Gator Wreslers Take Big Bear

By: Ryan Bergeron

            Coming off of two team titles, the Gators came into the 32 team Big Bear tourney in Cass Lake looking to finish off the pre-holiday schedule off right. The Gators did just that and more, continuing their winning ways with their most impressive tournament showing thus far, especially considering they had two open weight classes. They went on to win the  two-day tourney over second place Thief River Falls by 52.5 points, as they showed great balance by having eight placers, including four champions.

Coach Bergeron commented on his team’s impressive finish, “I couldn’t be prouder of the boys. They proved that they will be a hard team to beat come tournament time.”

            Claiming the four Gator titles were Isaac Novacek (120), Brandon Waage (126), Tejay Wojchowski (170), and Alex Yeager (285). Isaac went 4-0 on the weekend to claim his title, capping it off with a solid 5-3 victory over Park Rapids Area’s Ben Baumgartner; Novacek is 11-0 heading into the holiday break. Brandon Waage claimed his title in emotional fashion as he came up with an impressive come from behind victory over a solid Cody Weiland of Crookston, pulling away late to win 10-2; Brandon went 4-0 on the weekend. Tejay Wojchowski also claimed a come from behind victory, scoring four points in a matter of just a few seconds to erase a 3-0 deficit and hold on to win by a narrow 4-3 score over  a very good Colin Huckbody of Walker-Hackensack-Akeley-Nevis ; Tejay went 5-0 in the tournament. Alex Yeager claimed his title in typical Yeager fashion, recording five pins, including his final pin over ranked Zach Gibson of Morris Area at the 3:42 mark.

            Achieving the next highest finish for the Gators was Wyatt Becker (106), as he went on to a solid third place finish, continuing to open up more and more every weekend. Wyatt went 5-1, including an impressive 12-5 decision over state ranked Colton LaPlante of Aitkin in the quarterfinals. John Westman (182) and Tomm Ingle (160) each had nice fifth place finishes. John came back from a first round loss to go 5-2 overall, while Tomm had a tough semifinals loss, but had a solid tournament by finishing 4-2 overall. Rounding out the placing for the Gators was Devin Dostal, wrestling tough and placing sixth in a very good weight class. Corey Hasbrouck (132), Gunner Gust (138), Jake Jenson (145), and Brendon Dostal (152) didn’t place for the Gators but wrestled hard and will continue to do so as the season progresses.

            The Gators will head back to the practice room during Christmas break coming off a great first half of the season. They know that will have to continue to work hard in the practice room if they want to carry that success into the second half of the season, having a lot of tough competition ahead. Some young kids have stepped it up and the Gators have impressed thus far, but if they hope to have continued success they will need to keep working hard and, most importantly, come together as a “TEAM”. The Gators would like to thank all of the great support that was shown in Cass Lake, “Gator Nation” definitely made its impression known on Saturday. Come on out and continue to support the Gators as the calendar turns to 2012. The next action for the Gators is a dual at home against the Mahnomen-Waubun Cougars on January 3. GO GATORS!!

Gator Boys Lose Home Opener

The BGMR Gator Boys Basketball Team spent the first 30 minutes of a 36 minute game sleep walking and because of this, a talented Kittson Central Bearcat team jumped on the Gators and cruised to a 50-39 win. 

     BGMR found themselves down by 20 at the 6:00 minute mark of the second half.  At that time the Gators boys decided to play with a passion that eluded them for the first 30 minutes.  BGMR cut the lead to 9 but time ran out on the Gators and thus gave the Bearcats the road win.

     BGMR was lead in scoring by Jacquan Rhen.   Rhen needed 24 shots to net 13 points.  Jacob Anderson also managed to land in double figures for the Gators as he pumped in 11.  Nathan Hietala continued his sold play with 9 points. 

     Defensively the Gators did a nice job limiting a solid Bearcat team to 50 points.   Zach Rynning, who torched the Gators for 39 points in last years playoff game dumped in 15.  Derek Coffield who has also hurt the Gators in the past netted 14.

     BGMR will complete its pre-holiday schedule on Tuesday when they go back out on the road traveling to Plummer to take on the Red Lake County Rebels.  BGMR is hoping to go into the holiday break with a victory.  It will not be an easy task as the Rebels have been playing better basketball as of late. 

     The BGMR Boys Players would like to take this time to thank all parents who worked the successful supper before the Kittson Central game.  A special thank you to Becky Dostal and Connie Creviston for heading up the work crew.

Gators Bring Home Road Win

     The BGMR Gators Boys Basketball Team pushed their record to 2-3 with a 61-47 road win over the Clearbrook-Gonvig Bears.  The Gators played their best team basketball of the year as they landed 3 individuals in double digit scoring and two others with 8 and 7 points. 

     The Gator’s first half defense resembled the Grinch Who Stole Christmas as they limited the Bears to 14 points.  Using their defense as a jump start the Gators went into halftime with a 29-14 lead.  The second half saw the Gators come out a little flat and the Bears cut the Gator lead to seven.  BGMR was able to answer and hit some key baskets down the stretch to bring home the win.

     Freshman Aaron Dostal had a huge game for the Gators.  Dostal scored a career high 20 and pulled down 10 rebounds.  Jacob Anderson also had a double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  Senior guard Nathan Hietala broke out of his mini slump and poured in 11.  Jacquan Rhen scored 8 and Tanner Creviston 7.  The Bears were led by Verdell Beaulieu who netted 14 and the lightening quick Weston Bakke had 12.

     The Gators will now shift their attention to their home opener on Friday night.  It will be a tall order as an impressive Kittson Central team comes to town.  The Bearcats are lead by all conference players Derek Coffield and Zach Rynning and are a team to watch in Section 8A.   BGMR will need to take care of the ball better and will have to be at the top of their game in order to come away with a home victory.  It will also be the first time this year that Gator Nation will be able to witness their team on its home court.  Basketball parents will be serving a soup and sandwich supper before the game.  Come on out and let the parents do the cooking and enjoy some great basketball action.

Trivia Question:  (Answers can be given to Coach Dahl between the J.V. and Varsity game.  Winners will get a pair of Coach Kierah Kimbrough socks.)

How many points did Coach Kimbrough have in her high school career?

Gator Wrestlers Capture Grant Co. Title

by Coach Bergeron

The Gator Wrestling teams took to the road as the JV wrestled in Barnesville for the JV tournament and the Varsity went to Baret, Mn to take part in the West Central tournament. Both were very successful as the Varsity took home the title and the JV made their mark as they posted a 29-13 record. Isaak Isane, Nash Sovde, Trevor Undeberg, Luke Nelson, Zach Berg, Devin Pries and Adam Lorenson  all captured titles. Hunter Gullikson, Seth Dostal and Beau Blumer finished second while Dakota Gullikson and Ely Novacek were 3^rd and Collin Berard and Ethan Novacek finished fourth. It was a great weekend for the boys.

The Gator Varsity took part in the Grant Co. Tournament filling 12 of the 14 weight classes. The Gators once again showed great balance as they had 4 champions, 3 runner ups, 2 3^rd placers and one 5^th placer.

Winning titles for the Gators were Devin Dostal 113, Isaac Novacek 120, Jake Jenson 145, and Alex Yeager 285.

Devin Dostal wrestled awesome as he claimed his first varsity title over Jake Larkin of WCA. Congrats Devin on a great showing and hope that is the first of many to come.

Isaac Novacek proved to win one of the toughest weights in the tournament as it featured 3 state medalist from last year in Abbot Aho from Fergus Falls who was fourth in the state last year , while Shane Novak NYM is a returning state runner up and Isaac Novacek finished 3^rd in last year’s state tournament. Isaac had a great day as he took home the title with a 7-3 dec.over Novak in the finals. Isaac also claimed his 150^th career win in that match along with claiming the Outstanding wrestler award for the tournament. Awesome job Isaac not a bad day at the office.

Jake Jenson proved he is going to be a tough one to battle this year as he wrestled solid and claimed an exciting 3-2 dec. over Dane Ringquest from Fergus Falls. This is also Jake’s first varsity title. Great job Jake on a very solid tournament and solid start to  the season.

The final title for the Gators went to Alex Yeager as he defeated a very solid Brandon Schmitt from DBL QPV who is currently ranked #4 in AA. Schmitt got off to a solid start as he took an early 4-0 lead. Yeager showed a lot of control as he battle back to put Schmitt on his back late in the match to seal a close 10-8 dec.

The Gators also had 3 other finalist in Tomm Ingle, TeJay Wojchowski, and Flying John Westman.

Tomm had a solid day going 3-1 and  losing a hard fought match to a solid wrestler Austin Maanum from Border West. Maanum took home a 8-3 dec. over Ingle.

Tejay Wojchowski also had his hand full as he took on Sam Haas from DBL QPV who is currently the #3 ranked wrestler in AA. TeJay is currently ranked #4 in class A. It proved to be a great match as it was tie in the second period before Haas caught Wojchowski with one second left on the clock. Tejay finished the day with a 2-1 record.

John Westman took the mat against Lennard Bennett of LPGE. It was and entertaining match with a lot of action but Bennett would pull away late to take the title over Flying John Westman. John also had a nice day as he finished with a solid 2-1 record.

The Gators showed great balance Wyatt Becker and Brandon Waage showed great heard as they battle their ways to solid third place finishing’s and both wrestlers finished 3-1 on the day.

Corey Hasbrouck went 2-2 on the day and finished 5^th ,while Gunner Gust went 1-2 and Brendon Dostal wrestled hard and went 0-2.

The Gators will get back it  and get ready for the Big Bear Tournament in Cass Lake,Mn on Dec. 16^th and 17^th. The classic tournament features 32 teams from all over the state of Minnesota and is a great challenge.

Come on out and show your Gator Pride as the Gators will take the mat for the last time before the holidays.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Grant County Tournament
1. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River 212.5
2. Dawson-Boyd/Lac qui Parle Valley 195.0
3. Morris Area/Hancock/Chokio-Alberta 133.0
4. Border West 127.0
5. New York Mills 122.5
6. Fergus Falls 114.5
7. Browerville/Eagle Valley 102.5
8. Ottertail Central 92.0
9. Mille Lacs 91.0
10. Alexandria 76.0
11. West Central Area/Ashby 55.0
12. Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 53.5

Gator Wrestlers Takedown Rams

By: Coach Bergeron

The Gator wrestling team opened their season with a solid 48-18 road victory over the Rams. The Gator wrestling team took the mat with some new varsity wrestlers in Wyatt Becker, Devin Dostal, Zach Berg, and Eli Novacek. The Gators also took the mat with four State ranked wrestlers in Isaac Novacek, Tomm Ingle, TeJay Wojchowski and Alex Yeager, along with returning solid starters in Brandon Waage,  Gunner Gust , Jake Jenson and John Westman.

Wyatt Becker got the Gators rolling with a solid 7-3 victory controlling  the action over a solid Brett Jerome to give the Gators an early 3-0 lead.

Devin Dostal BGMR had an exciting match as he got out to a 7-4 second period lead before pinning Casey Warner at the 5:41 mark to give the Gators a 9-0 lead.

Isaac Novacek BGMR took his #1 ranking in the state to the mat and proved to be too much for Derek Olson as he jumped out to an early 6-1 lead before pinning Olson at the 1:30 mark of the first period. After Brandon Waage dominated the action is his match against a solid Jaufen Sikorski with a pin in :48 seconds the Gators took a commanding 21-0 lead.

The Rams would put together two victories as upper classmen Jesse Eastman and Kyle McCourt took the mat.  Jesse Eastman and Zach Berg took the mat for an exciting first period at Eastman took a 2-1 lead into the second period and pinned Berg at the 3:22 mark. Kyle McCourt and Gunner Gust took the mat at 138, which proved to be the most exciting match of the night as senior McCourt held on to win a very entertaining 10-9 dec. over an up and coming 9th grader Gunner Gust to cut the lead to 21-9

Jake Jenson got the Gators back on the board at 145 as he took control early and  pinned a strong Ryan Erickson at the 2:37 mark of the second period to give the Gators a 27-9 lead.

The Rams Colton Miller (152) took on Brendon Dostal and pulled away late to take a 11-5 dec. and pulled the score to 27-12.

The Gators would win five of the next six matches wrestled as State ranked wrestlers Tomm Ingle (160) and TeJay Wojchowski (170) would take home victories. Ingle would take home a close 4-2 dec. over a solid Trevor Peterson and Wojchowski would control the match from the start as he dominated a strong Tyler Crabtree with a pin at 1:25 of the first period to give the Gators a 36-12 lead.

John Westman (182) would take the Forfeit, followed by a double ff at 195. This would make the score 42-12 before Roseau’s Kieren Oksanen (220) would take on a young Eli Novacek and record a pin at the 1:10 mark of the first period.

Returning State Champ Alex Yeager would close out the scoring as the Rams were open at 285.

The Gators will take their 1-0 record to Wadena on Saturday as they battle in a very tough Wadena Tournament.

The Gator team would like to thank the large crowd that came out to support the Gators to a solid 48-18 opening match victory.

December 1, 2011

Badger/Greenbush-Middle River 48 Roseau 18
106 Wyatt Becker (BGMR) Dec. Brett Jerome (ROS) 7-3
113 Devin Dostal (BGMR) Fall Casey Warner (ROS) 5:41
120 Isaac Novacek (BGMR) Fall Derek Olson (ROS) 1:30
126 Brandon Waage (BGMR) Fall Jaufen Sikorski (ROS) :48
132 Jesse Eastman (ROS) Fall Zach Berg (BGMR) 3:22
138 Kyle McCourt (ROS) Dec. Gunner Gust (BGMR) 10-9
145 Jake Jensen (BGMR) Fall Ryan Erickson (ROS) 2:37
152 Colton Miller (ROS) Dec. Brendon Dostal (BGMR) 11-5
160 Tomm Ingle (BGMR) Dec. Trevor Peterson (ROS) 4-2
170 TeJay Wojochowski (BGMR) Fall Tyler Crabtree (ROS) 1:25
182 John Westman (BGMR) Won by FF
195 Double Forfeit
220 Kieren Oksanen (ROS) Fall Eli Novacek (BGMR) 1:10
285 Alex Yeager (BGMR) Won by FF

Relentless Gators Fall Short Against Storm

  
   If the start of the 2011-2012 basketball season is any indication of things to come, Section 8A fans will be in for a treat.  In the opening game for both the BGMR Gators and the Stephen-Argyle Storm the Storm were able to take advantage of some sloppy Gator play and managed to grind out a 56-45 victory over the visiting Gators.

     The start of the game was slow offensively for both teams and this would continue much of the night.  The Storm defense started to create early havoc on the Gators and Stephen-Argyle raced to a 27-18 halftime lead.  The Gators needed a huge effort from their bench just to stay in the game as Gator starters Jacquan Rhen and Tanner Creviston found themselves in early foul trouble.

     Coming out of halftime the Gators would let the Storm surge ahead by 14.  The never say die Gators would fight back and cut the lead to 6 a couple times but could not get any closer.  Whenever it looked as if the Gators would break through the Storm would hit a big shot or turn up the pressure defensively and the Gators were unable to answer.

     BGMR was lead by senior Jacob Anderson who poured in 16 points with 10 of them coming in the second half.  Freshman Aaron Dostal had a nice game as he ended up with 9 points and 10 rebounds.  No other Gator managed to make double figures and the Gators shot only 33 percent on the night.  The Storm landed 3 individuals in double digit scoring.  Brandy Swanson had 13, Blake Labine 12 and Luke Yutrzenka notched 10.

     BGMR will not have time to sulk.  On Monday they travel to Northland Community and Technical College to take part in the NCTC Holiday Tournament.  The Gators will face Fertile Beltrami at 3:00.  The Falcons are a well coached team and beat the Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Ponies on Friday night.  It should be a good match-up as these two teams have developed a little rivalry over the years.  BGMR will need to shoot the ball better and keep key individuals on the playing floor if they hope to keep with the Falcons.