Nix and Mack Qualify for State/Sr.’s Will be Missed!
ByNix and Mack Qualify for “The Big Show”
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.
