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Honker wrestling team off to a great start

For the second time in as many weeks, the Honker wrestling team has done well, this time finishing fourth in the Kenmare Invitational Tournament.

12/12/17 (Tue)

Honkers finish fourth... Nicolia Topolski wrestles Aden Jensen of Rugby in the semifinal of the 126-pound weight class of the Kenmare Invitational Tournament last Friday. It was Topolski's only loss on the day as he pinned three other opponents to work his way up to third place in the weight class, scoring 18 team points for the Honkers.                                                                  Photo by Andrea Topolski

By Marvin Baker

For the second time in as many weeks, the Honker wrestling team has done well, this time finishing fourth in the Kenmare Invitational Tournament.

Kenmare Tournament

Two wrestlers, Lathan Stroklund and Josh Baumann, each took second place in their respective weight divisions while Jaxson Holter, Andrew Christensen, Nicolia Topolski, Michael Schlosser and Colter France each finished third in their weight class.

Among the seven of them, 105 team points of a total 138 were scored which tied the Honkers with Watford City for fourth place.

Des Lacs/Burlington won the tournament with 173, followed by Northern Lights at 157, Rugby, 139.5, Kenmare and Watford City 138, Stanley, 78.5, Tioga, 53, MonDak, 44, Velva, 43 and Killdeer, 41.

Honker head coach Danny Mogren said he isn’t quite sure how to react because it’s been so long since the team has been in the thick of the competition.

“As a coach, for how many years have I just focused on individuals wrestling,” Mogren said? “It’s been so long since I’ve paid attention to the team scores. It’s quite a change.”

Mogren said in the past few years, he was just used to forfeiting up to 36 points because of empty weight classes, so having nearly every one filled is refreshing for him as a coach and it motivates the wrestlers.

Holter, at 106 pounds, lost his first match in a major decision to Ridley Odden of Rugby, but then reeled off four consecutive wins including three pins and a forfeit win to amass 15 points and finish third.

Holter’s most impressive win was a 26-second pin of Brenden Kleespie of Rugby in round 5.

Christensen pushed his record to 9-1 at 113 pounds after he received a buy then lost his first match, later got two pins and a decision to finish third and pick up 14 team points.

In his third-place match, Christensen pinned Luke Lunday of Northern Lights in 57 seconds.

Topolski finished solid for the second week in a row, taking third at 126 and picking up 18 Honker points.

Topolski opened with a bye, got a pin in the quarterfinal, lost in the semifinal, then pinned his last two wrestlers including Elijah Horner of Velva at 2:47 in the third-place match.

Stroklund, who wrestles at 138, came off a disappointing tournament in Velva to nail down second place in front of the hometown fans.

Stroklund’s 20 points came on the strength of three consecutive wins including two pins and a decision, vaulting him to the title match where he lost a 9-2 decision to Lyle Lunday of Northern Lights.

Schlosser tallied 16 points and a third-place finish with two pins, including his third-place match over Darrion Wilson of Northern Lights in 5:16. His other pin came in the quarterfinal when he stuck Austin Richardson of MonDak in 2:50.

France, who has experience wrestling in Colorado, took third at 182 for the Honkers. He won his first round by decision, won his third round with a 50-second pin of Luis Barriga of Tioga and took third with a 13-4 major decision over Cole Schneibel of Rugby in round 5. France picked up 12 team points.

Baumann continues to be a strong wrestler, taking second at 220 and scoring 20 team points.

He pinned his first opponent in 39 seconds, then won by injury default after 11 seconds, but lost the championship match to Liam McFadden of Killdeer in a 1:39 pin.

Others wrestling for the Honkers on Friday included Derrick Handeland, Maverick Ford, fourth place, Xylis Holter, Brayden Nunberg, Wry Miller, Justin Childress, Logan Herfindahl, Sheldon Skar, Payton Witt, fourth place, Brennit Jensen and Zane Miller.

Stanley Jr. High Tournament

Kenmare’s junior high wrestlers continue to dominate their competition with three wrestlers finishing first and four finishing second in the Stanley Junior Varsity/Junior High Tournament held on Saturday.

Derrick Handeland was second at 97 with a first-round pin and a medical forfeit win.Maverick Ford pinned all three of his opponents at 105, Jaxson Holter pinned all his opponents at 112 and Andrew Christensen took first at 124 with a 9-0 major decision, a pin and a two-overtime decision.

Aiden Melin took second at 81, Xylis Holter was second at 124 and Wry Miller took second at 133.

Logan Herfindahl and Joshua Mariner were third-place finishers. Herfindahl took third in a round-robin that included his opening round win over Luke Uhlich of Tioga in 17 seconds and Mariner to third with a pin.

Others wrestling for the Honkers included Sheldon Skar, Anthony Topolski, Logan Stroklund and Joshua Mariner. Skar, Topolski and Stroklund finishing in fourth place... Read EVERY WORD on EVERY PAGE of The Kenmare News by subscribing--online or in print!