Summer weight lifting started June 2nd at 7:00 am. Team members need to enter the main doors (west) at Central Campus. If they are NOT open call Coach Spooner at 720-8553. Members present at the first session were: Cody Dishon Jacob Hoffart Brandon Abejon Dylan Roness Matt Filkins David Rabe Tanner Gust Dayne Haman Cody Haugen Brian Rabe Hope to see you there!

Here is the website to follow the action in Minot on the 14th. Please share this with those that might want the information to stay informed. http://pages.minot.k12.nd.us/wrestling

Minot High had a respectable weekend. We surprised some teams this weekend. I had a few coaches ask me where we are in the dual race, because we were a lot more solid than they had expected. That tells me that our guys are starting to get the wheels turning. I think the intensity of our team has been at a high level through the last six duals. We are mentally letting some opponents off the hook by not keeping the pressure on them, but it isn't contagious like it has been. Had we filled our line-up, and won a couple of the many close matches over the weekend, the end results would have been different. I think we got a good look at what the east has to offer come state, and that was the important thing. The JV wrestled well on Saturday. There were a couple of disappointments, but I think those guys know who they are. We are starting to see the rewards of drilling things right in the practice room. Guys are using the tools they have and are finding that they work. That's a good sign. All results are in the team file section of Flo. DL - 16, Minot - 55 Fargo S. - 42, Minot - 26 Red River - 41, Minot - 31 GF Central - 15, Minot - 60 Fargo N. - 43, Minot - 33

Minot High had a very good evening against the Saints. We began with 5 wins in seven matches with the JV. Then the varsity came out and made it very clear that they meant business. Cody Haugen started the dual with a quick fall. St. Mary's responded with three falls of their own, one being a defensive pin on Brad Spencer. A fluke, but it happens if you let yourself get out of position. Cody Dishon drop a close match to a ranked wrestler, but it wasn't without a very intense effort. The Magicians bounced back on falls from Rochholz, Wunderlich, and Hoffart. Tully Garberg added a major decision, before St. Mary's collected a fall from #2 ranked David Vetter. Logan Erz and Keldon Gange added two more quick falls, and Ben Aasen received a forfeit to complete the scoring for Minot. St. Mary's got a forfeit from us at 285. Overall, I think it was the most intense effort I have seen in our gym for quite some time. A job well done. Minot - 45, St. Mary's - 33

On Saturday January 10 the Minot High junior varsity competed in the New Town Invitational Wrestling Tournament. The team wrestled well and recorded some valuable mat time. The team was led by Matt Kuske who placed 2nd at 189. Matt wrestled hard and upset the #1 seed. He went on to beat the #4 seed in the semis He finished the day by being defeated by a more experienced wrestler from Velva. Overall, he did well. At 103, Jeremy Simmons wrestling well using his low single and physical leg tilts. At 112, Brandon Abejon lost a tough match in the quarter finals in which he was ahead and ended up getting pin. Brandon learned a valuable lesson about "putting an opponent away". Brandon lost to the wrestler in one match and in the second match, he was able to defeat his opponent. Dayne Haman bumped up from the junior high ranks to complete at 112 in New Town. Dayne wrestled very aggressively on his feet using a sweep single with great effectiveness. Dayne also learned some valuable information about sliding the knee in front with a wrist and half, fighting a pinning combination with a short time on the clock, and gettting his head up and pressure across on takedowns. Michael Coffin wrestled hard at 119 but was up against seeded wrestlers everytime he stepped on the mat. Zach Vetter demonstrated good endurance and upset a seeded wrestler in the quarter finals. He also worked hard on his cross wrist pinning combinations. Chris Pitner (aka Grinder) kept his streak of out working all his opponents. Aaron Kohlman came close to beating the #5 seeded class B wrestler in the state of North Dakota but was unable to overcome a tight pinning combination at the end of the third period. Aaron learned that a good set-up is better than a good shot. Anthony Pitner (aka Brute) continues to improve on his ground and pound techniques by trying some new moves in competition. Anthony learned that the second move and bottom is somethings more important than the first move. Taylor Meland needed just a little more energy to achieve a victory in the semi finals but was unable to go to the well. Taylor realized how important being in shape and drilling is to wrestling. Josh Nelson continues to get better as a first year sophomore. Josh wrestled hard and started to use his legs as a way to turn his opponents, which will be important as he continues his wrestling career. Phillip Pugh has one of the best wrist and half turns in the Minot High wrestling room and used it with continued success on Saturday. Phillip learned that he also needs to work on his double leg finishes and step-ups. David Rabe (aka the Hammer) pounded several of his opponents on the mat on Saturday. David has a style that not many of his opponents can handle. David likes to mix it up and enjoys the physical nature of the sport. Kenny Bolte worked hard to upset a seeded wrestler in the quarters but fell short of his goal of being a champion in New Town. Kenny really did a good job of finishing from a poor position on Saturday. Ben Aasen wrestled some of the most entertaining matches of the day for the fans (not his coaches!). Ben now knows he must work on his conditioning and short offense if he is going to reach his goals at the end of the season. Colton Razzo and Conan Ereth both ran into some stiff competition at the heavy weight division in New Town. Colton wrestled a good match in the quarter finals but was unable to hit his throw with a short time remaining. Colton said after the match that he needed to work more on his throws and rolls. Conan Ereth continues to improve. Conan has added a roll to his list of moves from the bottom and also needs to work on his throws from his feet. The boys wrestled hard and out worked the majority of their opponents. We must continue to hone in our top, bottom, and takedowns in order to achieve the goals set at the beginning of the year. We are looking forward to continuing growth from all of our wrestlers both in the practice room and on the mat.

The Magicians had some tough tasks to accomplish on day 2. We knew it wasn't going to get easier for us. Some of our kids found themselves in unfamiliar territory for a big tourney. I think we grew a little by putting ourselves close to, or in the placement matches and having that experience in a big tournament with this level of competition. With the exception of Logan Erz, this was not a familiar situation for our guys. I think we made some critical steps towards getting to our goals. We need to continue to wrestle for the win, and not wrestle to prevent a loss. Over all, I think we had a good weekend. All match results can be found in the team file section as well as updated varsity stats. Tournament results can be found at: http://activities.educ8.org

Minot High had a respectable day at the reputable Rotary Wrestling Tournament. We are in 15th place as a team with 64pts. As far as ND class A teams go, we are in 8th place. We have 6 wrestlers alive for day 2 competition. Most notable of those is 145# Jacob Hoffart. He went into the tournament unseeded. He defeated the #1 seed from Rapid City Central in the second round, and continued that streak to find himself in the finals tomorrow afternoon at 2pm. 152# Tully Garberg was defeated in the quarter finals by a #1 seed and defending champion from Rapid City Stevens. 171# Logan Erz was defeated in the quarter finals by the #1 seed in his weight class. 130# Cody Dishon was defeated in the second round by the #1 seed in his weight class from Miles City. He came back with two impressive wins to remain alive in the wrestle backs for 3rd. 135# Eric Rochholz lost in the second round to the #4 seed from Valley City. He also came back with two falls two stay alive for 3rd. 145# Marcus Bausman (wrestling unattached) lost a heartbreaker in the second round to 3rd seed from Grand Forks Central. He remains alive with two wins in the wrestle backs as well. All of the wrestlers in the wrestle back rounds will compete at 10am. One win and they will place in the top 8 of their brackets. Complete results can be found at: http://activities.educ8.org/

This Tournament was cancelled by Bismarck Public Schools due to the weather forecast.

The Magicians finished quite strong on the second day of competition. We had 7 wrestlers in the placement matches and got five wins. I think the team is beginning to figure out how to make it through a long, two day tournament. The varsity looked real good going into the final matches. We have taken a couple of steps forward, now we need to continue to make improvements from here through the break. Our next meet will be a JV tourney in Bismarck on the 30th. The varsity will compete at the Rotary Tournament in Bismarck on Jan. 9-10. For complete results, check out the team file section on Flowrestling, or go to: http://www.minot.k12.nd.us/education/sportszone/sportszone.php?sectionid=1584

Minot High had a respectable day 1 in Dickinson. Our guys came out wrestling hard and won a lot of matches. We have seen a considerable improvement over last week. We have had some mental breakdowns towards the end of periods and matches, but our guys have been putting themselves in position to win the match. Three notable wins on the day were from our 145 pound wrestlers, both in the varsity division, and 112 in the JV. Jacob Hoffart and Marcus Bausman beat the #5 state ranked wrestler from Fargo South. On JV, Dylan Roness beat the varsity wrestler from Bismarck. We are sending three wrestlers to the semi-finals: Jacob Hoffart - 145, Tully Garberg - 152, and Logan Erz - 171. We have four wrestlers in the wrestlebacks: Cody Haugen - 103, Brandon Abejon - 112, Cody Dishon - 135, and Marcus Bausman - 145. Minot is in tenth place as a team.

MHS Wrestling got a taste of defeat this past evening. We did not give the Demons or the Patriots everything we had. It gave us something for our wrestlers, and coaches to chew on for a week. We know we will bounce back from such a difficult night, and rise to the next challenge ahead of us. Our JV will wrestle in Kenmare on Sat. The varsity will travel to Dickinson next weekend for another tough tournament. We have a lot of work to do, but I don't think it is overwhelming. BHS - 67 Minot - 3 Century - 64 Minot - 9

All I can say is WOW! Our boys were in a grinding three days of competition. We wrestling 202 matches in a 48 hour span. Some of them look like they went through a meat grinder, but the effort they showed was outstanding. We feel that the effort of our wrestlers was second to none. They competed against some of Montana's top programs and held their own. We were very proud them. I need to give props to our student managers as they worked dilegently throughout the weekend and deserve a lot of credit in making the results possible immediately. Please give some support and encouragement to these young athletes and managers, they definitly deserve it. They represented themselves, their team, families and school with top notch respect and dignity. Individual results can be found on the MHS wrestling page under the Schedule/Results link. You can also get results on our new Wrestling Community located on Flowrestling. Come and join our community and be a fan of this great group of Student Athletes. Note: We provided an information sheet to Dickinson, as they are going to tape delay the dual on TV in SW North Dakota. No one on our varsity line-up has a GPA lower than 3.0. Team Placement - 6th out of 14 - 91 pts. Student Managers - Kevyn Haugen Maria Pitner Megan Shonberger Sidney Spiros JV Wrestlers who placed - Dylan Roness - 2nd Brandon Abejon - 1st Zach Vetter - 1st Michael Coffin - 5th Casey Lucero - 1st Chris Pitner - 2nd Anthony Pitner - 4th Aaron Kohlman - 3rd David Rabe - 3rd Phillip Pugh - 5th Kenny Bolte - 6th Matt Kuske - 2nd Conan Ereth - 2nd Varsity Wrestlers who placed - Jermy Simmons - 2nd Cody Haugen - 4th Jacob Hoffart - 6th Tully Garberg - 1st Logan Erz - 2nd Ben Aasen - 5th

Day 1 was a long and successful day. Most of our guys wrestled 4 to 5 matches. Results will be in the team files section of Flowrestling and on the calender section of the MHS Wrestling site. We have 6 wrestlers remaining on the championship side of the brackets, with four already in the semis. The JV wrestlers have really impressed us with their tenacity.

We had a good dual with Dickinson. Final score was 40-31 with Dickinson coming out on top. The matches were split at 7 a piece. We wrestled without a couple of regulars in the line-up due to injuries, but every one of our guys, including the JV, went out on the mat and gave very good efforts. We are in Sidney for Friday and Saturday.

When: Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008 Where: MSU Dome Starts at: 10:00am Varsity, Junior Varsity and Junior high will compete.

On Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008, 1 - 4pm, members of the Minot Wrestling team will be at Marketplace Foods to assist you with your groceries and to gather carts for your use. We would like to see the store stay busy, as these boys need to stay active over the weekend. Come pay them a visit and show your support.

Wrestlers, take care of your paperwork and activity fees BEFORE the season starts. All needed forms can be located on this site under team files. Get it done so we can be as productive as we can in the practice room.