Join us for Freestyle & Greco this year!
Waconia Wrestling Club will again be offering a Freestyle/Greco program for kids (boys and girls) ages 1st grade - 12th grade (at least 1 year of Folkstyle wrestling experience required to participate) to grow their technical skills and to grow in their knowledge and fundamentals of the sport by training in these international styles. Freestyle & Greco-Roman are the 2 primary styles trained internationally and are different in their rules, scoring and terminology compared to American Folkstyle wrestling. Both are exciting and fast paced and will help your wrestler make gains in their technique and skillset for the next Folkstyle season.
REGISTRATION:
For all 7-12th Grade wrestlers, registration is due by 3/19 and for all Youth wrestlers registration is due by 4/5. Registration after 4/5 will be available as capacity allows.
PROGRAM DETAILS:
Coaches/Clinicians & Staff: Max McEnelly, Tim Stapleton, Tyler Safratowich, Nate Matousek, Manny Rivera, Jon May, Jeff Katherman
Cost: $75 registration fee (after 4/5) for any non-Waconia wrestlers (from the 2023-24 season). FREE for all Waconia wrestlers. USAW Membership required for all participants.
7-12th Grade Practice / Training Schedule: 7-12th Grade Group: April 9th - May 9th / Tuesdays & Thursdays from 7:00 - 8:00pm
Youth Practice / Training Schedule: 1st - 6th Grade Practice Group: April 9th - May 9th / Tuesdays & Thursdays from 6:00 - 7:00pm
Rules Clinic & Mini-Tournament with Chaska/Chanhassen - April 18th
KEY DATES & ADDITIONAL TRAINING:
See mnusawrestling.org for all MNUSA Open Freestyle/Greco Tourneys
April 6th (Freestyle) - Eastview Tourney
April 12th (Greco) & 13th (Freestyle) - Apple Valley Greco & Freestyle Tourney
April 19th (Greco) & April 20th (Freestyle) - Forest Lake Combo Tournament
April 27th Freestyle & Greco (Combo) - Hutchinson Open
Regional Training Site Practices & Info (Augsburg University)
May 4th-5th MNUSA Freestyle & Greco State Tournament (Rochester Mayo Civic Center)
May 11th-12th Northern Plains Freestyle/Greco Regional Tournament (Rochester Community & Technical College)
Thank you to ALL who attended the inaugural Waconia Girls Wrestling Camp, held on July 25-26, 2023. Over 60 girls attended the camp, which was run by clinicians and camp staff members: Brian Moyer, Marlynne Deede, Katie Lange, Ali Bernard-Sprenger, Jake Avre. Thank you as well to staff members/volunteers: Tiana Moyer, Nick Hackman, Derek Sikora, Ryan Miller, Lynette Alger, Steve Woitas, Brian Broll, Jeff Katherman and the Waconia 7-12th Grade Team.
On July 31st, 2022, Max McEnelly made program history by winning the Bronze Medal at the U17 World Freestyle Championships in Rome, Italy while competing at 92kg. Max's efforts also helped Team USA win its first ever U17 Team Title as well - setting the team scoring record as well with 4 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals!
USAW U17 Tournament Recap: Here's a great recap on the USA Wrestling website: https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2022/July/31/MFS-wins-team-World-title.
Bronze Medal Post-Match Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXgUEqMDxuY
Here's a recap of the event:
Rd of 16: Max's first match was against Uzbekistan's Sherzod Poyonov - scoring , and Max was victorious winning 11-1 on the strength of 5 takedowns + 1 point lost for a lost challenge.
Quarterfinals: His next match was against Bulgaria's Andriyan Valkanov where Max won 11-0 with another 5 takedowns, qualifying him for the semifinals.
Semifinals: In the semi's he faced 2021 U17 Bronze Medalist and 2022 European Gold Medalist, Karil Kurugliyev from Kazakhstan. In a hard fought match, Max lost 11-2, falling to the Bronze medal match.
Bronze Medal: In the Bronze match, Max faced India's Sahil Jaglan where Max traded passivity (shot clock) points and Jaglan lost a challenge call giving Max the win for a 2-1 victory!
Platinum Golf Sponsors 2023
Checkout our Waconia Wrestling YouTube Channel for some great content and features of our youth and high school program wrestlers.