Sykora, Blascyk and Gruchow Medal at the Rumble
After a couple weeks of inclement weather, which canceled two nights of competition, the West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville Knight wrestlers were back in action at the mega tournament in Fargo, ND called the Rumble on the Red.
The Rumble is indeed a huge tournament. It takes place at the NDSU Fargo-dome and was held on the 29th and 30th of December. In all there were 59 teams participating from several states. The talent level is top notch and is not class specific. Most brackets were more loaded than we see at most state tournaments.
The Knights entered the dome short four varsity wrestlers. This puts the team portion in a precarious spot however, this venue is not about just team placing but gathering important awareness and feel for a larger arena. It is a valuable tool in developing the grappler for the post season.
There is no doubt that Coach Brandon Gruchow and his team wanted more out of the Rumble, that is natural and expected to always set sights high. The team finished in 13th place. Is this good? Is this not good? It is hard to say...on one hand, if a person looks at who placed ahead of the Knights the team is sitting with good company. Even short four wrestlers WCAABE Wrestling proved it belongs in conversation with great squads. On the other hand, points were left all over on the mats in Fargo. It can be justified in saying...well, the teams that beat the Knights were all highly ranked and mostly from larger classes. This is true but I’d bet quite a bit that excuses do not cut it in the Barrett wrestling room. The Rumble will be used as a tool to grow, it will not be an excuse but instead an exclamation point. To be the best you need to beat the best. To beat the best you need to compete with and understand the best. All the wrestlers on the Knight team now have a loss. That will hopefully add fuel to the fire, create the twitch needed to reach for the next level.
Hunter Gruchow returns his opponent. PHOTO by TAMMIE OLSON PHOTOGRAPHY
The great part of the Rumble is that three of the Knight wrestlers reached the podium. To wind a path through brackets such as those, is no mere undertaking. It is a grind, match after match of talented opponents. A meat grinder. To have your hand raised enough times to hoist a medal at the Rumble is as legit in this sport as it gets. A trio of Knights attained that level. Sr. Anthony Sykora secured Third Place at 182 lbs., Sr. Justin Blascyk wrestled his way to Sixth Place in the heavyweight division and Sophomore Hunter Gruchow ended his tournament in the Eighth position at 145 lbs.
Anthony Sykora pulls in a butcher. PHOTO by TAMMIE OLSON PHOTOGRAPHY
Team results for the Rumble through WCAABE
1. New Prague #3 AA, MN
2. Stillwater #2 AAA, MN
3. Jackson County Central #1 A, MN
4. Waconia #3 AAA, MN
5. Bemidji #11 AAA, MN
6. Mounds View #7 AAA, MN
7. Albert Lea #15 AA, MN
8. Forest Lake #9 AAA, MN
9. Bismarck #1 A, ND
10. Bismark Legacy #7 A, ND
11. Mora #10 AA, MN
12. West Fargo #6 A, ND
13. WCAABE #3 A, MN
Justin Blascyk uses the half to turn his opponent. PHOTO by TAMMIE OLSON PHOTOGRAPHY
About the Rumble Coach Gruchow stated, “We come to this tournament to get that big tournament feel. We know that we’re going to compete against some of the best. It’s a very taxing tournament physically, mentally and emotionally.” He continues with, “We learned a lot of lessons the past couple of days that will make us better wrestlers in the post season. Although we may not have placed as high as we wanted to, we were right there on the top side of 60 teams that were competing. We now have a better idea on what we need to fine tune and that will help get us to be where we want at the end of the season. Great competition can really point out those little things that matter. Our first day we didn’t wrestle to our expectations. We were hoping to push a few more wrestlers through. The second day for the guys that were left I really appreciated the fight that our wrestlers brought to the mat.”
Milestones that were achieved during the Rumble included: Beau Robinson gathering his 50th career victory. Justin Blascyk reached his 75th career win.
‘Fastest Fall of the Week’ honors goes to Beau Robinson. It took just 19 seconds for Robinson to tip his Bismarck Legacy opponent upside down.
‘Wrestler of the Week’ is well deserved. Although three Knights did reach the podium, only one had his hand raised in his final match. Anthony Sykora went 6-1 at the Rumble. An excellent display of what it takes to be a wrestler.
Wrestling action continues this week as on Thursday, January 5th the team travels to Barnesville. The Knights will see a few more familiar faces as they square off in a quad against the Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie Raiders, the #15th ranked Border West Bucs, and the hometown Barnesville Trojans. Wrestling will begin at 5 pm.
113 lb. #9 Owen Gruchow 1-2, DNP
Aivin Wasmoen (Albert Lea Area) won by major decision 14-3.
Defeated Pitch Hager (Velva) by fall 0:40.
Joe Dauffenbach (Stillwater) won by decision 7-2.
138 lb. Kolby Peters 0-2, DNP Unattached
Jackson Kendall (Rock Ridge) won by decision 6-2.
Wyatt Olson (United North Central Warriors) 9-3 won by decision 1-0.
138 lb. Adam Lohse 1-2, DNP
Defeated Kaullen Hegney (Mandan) per medical forfeit.
#1 Alex Braun (Woodbury) won by fall 2:18. Defeated Andrew Williams (Northfield) by fall 0:45.
#2 Augustus Maughan (Fargo North) 10-5 won by fall 1:52.
145 lb. #4 Hunter Gruchow 4-3, 8th Place
Defeated Owen Winter (Staples Motley) by major decision 19-7.
Defeated Skyler Andrews (Jackson County Central) by major decision 8-0.
Defeated Zack Smith (Big Lake) by fall 1:57.
#2 Wyatt Kosidowski (Fargo Davies) won by major decision 9-0.
Defeated #8 Brady Swenson (Mounds View) by decision 3-1.
Ethan Bowman (Crookston) won per injury default.
7th Place Match - Marcus Johnson (West Fargo Sheyenne) won per medical forfeit.
152 lb. #8 Solomon Wales 1-2, DNP
Defeated John Dahmen (Bismarck St Mary`s) by fall 1:26.
#2 Brad Little (Woodbury) won by fall 0:30.
#3 Tyler Porter (West Fargo) won by decision 4-0.
160 lb. Weston Ulrich 0-2, DNP
#5 Dane Jorgensen (Bemidji) won by tech fall 17-0.
Otto Hanlon (Stillwater) won by fall 0:27.
170 lb. Jeremy Blascyk 0-2, DNP
#4 Tyrus Jangula (Bismarck) won by major decision 9-1.
Noah Prose (Pine Island) won by decision 3-0.
182 lb. #1 Anthony Sykora 6-1, 3rd Place
Defeated Grant Carlson (Bismarck Century) by fall 1:31.
Defeated Lincoln Lemar (Bismarck Legacy) by fall 1:04.
#1 Caden O`Malley (Tri-City United) won by major decision 12-3.
Defeated Coy Olsen (Bemidji) by decision 5-0.
Defeated Nick Slater (Lake Crystal, Welcome Memorial Area) by fall 0:40.
Defeated #3 Kaleb Porter (West Fargo) by fall 0:36.
3rd Place Match – Defeated #3 Marco Christiansen (Minnetonka) by decision 3-2.
195 lb. #10 Beau Robinson 3-2, DNP
Defeated Landon Ptacek (Oakes) by fall 1:32.
#3 Matthew Haley (Jackson County Central) won by fall 2:52.
Defeated David Brandt (Minnetonka) by fall 0:51.
Defeated Hayden Stymeist (Bismarck Legacy) by fall 0:19.
#1 Ole Taylor (Bismarck Century) won by decision 5-2.
220 lb. Will Rustan 1-2, DNP
#6 Colton Long (Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted) won by decision 3-2.
Defeated Walter Guse (St. Francis) by major decision 8-0.
Ryder Weigel (West Fargo Sheyenne) won in overtime 2-1.
285 lb. #9 Justin Blascyk 4-3, 6th Place
Defeated Easton Johnson (St. Francis) by decision 2-1.
Defeated Kale Rich (Ottertail Central Bulldogs) by decision 5-2.
#5 Craig Ashton (Aitkin) won by fall 2:17.
Defeated Treyson Renken (Bismarck Legacy) by decision 1-0.
Defeated Kane Lapointe (Big Lake) 11-5 (Fall 2:44)
Jaxon Vetsch (Perham) won by fall 4:32.
5th Place Match - #5 Craig Ashton (Aitkin) won by decision 5-1.
