WCAABE entered the tournament with 12 of its 14 weight classes. As the day wrestled its way out it was evident the Knights were there to conduct business. The team clobbered its way to a way to an impressive 51 point victory where they posted 229 team points. The next closest were the Morris Area/Hancock/Chokio-Alberta Tigers who earned 178 points.

On its way to the convincing victory WCAABE had five grapplers claim a championship: Owen Gruchow (113), Hunter Gruchow (145), Solomon Wales (152), Anthony Sykora (170) and Justin Blascyk (285). A pair of wrestlers earned 2nd place in Beau Robinson (195) and Will Rustan (220). There were a trio of 3rd place finishes with Carter Lohse (126), Adam Lohse (132) and Ezekial Seickert (160). Jeremy Blascyk (170) went 2-1 to grab a 5th place finish and Sam Olson (138) earned 6th. The team looked dominant and strong, exactly the way one wants to enter sections.

The Junior Varsity also participated in a JV tournament in Morris. The results are as follows...Max Barlow (95-100) DNP, Nathan Brethorst (95-100) 3rd place, Brody Brunkow (95-100) 5th place, Nicholas Dulas (113) 4th place, Logan Schmall (120) 2nd place, Colton Braun-Koplin (126) 6th place, Logon Long (145) 4th place, Kolby Peters (145) Champion, Charles Bolgrean (145) DNP, Tucker Johnson (160) 3rd place, Tayden Amundson (170) 5th place, Gavin Flint (170) Champion, Kyle Klaahsen (170) 6th place, Freddi Munoz (220) Champion, Blake Flint (285) Champion.

The Knight female wrestlers competed Saturday in their individual sectional tournament that was held at Sartell High School. Results of the lady wrestlers included Ashlyn Lohse (100) 8th place, Ava Lohse (107) 3rd place, Lucea Wales (120) 3rd place, Jasmine Ulrich (126) 8th place.

‘Fastest Fall of the Week’ is a shared endeavor. Solomon Wales and Anthony Sykora both stuck their opponents in :36 seconds last Saturday.

‘Wrestler of the Week’ goes to Ezekiel Seickert. Zeke, as he is called by his teammates, is a Freshman. He has worked as hard last off season as anyone, participating in cross country and the WCAABE Strength and Fitness program. Zeke’s efforts helped him find his way into the varsity lineup during January. Zeke currently holds a .500 record and is a component to the success of the Knight wrestling team as he holds down the 160 lb position. Zeke placed third in the Dr. Busian Invitational and scored 15 points for his team.

With regular season now in the rear view mirror the Knights will enter playoffs. The team belongs to Section 6A, along with Border West, Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie, New York Mills, Pelican Rapids, Osakis, Wadena-Deer Creek, and Ottertail Central. Friday, February 17th the section will meet in Barrett for the team tournament. One of them will advance to St. Paul to represent the section at the state tournament in March. At the time of writing the seeding has not been released but the top four teams according to records include #19 Border West 19-5 (5-2 in the section), #13 WCAABE 16-6 (7-0 in the section), #17 BHVPP 15-11 (5-2 in the section) and New York Mills 12-11 (4-3 in the section).

About his team Senior Beau Robinson had this to say, “I am optimistic for the team, as a team I feel we are more than prepared for Friday. We have been working hard in practice and I can’t wait to see us as the section champs!”

1. #13 WCAABE 229 Points
2. MAHACA 178
3. Pelican Rapids 131.5
4. Pipestone Area 127.5
5. #15 Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 109.5
6. Fosston-Bagley 93
6. Wabasso 93
8. Quad County 76 

113 #4 Owen Gruchow Champion 
1st round bye. 
Defeated Danny Salazar (PR) per fall 3:17. 
1st Place Match -Defeated Cole Froehlich (KMS) per decision 9-3.

126 Carter Lohse 3rd Place 
Defeated Domanick Thompson (FB) per fall 4:34. 
Defeated by Ashton Weidemann (WAB) per fall 4:19. 
3rd Place Match – Defeated Jarret Payne (MAHACA) per fall 1:51.

132 Adam Lohse 3rd Place 
1st round bye. 
Defeated by Hudson Burnett (PA) per major decision 11-1. 
3rd Place Match – Defeated Tarrick Rupp (QC) per fall 1:15.

138 Sam Olson 6th Place 
Defeated by Oakley Carlson (PR) per sudden victory decision 6-4. 
Defeated Gage Corner (QC) per fall 2:22. 
5th Place Match – Defeated by Noah Johnson (KMS) per decision 6-1.

145 #4 Hunter Gruchow Champion 
Defeated Jaekub Larson (FB) per fall 1:30. 
Defeated Breighton Logan (MAHACA) per fall 2:14. 
1st Place Match – Defeated Jett Olson (KS) per major decision 11-3.

152 #8 Solomon Wales Champion 
Defeated Garret Marotzke (WAB) per fall 2:11. 
Defeated Jakob Rudie (FB) per fall 0:36. 
Defeated Andrew Marty (MAHACA) per major decision 10-1. 
Defeated Jack Kapenga (PR) per decision 7-5.

160 Ezekiel Sieckert 3rd Place 
Defeated Dylan Lomen (FB) per fall 0:54. 
Defeated by Carter Johnson (PR) per decision 6-2. 
3rd Place Match – Defeated Owen Chervany (QC) per fall 1:02.

170 Jeremy Blascyk 5th Place 
Defeated by Mark Kapenga (PR) per decision 8-2. 
Defeated Brode Bruns (PA) per fall 1:15. 
5th Place Match – Defeated Kaden Sanford (FB) per decision 2-1.

182 #1 Anthony Sykora Champion 
Defeated Elias Valdovines (PR) per fall 0:36. 
Defeated Collin Johnson (KMS) per fall 1:07. 
Defeated Jackson Melcher (PA) per fall 1:22. 
Defeated Hunter Ridler (QC) per fall 0:53.

195 Beau Robinson 2nd Place 
Defeated Jessie Beckman (FB) per fall 1:30. 
Defeated Aiden Voss (Pipestone Area) per fall 2:26. 
1st Place Match – Defeated by Hunter Gibson (MAHACA) per major decision 10-1.

220 Will Rustan 2nd Place 
Defeated Jasen Jansen (QC) per fall 5:09. 
Defeated Owen Kidrowski (KMS) per fall 1:17. 
Defeated by Brock Marty (MAHACA) per fall 1:26.

285 #8 Justin Blascyk Champion 
Defeated Jarett Stetz (PR) per fall 3:58. 
Defeated Carter Gibson (MAHACA) per fall 3:53. 
1st Place Match – Defeated Javon Johnson (MAHACA) per fall 5:44.