Youth – Page 13 – Zumbrota-Mazeppa Cougar Wrestling

ZM Wrestling Staying Active This Summer

Between camps, parades, and tournaments, ZM Wrestling is staying active this summer. Over 25 high school wrestlers are currently at the Malecek Team Camp in Wisconsin Dells. Many wrestlers have also been attending InnerDrive in Rochester.

Caden Steffen traveled to Rockford, Illinois to compete in the Northern Plains Greco and Freestyle Championships, placing 2nd and 4th respectively. Isaiah O’Reilly took part in the Southland Summer Smash last weekend and earned 2nd.

When not on the mat, the 2015 State Runner-Up team rode a float in the Zumbrota parade and will do it again at Mazeppa Daze.

Joel Bauman and ZM Wrestling Coaches Host Summer Camp

Approximately 60 K-12 wrestlers took part in the ZM Wrestling Summer Camp last week led by Joel Bauman and the ZM Wrestling coaches. Thank you to all those who participated.

Lake City is holding a wrestling camp July ~~21-23~~ 27-29 for 5th thru 12th graders.

5002 Club starts next month. Here is the calendar.

Adopt-a-Highway at 5PM, Freestyle Practice at 7:30

Adopt-a-Highway cleanup is scheduled for tomorrow Tuesday, April 14th. Wrestlers and volunteers are to meet at Link’s house at 5 PM. Appropriate dress would include pants, gloves, and old shoes or work boots. Safety vests and garbage bags will be provided.

Freestyle/Greco practice has been pushed back one hour to 7:30 PM for Tuesday to allow enough time to do roadside cleanup and attend practice.

The youth program held their annual end of the year party at the Mazeppa Community Center. A potluck was had followed by awards and games. Thanks again to everyone for their efforts this year!

Caden Steffen, Spencer DeFrang, Ryan Lexvold, and Michael Majerus competed in Apple Valley at the Freestyle tournament on Saturday. Ryan also wrestled in the Greco event on Friday night.

Upcoming Events

Tuesday – Adopt-a-Highway at 5:00. FS/GR practice for Grades K-12 at 7:30
Saturday – St. Francis Greco & Freestyle MN/USA State Qualifier

9 Wrestlers Active This Weekend; Joel Bauman to Lead Practice Monday Night in Mazeppa

A total of 9 wrestlers continued to work on their craft this weekend. 7 wrestled Freestyle in Eastview on Saturday. They were Jacob Bennett, Michael Majerus, Hayden Voxland, Caden Steffen, Ryan Lexvold, Jarret Haglund, and Tyler Soltau. Hayden Stensland and Maverick Jackson traveled to Iowa and competed against the nation’s best in the USA Folkstyle Nationals.

We are excited to have Joel Bauman leading our FS/GR practice tomorrow night at 6:30 in Mazeppa. Joel is a 2010 graduate from Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg. He is a 2x Minnesota state champion and part of the 2009 KMS state championship team. In 2007, he was a Cadet national champ in Greco, 2008 (2nd), 2009 (8th) and 2010 (2nd). Earned Greco All-American honors at Junior Nationals in Fargo. Joel went on to wrestle for the University of Minnesota, but had concussion problems resulting in his college career to be cut short. This past year he got back in mat. Over Christmas Joel competed in the Minnesota Storm Holiday Cup against the top Greco athletes in Minnesota placing 2nd. He recently got back from training at the Olympic training site in Colorado. There he trained with top athletes in USA and is ranked #8 in the nation at his weight class.

Upcoming Events

Monday – FS/GR practice for Grades K-12 from 6:30 to 7:30 led by Joel Bauman
Wednesday – Booster Club meeting at 6:30 in Mazeppa School Library.
Friday & Saturday – Apple Valley Greco & Freestyle MN/USA State Qualifier
Sunday, April 12 – Youth end of the year party starting at noon in the Mazeppa Community Center. Full details here.

9 Wrestlers Qualify for NYWA State

Nine K-8 wrestlers qualified for the NYWA State Tournament by placing in the top 3 of their division this weekend. Earning trips were Sam Moore, Cole Schiell, Jack Krier, Kaleb Lochner, Ryan Lexvold, Jack Smothers, Tanner Mancilman, John Poulin, and Tyler Soltau. Also placing in the top 6 were Gunner Mancilman, Isaiah O’Reilly, Mason Edstrom, and Cole Poncelet.

Leading the Freestyle/Greco-Roman practice this Tuesday will be Paul Pagel. Paul was a Junior Greco-Roman All-American. He was also an All-American wrestler for the Mavericks of Minnesota State University, Mankato. Practice will run from 6:30 to 7:30 PM Tuesday in Mazeppa. Don’t miss out on this chance to learn some great upper body technique.

Summer wrestling practices for Grades 3-6 are being offered through InnerDrive of Rochester. Here is more information regarding these practices along with a sign-up form.

Upcoming Events

Tuesday- Youth open mat 6:00-6:30 PM. FS/GR practice for Grades K-12 from 6:30 to 7:30.
Thursday thru Sunday- NYWA State and Invite Tournaments at Mayo Civic Center

Youth Update; K-12 Freestyle Practice Tuesday in Mazeppa

The youth team season came to an end today bowing out in Eyota at the Region 1 qualifier. We have many wrestlers still alive in the individual competition that will take place Friday and Saturday in Byron. The youth will practice on Tuesday from 6:00 to 6:30, and again on Thursday. All are welcome to stay for the Freestyle/Greco-Roman practice from 6:30 to 7:30 on Tuesday that will be led by Chad Matthees.

A reminder to all individuals who qualified for regions: you need to register by Tuesday at 5 PM on the NYWA-MN.com website.

Upcoming Events

Tuesday- Youth open mat 6:00-6:30 PM. FS/GR practice for Grades K-12 from 6:30 to 7:30.
Thursday- Youth open mat 6:00-7:00 PM
Friday/Saturday- NYWA Individual Regions in Byron.

Freestyle and Greco-Roman Practices in Mazeppa

ZM wrestling is having Freestyle/Greco-Roman open mat practices once a week starting Tuesday, March 17th in the Mazeppa wrestling room. A total of 9 practices for any ZM wrestler K-12. There is no cost. Currently scheduled and very excited to lead these practices include Chad Matthees, Paul Pagel, and Joey Majerus.

Here is a great article that explains why one should consider wrestling Greco-Roman and Freestyle in the spring. In short- these practices are designed to be relaxed and fun, yet very productive. No worries about cutting weight. No pressure from a team. You can focus on individual skills and experiment with different things. Don’t worry about not knowing the ins-and-outs of these styles, wrestling is wrestling. My son Ryan really enjoys FS/GR and looks forward to attending the practices as well as the local and regional tournaments.

The current schedule is as follows. Practices will run from 6:30 – 7:30 PM.

Tuesday, March 17
Tuesday, March 24
Tuesday, March 31
Monday, April 6
Tuesday, April 14
Tuesday, April 21
Tuesday, April 28
Tuesday, May 5
Thursday, May 14

More information about FS/GR and a calendar of tournaments can be found at http://www.mnusawrestling.org/.

Another oppoturnity is the Cannon Falls Mat Rats Freestyle Program. It starts Tuesday, March 17th. The practices are open for K-12 and are held Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:30 PM until 8:00 PM. Full calendar is here. The practices are run by Chad Otterness.

Youth Update: March 8, 2015

29 wrestlers took part in either the MN/USA Kids & Cadets State Folkstyle tournament or NYWA district qualifier this weekend. Placing at the MN/USA tournament were Sam Moore (3rd), Ethan Kovars (5th), and Hayden Voxland (3rd). Also participating at MN/USA were John Poulin, Jarret Haglund, Sam Nordquist, Tyler Soltau, Hayden Stensland, Luke Tupper, and Jacob Bennett. Wrestling at NYWA were Lincoln Toombs, Cole and Lucas Schiell, Leo and Jent Beyer, Carl and Ben Murray, Gunner and Tanner Mancilman, Cain and Ryan Lexvold, Kaleb Lochner, Isaac Moore, Jack Krier, Isaiah O’Reilly, Jack Smothers, Ashton Macht, Nathan Haltom, Cole Poncelet, and John Poulin. My apologies if I missed anyone.

We have 8 ZM Wrestling community calendars still available. These calendars run March through April 2016 and are personalized with birthdays and anniversaries. Cost is $10. If interested, you can get a hold of Lacey Lexvold or stop by Zumbrota Eye Care.

Please note the youth will be practicing Tuesday and Friday this week due to Parent-Teacher conferences. We also have the opportunity to weigh in on Saturday for the team tournament on Sunday. We will e-mail our youth parents with more information later this week once we have the details.

Upcoming Events

Tuesday- Open mat practice in new wrestling room. 6:00-7:15 PM.
Friday- Open mat practice in new wrestling room. 6:00-7:15 PM. NYWA District Qualifier in Austin.
Saturday- NYWA District Qualifier in Stewartville. Jaycees Regional Qualifier in Goodhue.
Sunday, March 15th- NYWA Team Region Qualifier in Eyota. Wrestling starts at 9.

Youth Update; Important NYWA and MN/USA Information

5 wrestlers traveled to Waseca today to get one last tune-up before NYWA districts begin. Attending were Carl Murray, Cain and Ryan Lexvold, Nathan Haltom, and Jack Smothers.

NYWA

NYWA is a wrestling association that holds a series of individual and team wrestling tournaments for kids in 8th grade and under. All wrestlers who participate in an NYWA tournament must purchase an NYWA membership. The NYWA District tournaments are held annually the first two weekends following the Minnesota State High School Wrestling tournament. Wrestlers who place 1st or 2nd at Districts will advance to the Regional tournament. At Regions, a wrestler must place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in the weight class to advance to the NYWA State tournament. NYWA groups wrestlers by these ages and weight classes.

Anyone planning on wrestling in the Plainview NYWA qualifier on Friday should purchase an NYWA membership and get their Plainview registration form in the mail by Tuesday.

MN/USA Kids & Cadets Folkstyle State Tournament

MN/USA Wrestling is the state affiliate organization for USA Wrestling. All wrestlers who participate in a USA tournament must buy a USA Wrestling membership. The MN/USA Folkstyle State Tournament is March 6-8th. MN/USA uses these ages and weight classes. Novice division and younger (born 2004 or later) must have already qualified in one of the MN/USA open tournaments. Schoolboy and Cadets do not need to qualify. However, everyone must pre-register on-line by tonight at 8 PM.

If you have any questions regarding these tournaments, please ask one of the coaches at the next practice.

Upcoming Events

Monday- Practice. PreK-3rd at 5:45. 4th-6th at 6:45. This is the last practice before we combine all grades for open mat.
Thursday- Open mat practice in new wrestling room. 6:00-7:15 PM.
Friday- NYWA District Qualifier in Plainview.
Friday thru Sunday- MN/USA Folkstyle State Tournament

Youth Jr. Team Goes 3-1; Varsity Will Be At Practice Tomorrow Night

The K-3 team traveled to Waseca today and brought home 3rd place. We were able to defeat Adrian, Faribault, and Pine Island while losing to GMLOKS. The hard work these guys are putting in shown through today. Great job boys!

A special treat for tomorrow night’s youth practice- the varsity will be in the wrestling room to be introduced and hopefully can stay to show some moves and help lead practice. 4th through 6th graders are welcome to come to the early practice to take advantage of this opportunity as well. Come with questions and learn how these guys became the best of Section 1A!

The full schedule for State team and individual is here. The team will wrestle their first dual at 11:00 AM on Thursday at the X. Go cheer them on in person, there is no other experience quite like it.

State wrestling and Mat Rat t-shirts are for sale.

Upcoming Events:

Monday- Practice. PreK-3rd at 5:45. 4th-6th at 6:45 but arrive early to meet varsity wrestlers.
Thursday- Watch Cougar team at the X.
Friday/Saturday- Watch Cougar individuals at the X.
Sunday- Waseca individual tournament