Category: Youth

Youth 5002 Club Starts Monday

A reminder that the youth 5002 Club starts on Monday.  Download the 2014 5002 Club details and calendar here.  The first year of the program started with 11 wrestlers completing the challenge, 13 the second year, and 15 last year.  Let’s see if we can get 17 wrestlers doing the workouts this year!

Several ZM youth and high school wrestlers are attending Inner Drive wrestling in Rochester.  Golden Gopher David Thorn (back row in blue shirt) led an outstanding practice on Wednesday.  Three ZM youth wrestlers are also pictured below.  See if you can find them.

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No plans this Saturday?  There is a PreK through 6th Grade Takedown Tournament in Watertown.

 

5002 Club Info; Z-M Camp Starts Monday

A reminder that the ZM Wrestling Camp starts Monday and will host Gopher wrestlers Kevin Steinhaus (June 2nd & 3rd) and Dylan Ness (June 4th & 5th).  Don’t miss out on this great opportunity.

The 5002 Club is back!  This is the fourth year of the summer/fall program for our youth. In the first 3 years, we had 11, 13, and 15 kids participate respectively.  You can download the 2014 5002 Club schedule and information here.  Check out the members from 2013 being introduced at the first varsity dual.

Looking for Youth Wrestlers to Attend Camp With Teammates

We currently have 2, perhaps 3 wrestlers attending a wrestling/activity camp July 19-22, and they are looking for some of their fellow wrestling teammates to join them.  The grades of the ZM boys looking to attend are 2nd, 3rd, and 5th.  The camp offers a good mixture of wrestling and outdoor activities.  Some of the activities include canoeing/kayaking, archery, team building, hiking, fishing, and bowling.

Last year ZM had 6 wrestlers attend the camp and the boys had a blast.   The camp offers very good one-on-one help in the wrestling room as well as good supervision during the outdoor activities.  The 6 ZM boys were among a group of 25 or so.  The camp is held at a state park so many of the outdoor activities are run by the Iowa DNR staff.  Last year all the ZM kids got to stay in the same room.  So if we can get enough wrestlers going, we will see if they can accommodate us in the same manner.

You can learn more about the camp at http://www.highaltitudewrestling.com/camps/summer-campsclinics/.  Our wrestlers are attending the Top/Bottom Wrestling Camp from July 19-22.  A reminder you can use your Kwik Trip money to help pay for the camp.  If you don’t know what the Kwik Trip program is, learn about it here.

Please e-mail me (chris.lexvold@gmail.com) if you are interested in having your wrestler attend.  I will get you in touch with the parents of the wrestlers that are currently attending so you can coordinate rides and exchange other details.

If you want to watch some wrestling this weekend, head down to the RCTC Fieldhouse and watch the MN/USA Kids & Cadets State Greco (Saturday) and State Freestyle (Sunday) tournaments.  Good luck to those participating!

11 Wrestlers Compete in Cannon Falls

We are in the middle of April and wrestling is alive and well at ZM!  11 wrestlers took part in the Greco/Freestyle Combo in Cannon Falls on Saturday.  It is thought to be a program record to have that many compete in a single GR/FS event.  Over 330 wrestlers attended the tournament from Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

Champions in both styles included Caden Steffen and Hayden Stensland.  Runners-up in both styles were Noah Prodzinski and Gabe Tupper.  Also placing were Luke Tupper, Evan Block, Wyatt Freiheit, Michael Majerus, Ashton Macht, Ethan Kovars, and Ryan Lexvold.

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Events for this upcoming weekend:

Cannon Falls Greco/Freestyle Open This Saturday

A reminder that the Cannon Falls GR/FS Open is this Saturday.  It is a qualifier for the MN/USA State Tournament.

Four wrestlers headed up to the Apple Valley tournament last week.  Hayden Stensland was the champion in both styles.  Also participating in the Freestyle portion on Saturday were Michael Majerus (2nd), Ryan Lexvold (4th), and Luke Tupper (5th).

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The youth celebrated their end of the season with a party on Sunday at the Mazeppa Community Center.  All wrestlers received a ZM Wrestling dog tag.  If you were unable to attend, your wrestler will be able to pick up their dog tag from school.  The Most Dedicated Wrestler for each grade was also recognized:

1st Grade: Anthony Perrotte
2nd Grade: Jack Krier
3rd Grade: Isaiah O’Reilly
4th Grade: Mason Edstrom
5th Grade: Ethan Kovars and Ashton Macht
6th Grade: Cole Poncelet

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4 Wrestlers Place at NYWA State; 7/8th Grade Team Earns 5th Place

Four Cougars placed at the NYWA State Individual Tournament this weekend.  Earning 3rd place were Cain Lexvold and Caden Steffen.  Placing 5th were Gunner Mancilman and Jacob Bennett.

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The 7/8th grade team placed 5th out of 32 teams at the NYWA State Team Tournament.

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Kaleb Lochner took 1st place in the NYWA Invite Tournament.  Several others also participated in the NYWA State and Invite Tournaments.  And Joey Majerus headed south to Cedar Falls, Iowa to wrestle in the USAW Junior/Cadet Folkstyle Nationals.  Congratulations to all!

The Apple Valley Greco/Freestyle Open is this Friday and Saturday.

Any old timers like myself looking to miss a few days of work due to extreme soreness and lack of conditioning should look into this next year.  Health insurance companies must cringe at the thought of such events.  Lacey says she would put on her old cheerleading uniform.

ZM Camp Announcement; Morning Lifting

ZM’s summer wrestling camp will host University of Minnesota Golden Gopher wrestlers Kevin Steinhaus (June 2nd & 3rd) and Dylan Ness (June 4th & 5th)!  Additional camp information will be coming in a Community Ed brochure.

The following wrestlers have shown up for many of the morning lifts from 6:30-7:30 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  We understand some live a long way out, and others are lifting after school because of spring sports, but these guys have made a consistent sacrifice to lift with their teammates in the morning.

1. Jacob Bennett
2. Spencer Defrang
3. Hayden Stensland
4. Hayden Voxland
5. Fletcher Bengtson
6. Caden Steffen
7. Maverick Jackson
8. Dillon Downes

The morning weight lifting opportunity continues to be dominated by our underclassmen….good job guys!  Thanks for leading the crew Maverick and Dillon….good work!  Remember guys, weight lifting will help you in ALL your sports and is a life long activity to keep you healthy!  Lift, Lift, Lift!!!!  It’s good for everything!

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Weekend Results and Schedule For This Week

ZM had wrestlers in 3 different tournaments on Saturday.  9 wrestlers attended STMA Tournament of Champions with Caden Steffen, Jacob Bennett, Spencer DeFrang, and Hayden Stensland all placing 1st.  Michael Vath, Hayden Voxland, Jarret Haglund, Sam Nordquist, and Luke Tupper all placed 3rd.

3 wrestled in the Eastview Freestyle Open.  Joey Majerus went 2-0 and both Evan Block and Noah Prodzinski went 1-2.

The K-6 team went 1-2 in the NYWA regional.  The team beat Goodhue and fell in a pair of close duals to KW and GMLOK.

Schedule For This Week

The 7th and 8th graders will not be going to Rochester or Cannon Falls for FS/GR practices this week so they can focus on the NYWA team state tourney.

There will be a K-6 open mat on Monday from 6-7:30.  If your wrestler wants to practice Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, have them line up a partner.  The wrestling room will be open each of those nights but no organized practices after Monday.

There are still several open weights for the NYWA Invite for anyone who wants another opportunity to wrestle.  The deadline looks to be 10PM tonight so don’t wait!

11 Wrestlers Qualify for NYWA State; Important Team Info

Z-M had 11 wrestlers place in the top 3 of their weight class at Regionals this weekend to advance to NYWA State.  Champions included Gunner Mancilman and Jacob Bennett.  Runners-up were Cain Lexvold, Jack Krier, Spencer DeFrang, Sam Nordquist, Caden Steffen, Garrett Huneke, and Michael Vath.  Placing 3rd were Mason Edstrom and Luke Krier.

Also earning a medal were Kyle Stensland and Gabe Tupper (4th), Kaleb Lochner, Ashton Macht, and Conner Heitman (5th), and Wyatt Freiheit (6th).

NYWA Region team qualifier is this Saturday in Eyota.  Here is the schedule for Saturday.

Youth schedule for this week:

  • Monday: Practice 6:00-7:30.
  • Thursday: Practice 6:00-7:30.
  • Friday: Practice after school, 3:30 to 5.  After practice we will car pool and weigh in at Kenyon.
  • Saturday: NYWA Team Qualifier in Eyota.  Team will meet in Mazeppa at 7:15.  MN/USA Freestyle State Qualifier at Eastview HS.

Be sure to RSVP to the end of the year party.  I hope to see everyone there!