http://theguillotine.com/college/0910/100228_d2superreg.pdf

Carter Adams had a good day as he advanced to the finals by beating former national qualifier, Ahsha Abu-Ali of Kansas State University. Abu-Ali could not put up with the constant pressure from the “Coon Rapids Cardinal.” Adams wore him down and road him like a “billy goat”—breaking his will and spirit. In the finals, Adams was able to revenge a loss from the Colorado State Open, held just two weeks ago in Ft. Collins. He shocked Aron Hynick from Wichita State in double overtime with a lighting quick sweep single giving Hynick only his third loss on the season.

North Dakota State senior Ryan Adams claimed the 141 pound title and junior Vince Salminen won the 157 pound title to lead the Bison at the NCAA West Regional on Saturday, March 6.  Both Adams and Salminen will now compete at the NCAA Championships March 18-20.  Ryan Adams is currently ranked No. 17 in the RPI.

Adams won his first regional title and his third career bid to the NCAA Championships.  He pinned Wyoming’s Chase Smith in 1:12 in the first round and then won a 10-4 decision over Kenny Hashimoto of Northern Colorado in the semifinal.  In the final, Adams avenged a dual loss to Air Force’s Cole Von Ohlen, winning a 5-4 decision. Adams and Von Ohlen wrestled three times this year with Adams winning two of the three- all were one point decisions.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – With eight All-Americans and three national runner-up individuals, the Augsburg College wrestling team claimed its 11th NCAA Division III national title in the last 20 seasons on Saturday evening at the U.S. Cellular Center. Augsburg finished with 110.5 points, 10 points better than second-place Wisconsin-La Crosse’s 100.5. Defending national champion Wartburg (Iowa) was third with 83.5 points, Coe (Iowa) was fourth with 76.0 points and Delaware Valley (Pa.) was fifth with 50.5 points.

At 157, Jason Adams (SR, Coon Rapids, Minn.) became the 35th Augsburg wrestler to earn three All-American honors, finishing in third place. Adams finished 46-5 this season and 136-25 in his career. Adams and his father, three-time All-American Bob Adams ’83, are the lone father-and-son combination in Augsburg wrestling history to both earn All-American honors.

Dreams came true and dreams came crashing down for many wrestlers in the Section 7AAA individual qualifying wrestling tournament this past weekend at St. Francis high school. Section 7AAA is tough. Very tough! And only the best of the best survive this “Mini State Tournament” to get to the next level, that some call the best high school tournament in the nation AKA “The Big Show!” Kahron Nix and Chad Mack both entered the tournament as the #1 seeds and both were defeated in the finals and had to reprove their “worthiness” by winning a true second bout in order to qualify. Nix and Mack proved that they in fact belong with the best of the best, by winning their true second matches and will be going after the title of State Champion next week in St. Paul.

Kahron Nix won his first two matches by tech fall and fall to propel him self into the finals. In the Championship final match, Nix was seemingly in control of #2 seed Sam Stewart from Andover, with a 6-3 lead and only 10 ticks left on the clock when he was caught in a lateral drop and put to his back for an agonizing defeat. Nix came back strong in the true second match by defeating #3 seed Ryan O’Connell by a 10-5 score.

Chad Mack won his first three bouts with two falls and a major decision, before running into the #2 seed Jake Lillie from STMA. These two squared off against each other back in December at the Cardinal Duals when Mack defeated Lillie by one point. This time around the results would be different with Mack getting the short end in a hard fought match and a 6-3 loss. Mack followed up that loss with a fall over Austin Stevens from Elk River to advance to the “Big Show”.

103  Cooper Anderson- placed third by going 3-1 on the weekend. Finished 25-10 on the season. Pressure get to many wrestlers this time of the year. The pressure of winning, making weight, making weight knowing you may not qualify. In fact, the #2 rated wrestler in the state got in a fight the day before his  section tournament- was he afraid of getting beat by #1? It happens every year, kids do funny things to eliminate themselves. Cooper felt he really didn’t stand a chance going into sections this year. In fact Coop called me 15 minutes before the section seeding meeting and told me he didn’t want to wrestle. We talked at length and Coop made the decision that he would wrestle- AND HE DID! Super Duper Cooper Anderson made us proud by overcoming his pressure and did not succumb to it like so many others. Great job Cooper!

112  Luke Stocker- Our captain, our leader who led by example all year long. went 1-2 in the tournament and finished 19-21 on the season. Stocker is one of the most intelligent kids on our squad in the class room and on the mat. A stand out runner on the cross country team, Luke would run like a deer to get down to weight and often was on weight the day before weigh-ins.  Luke will be missed as will all our seniors.

119 Darren Gagne- talk about a gut wrenching loss! Gagne won his first two matches including a tough 1-0 victory over Beamon from Anoka before being defeated in the finals. Gagne then wrestled in the true second match and was ahead 1-0 late in the third period when he was reversed with 2 seconds left on the clock to lose 2-1. At the buzzer you could hear the “ahhhh” from the crown demonstrating their disbelief in the heart wrenching loss. Section 7AAA is tough- very tough and the margin between victory and defeat is very slim.

130  Dan Coughlin another Captain and leader went 1-2 in the tournament and 25-16 for the season. Dan will also be missed. Dan is a quiet leader but he has a huge heart and leaves it all on the mat. Dan is also a cross country wrestler and uses his superior conditioning to break his opponents. Dan flat out works his guys from start to finish.

135  Patrick Freese – smiley, I’ve never seen a kid smile sooo much! This kid is always laughing and joking around. Patrick is the free spirit of our team. Everyone loves being around Patrick! Patrick wrestled at the toughest weight in the section tournament with five kids with 20 or more wins. Patrick wasn’t a regular on the varsity but was a team player and did what our staff asked of him. Patrick didn’t really want to wrestle in the section tournament because he said he wouldn’t win any matches- well Patrick did win a match and proved himself wrong! Great job Patrick! Patrick is also a senior and will be missed.

145 Matt Julkowski went 1-2 in the tournament. Matt didn’t start wrestling until ninth grade so he has shown dramatic improvement in a very short time. Matt is also one of those kids who leaves it all on the mat every time. If only Matt would have started sooner what might have been.

152 Austin Lubinski went 2-2 in the tournament and was 21-19 on the season. Any time a wrester gets 20+ wins that is a considered a pretty good season. Getting 20+ wins and only a sophomore is even a better sign of things to come from Austin. If history is any indicator, Austin will be back on the mat and in the weight room over most of the summer. I’d expect that 20 wins to be closer to 30+ wins by this time next year.

160 Jacob Emerfoll went 2-2 and was 13-15 on the season. Jacob had big wins for us this season in the Anoka and Centennial duals. Jacob is a senior and will be missed as well. Jacob has grown up quite a bit in the last 12 months and has become a very good person. At the start of the season we worked very hard getting Jacob back to Coon Rapids where he belonged and all that work was worth every minute.

171 Brandt Halseth- Yes, Brandt not Brad, Brandt ok? Wade, see I know his name Brandt Halseth went 1-2 on the weekend and was 15-20 overall. If Brandt continues to make strides on his technique he will be someone to recon with next season- guaranteed! Brandt is very strong and a very good athlete. We’ll be giving Brandt some special attention this summer to make sure he takes that next step up the podium!

189 Michael Burckhardt went 2-2 and was 12-15 during the season. Michael had a very good section tournament as well losing in the true second place match. Michael is only a ninth grader and is very much a free spirit like Mr. Freese.  I noticed a few changes in Michael toward the end of the season. Michael started getting the eye of the tiger. His intensity level was notched up and he started getting a wee bit meaner- I like itJ

215 Chris Biggerstaff 0-2 on the weekend and 4-17 overall. Chris is the epitome of persistence! Some run from a challenge-this kid meets it head on- he isn’t afraid and he isn’t intimidated- you may defeat him but he will always battle you to the end. Chris may not have a spectacular record like some other kids but some of those same kids don’t have the work ethic Chris has. Chris has been a pleasure to coach this season.

285 Tanner Lowe was 2-2 and 25-12 on the season. What might have been! All I can say is that there are kids in the “Big Show” that are breathing a sigh of relief today, knowing that Tanner will not be in it. Tanner was another Cardinal Wrestler who lost at the buzzer. With a 4-2 lead and 15 seconds remaining Tanner was reversed and put on his back. Tanner handled his loss with great dignity and will learn from it-making him even better! All year long Tanner was the last kid to leave the room. I think it’s safe to say that you haven’t heard the last from Tanner Lowe!

And for the rest of our seniors:

Brandon Peterson- Brandon was a starter for most of the season but lost his spot when Kahron dropped. Brandon struggled with maintaining his weight all year long but never complained or became a mental midget like so many weaker kids do. Brandon was a rock all year long. When Kahron dropped to 125 Brandon could have called it quits but he still dropped to 125 to help the team even though he knew he may not be wrestling. Thank you Brandon.

Brandon Grahn- Brandon broke his arm half way through the season and had to call it a season. Although Brandon’s season was over he never missed a practice after. Brandon has found other ways to contribute to the team by helping our managers with their duties and running errands for the coaches. Brandon wasn’t happy with how his season ended but he made the most of it.

Colton Adams- Colton, will be the last of the Adams’ family to have the privilege of wearing a Cardinal uniform. Wrestling reveals your character in many ways. Wrestling reveals who the hardest workers are, the gifted athletes, the mentally tough people as well as the weak. I’ll say it again -the sport has a way of revealing us, for who we really are.  Colton wasn’t born a gifted wrestler- he has worked for every thing he has achieved. Colton’s brother and cousins all were very successful wrestlers. Colton had a very tough act to follow. The beauty of Colton’s character is he doesn’t pretend to be anybody else, but who he is- Colton Adams. Colton isn’t jealous of his brothers success- he’s proud of it. Colton doesn’t live in anyone else’s shadow because he is making his own shadow. Colton is an excellent student and has worked very hard at the sport of wrestling since he was a little boy and has had his share of success. Colton was a team player and had some big wins this season as well as Perfect Attendance AGAIN! I’m sure he will use all what wrestling has taught him, as all wrestlers do. I am very proud of Colton’s efforts.

Before the Cards knew it, they were in a hole and down by six points after the first three bouts.  On paper the Cardinals hoped to win the first eight matches in this dual knowing they would need a big lead due to Anoka’s solid upper weights.    The Cardinals then rattled off five straight wins in a row starting with a tech fall by Kahron Nix.  Brandon Peterson followed up with another gritty performance by overcoming cramps winning 4-2. The Cards then had consecutive victories of 7-2 by Captain Dan Coughlin and Matt Julkowski.  Captain Chad Mack scored 12 takedowns in his match to score a 27-9 tech fall.  (27 points is not a misprint).

At 152 Austin Lubinski, who spent most of the week at home because of the flu, lost to Anoka’s best wrestler Kyle Begin.  Making the team score 22 to 14.  The coaching staff for the Cardinals knew that they were in trouble.  Somebody had to step up.  Jake Emmerfoll did just that.  The coaching staff weighed in Lubinski and Emmerfoll  both at 152 and decided to give Emmerfoll a crack at Ducharme who had previously beaten Lubinski at the Rumble on the Red.  Emmerfoll gave up an early take down and was behind throughout most of the match, however, in wrestling you are required to wrestle the entire match and Emmerfoll  rose to the occasion and got a take down with 13 seconds in the match to secure a 4-3 victory.  Giving the Cardinals a much needed win.  At 171 Brandt Halseth lost a close 5-2 match. This was a match that could have gone either way. Halseth was repeatedly in on his opponents legs but came up short in the end. Buddy Falconer then lost by fall and Michael Burckhardt, who bumped up in weight to 215 pounds lost 3-2 giving the lead to Anoka 26-25 with one match remaining.  FLASHBACK:  Tanner Lowe defeated Johnson from Anoka in a close 3-2 match at the Christmas Tournament in December making the outcome of this dual very much in question.  Tanner Lowe, the bigger and more aggressive wrestler, out pointed Johnson with the benefit of two penalty points to win 4-2 to give the Cardinals a 28-26 victory and a piece of the NWSC Conference Championship.  In the end Coon Rapids had defeated all conference teams including Elk River in the rematch at Blaine. All Cardinal wrestlers will receive their conference patch at the wrestling banquet that will be held on March 23^rd in the Coon Rapids High School cafeteria.

The Cards lost the next match but then turned the tide by pulling off two upsets with falls by Jacob Emerfoll at 152lbs. and Austin Lubinski at 160lbs. Emerfoll was down 8-1 when he stepped over his opponent put him to his back and scored the fall. Lubinski was behind 3-2 when he scored his fall giving the Cards much needed breathing room. At 171lbs Brandt Halseth, who has been working hard on his takedowns every night, scored a mild upset of his own winning his match over a quality opponent putting the match mathematically out of reach for Centennial. Tanner Lowe closed the door by getting a little revenge with a 5-4 win over the Centennial opponent who had pinned him early in the season.

Centennial and Coon Rapids still have Anoka remaining on their respective schedules so the conference title is still up for grabs. Anoka wrestles Centennial this week and Coon Rapids will wrestle Osseo this Thursday and Anoka next week at Anoka.

Conference Matches
Champlin   W
Maple Grove W
Centennial  W
Park Center W
Andover    W
Blaine      W
Elk River   L  (we could see Elk River this weekend in the Blaine Duals)

I just want to touch base and let you know the Minnesota sports Broadcast Network will be broadcasting this event Live Friday night on our website www.mnsportsnetwork.com <http://www.mnsportsnetwork.com>   The matches we will be showing live as follows-

1st round- Cambridge VS. CoonRapids

2nd round- CoonRapids VS. Forest Lake

3rd round-  Cambridge VS. Forest Lake

If you have any Info on your wrestlers or records it would great if you could send me those. Any questions feel free to contact me.

Josh LeVoir

MSBN

763-300-2723

# 6 COON RAPIDSCARDINALS

-VS-

BLAINE  BENGALS

Thursday, January 14th

@ 6:00pm JV    7:15pm Varsity

Join us at the Shortstop following the dual for free food and beverage.

“47 Years of Cardinal Pride and Tradition”

Dear Wrestling Alumni and Friends,

The Coon Rapids Cardinal’s 47th wrestling season is under way, and the Cards are currently 9-2 and rated # 6 in the state by the Guillotine Newspaper. We are working hard on the tradition of success that many of you set the standard for. Speaking of success, last year’s “Alumni and Friends Night” was a huge success- we had many compliments on the large number of Alumni that showed up!

You are invited to our annual “Alumni and Friends Night” on Thursday night, February 14th when the Cards host the Blaine Bengals. We’ve done everything for you, all you have to do is show up! It’s been about a year since the last “Alumni and Friends Night” when we were all together.  As friends and alumni of our program, you are a very important part of our wrestling family. We invite you to bring guests and spend the evening with us to watch the Coon Rapids Cardinals at Coon Rapids High School starting with the J.V. at 6:00pm  and the Varsity at 7:15pm.

The Alumni will be introduced between the JV match the Varsity at approximately 6:45pm, so please be prompt.

The fun doesn’t stop there since we have reserved the back room of the Shortstop on Foley and Northdale Blvd. after the match for a little camaraderie, war stories, fun, and music. We’ve ordered hors d’oeuvres as well as beverages for you at no cost- remember we take care of our own! Please make an effort to join us in celebrating many years of “Cardinal Pride and Tradition”. So, mark your calendars and come out and cheer on the home team! We look forward to seeing you there!!

If you would like to be on our e-mail list, please send an e-mail to bob.adams@anoka.k12.mn.us to be kept up to date on the latest information on our program or check out our web site at coonrapidswrestling.com.

Sincerely Yours,

Coach Bob Adams &

The Coon Rapids Wrestling Staff

*Please remember to pick up your free souvenir and check in at the Alumni and Friends table. This is the only notice you will receive so we hope to see you there! Apparel will also be available for purchase – all proceeds benefit our wrestlers.

“47 Years of Cardinal Pride and Tradition”