Gators Take Down Cougars

By: Ryan Bergeron

                Looking to finish off the last week before Christmas break on a high note and coming off of an eighth place finish at the Big Bear tournament, the Gators looked to bring a solid effort against Section opponent, the Mahnomen-Waubun Cougars. The Gators went on to win 11 of the 14 matches to post a solid 63-13 victory. Coach Bergeron commented on his team’s fifth victory of the young season, “I thought the kids wrestled hard and were really going after the pins, it was fun to watch the feature match of the night when Tomm Ingle and Garret Hoffner locked horns. It was a match that will help both wrestlers in the long run.”

                The dual started out with two pins for the Gators, IsaakIsane (103) getting his in the first period and Wyatt Becker (113) posting his own with seven seconds remaining in the match, following a late cradle. The Gators Nick Kaml (120) and Trevor Undeberg (126) each accepted forfeits to give the Gators a quick 24-0 lead.

                Hunter Gullikson then took the mat for the Gators against Mahnomen-Waubun’sKole Lefebvre at 132, looking to keep the Gators rolling. Hunter wrestled hard throughout, fighting off some tough pinning combinations,but in the end he fell by a 14-2 major decision. The Gators’ Brandon Waage (138) got the Gators back on track, picking up the team’s third pin of the match in the first period. Next  came the most tense-filled match of the night, with the Gators’ Jake Jenson taking the mat against Mahnomen Waubun’sKody Lefebvre at 145. In a back and forth match for the first two periods, Jake went down in the third and fought off numerous pinning combinations to hang on and win by narrow 7-6, helping the Gators to 33-4 lead.

                After the Gators Corey Hasbrouck accepted a forfeit at 152, Tomm Ingle took the mat against Mahnomen-Waubun standout Garret Hoffner at 160, a match featuring two Big Bear finalists and state ranked wrestlers. Tom fell behind early in the match, but continued to wrestle hard and eventually fell in a very entertaining and hard fought match by a 6-1 score; the Gator still led 39-7.  Gunner Gust (170) and John Westman (182) followed for the Gators, picking up their own first period pins, the fourth and fifth pins for their team.

                The Gators then sent out EthenDaignault at 195 against Mahnomen-Waubun’sKalHandyside. Ethen wrestled hard to start out with, but was caught and pinned late in the first period. Following Beau Blummeraccepting the injury default for the Gators at 220, Cody Olafson took to the mat for BGMR, finishing the match off right for his team, getting an emotional pin midway through the first period; the Gators won the dual 63-13.

                The Gator JV also competed, all wrestling hard and winning seven of the eleven matches. Those picking up victories were Devin Pries, Jacob Berger, Logan Anderson, Nash Sovde, DaronSikorski, Elias Jacobson and Bryce Bergeron. Nice job to the Gator JV; keep working hard and continuing to improve!

                With this victory, the Gators moved their dual record to 5-1, a tough triangular awaiting them in Bemidji on Thursday, December 20 against two AAA teams, in Bemidji and Moorhead. The Gators will again get back to the practice room and continue to work hard and come together as team, looking to finish their pre-holiday schedule by wrestling as hard as they can. A huge thanks to all of those who havesupported the Gators to start the year, as the support means a lot to them.  The young Gators will need great support as they head into a tough triangular to finish before the break, but they will surely be ready for the challenge. GO GATORS!!

BGMR 63 Mahnomen-Waubun 13

106: IsaakIsane (BGMR) fall over Mike Bisek(MW) 1:22

113: Wyatt Becker (BGMR) fall over Shawn Neisen (MW) 5:53

120: Nick Kaml (BGMR) won by forfeit

126: Trevor Undeberg (BGMR) won by forfeit

132: Kole Lefebvre (MW) major decision over Hunter Gullikson (BGMR) 14-2

138: Brandon Waage (BGMR) fall over Ryan McArthur (MW) 1:31

145: Jake Jenson (BGMR) over Kody Lefebvre (MW) 7-6

152: Corey Hasbrouck (BGMR) won by forfeit

160: Garrett Hoffner (MW) over Tomm Ingle (BGMR) 6-1

170: Gunner Gust (BGMR) pin over Dallas Lanoue (MW) :45

182: John Westman (BGMR) pin over Jake Worms (MW) 1:04

195: KalHandyside (MW) pin over EthenDaignault (BGMR) 1:45

220: Beau Blummer (BGMR) won by inj. Default over Miguel Tonihka-Martinez (MW)

285: Cody Olafson (BGMR) pin over Alex Medina (MW) 1:04