Young Gators Finish Eighth

By: Ryan Bergeron

                Coming off of a consolation championship at the Sertoma tournament in Grand Forks the previous weekend, a young Gator team looked to keep working hard, as they faced their toughest test of the year at the 35-team annual Big Bear tournament in Cass Lake, MN on December 14-15. Coach Bergeron commented on his young team’s nice eighth place finish, “With eight of our fourteen Gators competing in their first Big Bear tournament, I thought many of them gave a good effort and we will definitely be a team that will continue to improve as the year goes on.” The Gators wrestled extremely hard, getting some big wins and suffering some tough losses along the way and finishing in a solid eighth place. The four Gators to place in the top eight of the tournament were Tomm Ingle(160), finishing second, Wyatt Becker (113), placing third, John Westman (170), finishing seventh, and Jake Jenson (145), placing eighth.

                The Gators’ only finalist of the tournament, senior Tomm Ingle, picked up two pins and major decision en route to the semifinals. In the semifinals he took on Coach Bergeron nephew, Blake Bergeron of Crookston, controlling the match throughout to a solid 6-1 victory to advance to finals against a familiar opponent in TRF’s Holden Nelson. In a back in forth affair, featuring two ranked wrestlers, Tomm fell behind 6-4 midway through the third period and eventually escaped later in the match. His last second chance at a winning takedown came up just short though, falling to Nelson by a 6-5 score but still obtaining a solid second place finish and going 4-1 on the weekend.

                The Gators’ next highest placer, sophomore Wyatt Becker, took home a nice third place finish, his second consecutive such finish at the Big Bear tournament.  Wyatt picked up a pin, major decision and decision en route to his semifinals, falling to Bemidji’s Brian Maas (ranked #2 in AAA) by a 7-0 score. Wyatt responded and finished the tournament out strong, picking up a first period pin and then getting hard fought 4-1 victory over familiar foe, in TRF’s Stephen Holecek, to finish with a 5-1 record over the weekend.   

                The third Gators placer, senior John Westman, finished his roller coaster weekend off on the right track, picking up a second period pin over Gregor Fraser of Hutchinson and finishing the weekend with a 4-2 record. Gator junior Jake Jenson completed the weekend with a 3-3 record and picked up a good eighth place finish in his own up and down weekend, highlighted by a second period pin over Josh Becker of Staples-Motley to get into the placing round.

                Nick Kaml (120), Trevor Undeberg (126), Brandon Waage (132), Dakota Gullikson (138), Gunner Gust (152), and Ethen Daignault (195) wrestled hard, but didn’t place, going 2-2 on the weekend, with Kaml, Waage and Gust falling just one win short of placing. Beau Blumer (182), Doug Peterson (220), Cody Olafson (285) also competed on the weekend, finishing with 1-2 records during the tournament.

                The young Gator team should be proud of their eighth place finish, many of them competing in their first Big Bear tournament. They also know there is room for improvement, and will surely get back to the practice room and work extremely hard, facing Mahnomen-Waubun on Tuesday, December 18 in Mahnomen, and then in a tough triangular at Bemidji  on Thursday, December 20 against Moorhead and Bemidji, two solid triple A teams. The Gators will need to keep improving and come together as a team,  many looking to not only start or finish their high school career’s positively but continue the proud tradition that is Gator wrestling. GO GATORS!!!             

Big Bear Tournament Final Team Standings:

1. Hutchinson/Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 213.0

 2. Willmar 164.5

 3. Thief River Falls/Goodridge 151.5

 4. Bemidji 148.0

 5. Pequot Lakes/Pine River-Backus 147.0

 6. United North Central 126.0

 7. Barnesville 123.5

 8. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River 118.0

 9. New York Mills 113.0

 10. Fergus Falls 110.0

 11. Big Lake 109.0

 12. MAHACA 108.0

 13. Crookston 97.0

 14. Champlin Park 94.5

 15. Detroit Lakes .0

 16. Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale 80.0

 17. Blackduck/Cass Lake-Bena 78.0

 18. Aitkin 78.0

 19. Mahnomen/Waubun 64.0

 20. Park Rapids Area 63.5

 21. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley/Nevis 63.5

 22. United Clay Becker 60.0

 23. Crosby-Ironton 54.0

 24. Staples-Motley 53.0

 25. Hibbing 52.0

 26. Roseau 45.0

 27. Nashwauk-Keewatin/Greenway 45.0

 28. Fertile-Beltrami 44.0

 29. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 30.0

 30. Deer River 27.0

 31. West Marshall 24.0

 32. Wadena-Deer Creek 22.0

 33. Red Lake County Central 21.5

 34. Robbinsdale Cooper 18.0

 35. West Central Area/Ashby/Evansville 16.0