March is Music in Our Schools Month Concert

 

 

 8^th graders Final JH Concert

 Jr. High Band

  

Jr. High Choir

Jr. High Girl's Choir 

Local EMT’s accepting the donations from Swamp Night!

Jr. High Choir

  MR 2^nd-3^rd grade choir

 MR Kindergarteners

Westman Takes Home State Honors

The Gator wrestling team traveled to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul to take part in the Class A individual wrestling tournament, which took place March 1st and 2nd. Four Gators qualified by placing in the top two in their weight divisions the previous week in Glyndon. Wyatt Becker at 113, Devin Dostal at 120, Tomm Ingle at 160, and John Westman at 170. Dostal and Ingle both entered as section champs and Becker and Westman entered at sectional runner-ups.

Action at the Excel started on Friday as Wyatt Becker took the mat against Spencer Jennings a junior from Wabasso-Red Rock Central, Becker had a back and forth match with Jennings but fell short and was defeated by a 7-3 dec. Becker would now have to hope for Jennings to win in order to stay alive in the tournament. Jennings did just that as we defeated last years 3rd place finisher in Joey Majerus of Zumbrota-Mazeppa 9-1. This would set up a match between Majerus and Becker. Becker took an early 4-1 lead and batted back in forth for a very exciting match but in the end Majerus would pull away to win 11-7. Wyatt wrestled very tough and did not back down  to anyone. Jennings went on to take 2nd place and Majerus finished in fourth. Becker had an awesome year for the Gators and finished with an impressive 27-10 record and continues to show improvement every year.

At 120 the Gators qualified Devin Dostal. Dostal started out with a bang as he took a commanding 5-1 lead. Dostal got into a tough spot as his opponent Clem Gerad from Holdingford laid back as Devin was on top and recorded a defensive pin to the surprise of Dostal and the crowd. This is something that does not happen very often but does happen from time to time. Gerad lost his next match to James Goman of Trinity School at River Ridge to eliminate Dostal from the tournament. The eventual Champion at 120 was Louie Sanders from Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial, a wrestler that Dostal lost to by 3 points last year in team wrestling when the Gators took on Lake Crystal last year at the Xcel Energy Center. Dostal had a great season that did not get going until mid January due to injury. Dostal finished the season with a very impressive 18-2 record and earned his 2nd trip to state. The good news is he will be back for many more years as Dostal is only a freshman this season.

The third Gator to qualify was senior Tomm Ingle. Ingle entered the tournament with an impressive 32-4 record and was a section champ at 160 pounds. Ingle took the mat against a very athletic Carter Hanson from Blue Earth Area. Ingle took the early lead but gave the lead up late with a late takedown to fall to Hanson by a narrow 5-4 dec.. Hanson would go onto defeat Matt Whitcomb of Atwater-Cosmos-Grove –City 5-3 to give Ingle another shot at a match. Ingle and Whitcomb took the mat and were tied at 2 with about 15 seconds left in the match when Ingle lost his balance and Whitcomb was awarded a two point reversal and a two point nearfall to defeat Tomm 6-2. With the loss this would end the tournament and the career for Ingle. Tomm has a lot to hold his head high for as he was a great senior leader and had an awesome career for the Gators. Tomm finished the season 32-6 and finished with 145 wins, which puts him just behind standout Chad Lorenson on the all time wins list at #6 for the Gator team. Tomm left his mark as a hard worker and should be very proud of his accomplishments.

The last Gator to qualify was John Westman, better known by some as JDog or flying J. Westman entered the tournament with a very solid record of 32-6. John took the mat against a very strong Niko Anderson from Fillmore Central/Lanesboro/MC, Anderson had a very impressive 34-1 record but Westman battled Anderson and gave up two points late to fall 2-1. Westman became a big Anderson fan as Anderson knocked off a solid Isaac Josephson 4-2 in OT. This would set up a show down between Westman and Josephson. John was up for the challenge as he was tied in the match at 5 before pinning Josephson at 2:49. John would then move on in the wrestlbacks to take on a wrestler with only 2 loses as he got a late takedown in the first period, then dominated the action on top before pinning Jordan Gobos of Holdingford in the second period. With the win this would assure Westman would finish as a medalist. In the Consolation semi-finals John took on standout Aaron Bates from Sibley East, Bates entered the match with a 41-3 record and had just lost a close match to eventual champion Darick Vancura 5-3. John knew he was in for a battle but did not back down as Westman fell to Bates in a very fun match 9-4. This would set up John’s final match of his career as he would take on Frazee’s Tyler Ziegler. Westman was pinned by Ziegler the week before in the section finals. John fell behind Ziegler early but reversed Zeigler late in the match and pinned him to end a very solid tournament. Westman finished with a 3-2 record on the weekend and a very hard fought 5th place finish only losing to the second and third place wrestlers in his bracket. John finished the year with the most wins on the team with 35, and he will finish with an 83-39 record for his career.

The Gator coaching staff would like to thank all the Gator wrestlers for their efforts this season. They had a lot to be proud of as they finished with a solid 17-2 dual record this season and have several wrestlers win over 20 matches and a few in the 30’s. We would also like to wish the seniors John Westman, Tomm Ingle , Timm Ingle, Brody Rasmusson and manager Bailey Bergeron the best as they graduate this Spring. Thanks for all you did for the Gator  wrestling team. We will miss you but our memories of you will last forever.

The Gator wrestlers would like to thank the fans and their parents for their support we could not do it with out your dedication to the Gator wrestling team. As we close the door on the 2012-13 season, we look forward to great things for the 2013-14 Gator wrestling team as we bring back a lot of wrestlers with solid experience and a lot of talent.

Go Gators!!

GATORS FALL SHORT

The BGMR Gator Boys Basketball team will be stumbling into the playoffs after a young and talented Kittson Central Bearcat team smashed the Gators 68 to 48 in the regular season finale for both teams.

     The Gators and Bearcats played even basketball during much of the first half as the Bearcats went into halftime with a 34-30 lead.  The Gators came out focused in the second half and took a 3 point lead early.  Kittson Central however regrouped and went on a 15-0 run that would put the game out of reach.  The Gators were unable to have an offensive answer for the Bearcats 1-3-1 zone defense and defensively let the Bearcats get too many open shots in the second half.

     Nick Rodriguez led the Gators in scoring with 12 points.  Aaron Dostal also had a solid night with 11 points and 11 rebounds.  On the night the Gators shot 31% and only managed to put up 54 shots for the game.

     The Gators finished the regular season at 10-16.  They have lost several close games and go into the tournament on a 5 game losing streak.  For most teams this might seem like an ominous sign but the BGMR Gator s realize that if they put a full game together they will be a tough outcome tournament time.  The Gators will open tournament play on Monday versus the Red Lake County Rebels.  Game time is 7:00 and will be at the Swamp.  This is a repeat of last years opening round playoff game, yet the Gators are hoping for different results as the Rebels were able to sneak out a victory.  It will be a tough game and the Gators will need to play much better than they have been of late.  It is however a new season and one in which the Gator boys and Gator Nation have been preparing for.

GATORS FALL ON SUPER SATURDAY

Looking as if they may break their 4 game losing streak the BGMR Gator Boy’s Basketball Team forgot how to play defense the second half and a potent Red Lake Warrior team used the Gator defensive ineptitude to run to a 79-66 victory over the Gators.

     The Gators played a decent first half holding the Warriors to 26 points and went into halftime with a 28-26 halftime lead.  BGMR would come out in the second half on a mission and built their lead to 9 with just over 15 minutes to go in the game.  This however is when the wheels of the Gator bus came off.  Red Lake proceeded to outscore the Gators 50 to 28 rest of the way and bring home the 13 point margin of victory.

     Offensively the Gators were led by Jacquan Rhen who had 21 points and 7 rebounds.  Nick Rodriguez scored 15, Aaron Dostal had 13 and Alex Rhen contributed 10 points and 7 rebounds for the Gators.

     Playing perhaps their worse defensive game of the year will not sit well with the Gator coaching staff and locking down on defense will be an area of emphasis as playoff time nears.  The playoff picture is taking shape and playoff seeding should come out on Wednesday. 

     The Gators will finish regular season play tomorrow when they take on an ever improving and young Kittson County Bearcat team.  This will be the last regular season home game for several seniors so the Gator team is hoping for a near capacity crowd.  A Gator crowd that continues to show their passion in a positive way will only help as playoff time nears. 

     Although the Gators boys have struggled as of late, playoff time is just around the corner and BGMR has showed that they can play with everyone in the subsection.  Hopefully the Gators will hit their stride at the right time and do some tournament damage.

Gators Advance Four to St. Paul-Coach Bergeron

The Gator wrestling team traveled to Glyndon to take part in the Section 8 A Individual tournament on Friday and Saturday, February 22^nd and 23^rd. Thirteen Gators entered the tournament in hopes of advancing to the State tournament at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul March 1^st and 2^nd. The Gators battled all weekend with many highs and lows throughout the weekend. In the end four Gators advanced to St. Paul, Wyatt Becker at 113, Devin Dostal at 120, Tomm Ingle at 160 and John Westman at 170.

The Gators first qualifier was 10^th grader Wyatt Becker entered the tournament as the #1 seed but lost a heart breaking match in the finals as Becker lead for the whole match and gave up a late takedown to Frazee’s Byron Byer to lose 4-3. Becker went 2-1 on the weekend and will enter the state tournament with a solid 27-8 record.

The second Gator to qualify was 9^th Grader Devin Dostal who will be making his second trip to the state tournament. Dostal may have had one of the toughest and most balanced weights in the tournament. Dostal entered as the #1 seed and proved he was as he went 3-0 on the weekend and batted returning state entrant Mitch Lundeen from Fertile and defeated him in the finals by  a narrow 2-1 decision to give Devin back to back section titles for the Gators. Devin will take a solid 18-1 record into the state meet and is currently ranked #8 in the state.

The third Gator to punch his ticket to St. Paul was Senior captain Tomm Ingle. Tomm also entered the tournament as the #1 seed and had many tough battles along the way. Ingle went 3-0 on the weekend and defeated a tough Daven Staples from BCLB  12-7 in title match to give the Gators their second section title on the day. Ingle will take a solid 32-4 record into the state meet and is currently ranked #5 in the state.

The final qualifier for the Gators was Senior Captain John Westman. John started the tournament out 2-0 and made the finals but was beat by a tough Tyler Ziegler from Frazee in the finals, which pushed John into a true second match with BCLB’s Nate Jablonski. Westman proved to be up for the challenge and would not be denied his trip to the state tournament as John scored early and ran away with a solid 11-1 decision to earn his trip to St. Paul.

As all good seasons have to come to an end many other Gators put their hearts and souls into earning a trip to state but came up a little short, which is always tough to see. Jake Jenson was the only other Gator to finish third and earn himself an opportunity for true second match. Jake got out to a fast start and looked to be in control until late in the match Jake gave up a crucial 3 pt near fall to fall to Frazee’s Erik Moltzan 7-3, falling just short of advancing to the state tournament. The good news is Jake is only a junior and will be back again next year to be a senior Captain for the Gators and be a leader along with junior Corey Hasbrouck and Dakota Gullikson. Jake had a solid tournament and showed a lot of heart as he closed out his junior season with an impressive 27-12 record and proved he will be one of the top wrestlers in the section next season.

Brandon Waage also finished 3^rd for the Gators but did not receive a true second match since he had already wrestled the second place finisher. Brandon had a solid season for the Gators but came up just short in the semi finals when he lost a heart breaking 2-0 OT decision to DGF’s Alex Johnson. Brandon showed a lot of heart and continued to wrestled hard and go 4-1 on the weekend and finish a solid 3^rd place at 132 pounds.

The Gators will also look for Waage to be one of the team leaders next year as he is currently a hand full  of wins way from reaching 100 wins heading into his junior season as he finished the year at 26-11.

The Gators had three other wrestlers finish 4^th in the section in Isaak Isane, Corey Hasbrouck, and Beau Blumer. All three had solid seasons for the Gators. Isane finished and impressive first year on varsity with a solid  25-9 record and will look to continue his improvement as he heads into his 10^thgrade year and hopefully will wrestle 106 again for the Gators next season. Corey had a very solid weight as he was ranked 3^rd ,above him he had two state ranked wrestlers in Bruce Lemon from Frazee and Max Pajari from UNC. Corey battled hard but came up a little short. Corey will be one of three seniors that the Gators will look to for next year for great leadership. Hasbrouck finished an impressive season with a 22-8 record for the Gators. Beau Blumer was the last Gator to place 4^th and he also had a very talented weight as the top two finishers in his weight were also ranked in the state in Taylor Carlson from UNC and standout Chris Zimmer from WHAN who finished 3^rd in state last year. Blumer will finish the season with a section placing and a hard fought 19-13 record on the year.

Nick Kaml, Dakota Gullikson, Collin Berard, and Douglas Peterson did not place but had solid seasons for the Gators. Kaml had an impressive year as he proved he could wrestle with anyone in the section. Kaml lost earlier in the year to Section champ  Jake Malone 2-0. Kaml only got to wrestle one match for the Gators as he had to withdraw for an unidentified skin rash. Kaml has a lot to be proud of as he finished his season with a very impressive 24-10 record and proved he will be one of the Gators to watch next season. Colin Berard wrestled two weights up and proved he was up for the challenge as he pinned his first opponent but was outsized in the next two matches as he went 1-2 on the weekend and will be a big part of the Gator team for next season. Junior Dakota Gullikson opened the tournament with one of the more exciting matches as he was down 9-1 and came back to put Deer Rivers Keith Gife on his back twice but fell just short as he lost a narrow 10-9 decision. The Gators look for Gullikson to continue to improve in the off season and be one of the senior leaders next season . Douglas Peterson showed great improvement throughout the season as he came out for wrestling for the first time in his 10^th grade season. Doug was a very eager learner and learned some valuable basics and we look for Doug to continue to improve over next season.

The Gators would also like to congratulate Timm Ingle on winning the Marylyn and Dean Fox award. This award is given to someone that has gone through a hardship throughout the season. Timm had an unfortunate knee injury that kept him from the mat. We wish senior Timm Ingle the best as he goes to school next year at Northland and plans to join the football team.

We also wish Sophomore Gunner Gust a healthy recovery as he was unable to return to the line up this season as he suffered an unfortunate elbow injury that ended his 10^th grade season in January. Gunner had a solid 13-7 record before the injury sidelined him for the season. Gust will be a huge part of the Gators success as they head into next season.

The Gators have a lot of talented wrestlers that will be back next season and if they continue to improve and stay healthy the Gators will be very tough to beat next season. The Gator coaching staff would like to thank all the wrestlers and their parents for all their hard work and dedication this season.

The Gators have one more important weekend as four Gators are heading to St. Paul with dreams of taking home state honors. The Gators will take the mat from the Excel Energy center at 1 pm on Friday, March 1^st. In those first round matches Wyatt Becker 10^th grade 27-8 will take on Spencer Jennings of Wabbasso-Red Rock, 11^th 37-4, Devin Dostal 9^th  18-1 vs Brandon Sullivan 11^th 29-4, Pierz,Tomm Ingle 12^th 32-4 will take on 12^th grader Carter Hanson 34-4 from Blue Earth Area, and finally senior John Westman 32-6 will take the mat against 11^th grader Niko Anderson 34-1 from Fillmore Central-Lanesboro/MC.

The Gator Coaching staff would like to wish the Gators the best of luck as they had south to show them what the North is made of.

Go Gators!!!

HEARTBREAK CITY

 Whenever the BGMR Gators and Grygla-Goodridge Chargers meet up in boys basketball fans know they are going to usually see a close game.  Friday night was no exception as the Chargers got a late rebound and put back basket to defeat the Gators 57-55 in high school basketball action.

     The Charges jumped on the Gators early and opened up a 9 point lead.  The Gators however hung around and cut the Charger lead to 2 going into halftime.  The second half was a back and forth affair as no team would take a commanding lead.  The Gators would have a 3 point lead with just over 3 minutes to play but suffered a couple timely turnovers and the Chargers took advantage of the Gator mistakes.  The Chargers were also relentless on the offensive board and BGMR was unable to come up with some key defense rebounds to put the game away.  In particular was when the game was tied with just over 20 seconds to play and the Gators appeared to have a defensive stop but failed to secure the rebound and the Chargers converted the rebound into 2 points.  The Gators would have 1 last chance but Jacquan Rhen’s mid range jumper rolled just off the front of the rim giving the Chargers the two point victory.

     Offensive the Gators were led by Rhen who had 25 points.  In a losing cause Alex Rhen and Nick Rodriguez contributed 8 points each.

     BGMR will not have time to feel sorry for themselves as they bounce right back and play a lightening quick Red Lake Warrior team.  The game is part of the NCTC Super Saturday day of basketball with the Gators and Warriors tipping off at 6:15.  Playoff time is just around the corner and BGMR is looking to secure some wins before they hit the tournament.  It is anyone’s guess who will win Section 8A as all teams seem to be pretty equal.  The tournament march is now on