahead of ourselves, this could be the year. Clay and Cael Carlson are peak performers this year with 27-0 records and top rankings by the Guillotine in 132 pounds and 138 pounds, respectively. But toss out weight for a second. Focus on these numbers instead: Clay Carlson is considered the No. 6 pound-for-pound senior wrestler in the state and Cael is listed as the third-best junior according to the Guillotine. That takes away weight class as well as the Minnesota State High School League's classification system for schools.
The Carlsons doing well is far from surprising but the rest of the team has shown one long streak of dominance all year. Caden Carlson is the No. 7 106-pound wrestler and Israel Navarro makes the list at No. 5 for 126 pounds despite a slow start. The sneaky pick for a state title, however, is Lincoln Shinn, who has a 21-2 record so far this season for a No. 4 ranking at 170 pounds. His road to an individual is far from easy. Shinn's two losses on the year came to the top two wrestlers in the weight class in Albert Lea's Zach Glazier and St. Francis' Cole Kirpach and last year's 160 pound state champion, Kenny O'Neil of Prior Lake, sits as the No. 3 wrestler.Nevertheless, expect Shinn to be standing on the podium at the end of the year.
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Add in Andrew Reigstad at 220 pounds with a 24-6 record and Josh Miley's 16-9 record and the Cardinals have a powerful team that can compete with any team. Willmar defeated No. 2 Anoka in the Buffalo Individual Invitational and just narrowly fell to No. 3 St. Michael-Albertville in a dual meeting 34-27 just last weekend. That's the same score both teams posted in last year's state quarterfinal match but featured plenty of close decisions.
Believe in BBE
When it comes to making a run at the state tournament depth is key. It's nice to have a couple of absolute world-beaters but the best teams are those that can provide meaningful matches at as many weight classes as possible. BBE isn't undefeated at every class but sometimes it sure feels like it.
The Jaguars are one of the deepest teams in the area with four wrestlers ranked in the top 10 according to the Guillotine, including Canon Swanson, the No. 2 wrestler at 120 pounds with a 29-2 record. Though four are ranked, the Jaguars excel at most weight classes with eight 20-win wrestlers. That doesn't even mention Adam Jaeger, who has won all 15 of his bouts to be ranked No. 3 at 152 pounds. Jaeger has shown the ability to wrestler at a number of weights as well, ranging from 152 to 170 pounds.
Combined, BBE wrestlers have posted a 61.3 winning percentage that was highlighted at the ACGC Quad last week where the Jaguars won all three matches against Redwood Valley, ACGC, and Minnewaska. BBE edged ACGC 32-30 but flexed its muscles against Minnewaska with a 51-21 victory and against Redwood Valley 40-33.
Isaiah Gilbert is the No. 8-ranked wrestler at 160 pounds-just ahead of Minnewaska's Grant Henden and behind KMS' Dylan Rudningen-but Gilbert has the tools to defeat most wrestlers in his weight class. His speed and compact size combined with overwhelming strength is a recipe for disaster for most opponents as he's cruised to a 30-5 record. At 160 pounds, Gilbert can sometimes earn the deciding points for the Jaguars after opponents have to face a lineup of Blaine Fischer (26-9), Swanson, Tyler Bents (29-6, No. 4 wrestler at 138 pounds), Dylan Kampsen (22-8), Tyler Jensen (24-10), and Jaeger. That doesn't even mention Trevor Kern (23-12), Walker Bents (22-13), or Mark Jenniges (19-13).
That was a lot of names and numbers, but just know that from 106 pounds to approximately 170 pounds that Jaguars give up very few points.
Is ACGC back?
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In short, no. But that doesn't mean we can't get excited about the Falcons recent improvements.
It was in the dual against BBE that audience members were able to see one of the matches of the year between Swanson and ACGC's Ramzee Molinaro. Swanson edged Molinaro in a 3-2 tiebreaker but it proved to be one of Swanson's toughest battles of the year and served as a reminder that the Falcons are creeping back towards statewide relevance. Don't forget, this is a Falcons team that was a state participant as recently as 2015 and have made trips to the Xcel Energy Center 10 times since 2002. This isn't to say that ACGC is a shoe-in for trip No. 11 but the Falcons' rebuild is coming along quite nicely. Kelvin Andrade-Ponce (23-6) is the No. 9 wrestler at 106 pounds to start the lineup off strong and Tanner Berghuis (22-9) is the No. 10 wrestler at 220 pounds. Andrade-Ponce's and Berghuis' success isn't the surprise but it's all the bits in between. Hayden Straumann has a 20-11 record as just a freshman and Jake Mortenson is sitting at 16-6 as an eighth grader. Seniors CJ Toedter and Levi Lund have also excelled with records of 23-10 and 17-10, respectively. Factor in Molinaro's 25-6 total and Brady Holiens' 15-2 and this is a frightening team for most competitors. Also, the Falcons sport one of the best names in the area with Skye Powers who also happens to have a 19-11 record as a junior.
ACGC may not be vying for a state trophy to complement their 2007 campaign but a Section 4A title is certainly up for grabs. The top competitor is Sibley East, which is currently the No. 5 team according to the Guillotine, but the Falcons could give the Wolverines a run for their money come February.
