Waconia Wrestling

The Waconia Wrestling Club 2022-23 Season is approaching and we are gearing up for another great year. See below for preliminary information about the season.  We're extremely happy to get started and will try our very best as coaches and a program to make this a fun and safe season for everyone. Open to all local Waconia area youth (boys and girls) across grades PreK (age 4+) to 6th grade. We have a great youth & high school wrestling tradition in Waconia and want to introduce your family to a sport that will leave your child forever changed from developing character, strong relationships, leadership, determination, work ethic, “grit”, physical/mental strength, and self-confidence. Last, our program is about making wrestling "fun" and building a love for the sport. In addition, our program helps create strong relationships formed through this sport (across wrestlers and families) which make this really unique experience for all that pursue it.

Coaching Staff & Program Philosophy: Our staff includes a group of highly experienced coaches that all have a strong passion for Waconia Wrestling and for helping our kids grow in the sport. Our program vision is to help each wrestler to have fun, develop to their maximum potential, fall in love with the sport, understand the concept of hard work and to embrace our "Waconia Mindset". Wrestling is a long-term investment and it's important to "trust the process" of learning and growing in the sport. 

Annual FREE Youth Wrestling Clinic & Open House - September 26th @ 7pm

On September 26th @ 7pm at Waconia High School in the Main Gym, Waconia Wrestling Club will be hosting a free PreK – 6th grade clinic, for all youth families who are interested in their child (boys and girls) coming out for wrestling this year. This clinic is geared for kids/families that are brand new to the sport or curious about our program here in the Waconia area. No registration is necessary, just show up and come see what our local youth wrestling program is all about. Kids, parents, brothers/sisters are all welcome to attend. The clinic will be led by our youth/high school coaches and varsity wrestlers and will include an introductory technique session and fun workout for the kids along with a presentation and Q&A session for parents and family members. The clinic is expected to last about 1 hour. Returning wrestlers and families are also encouraged to attend to meet new families. More details will be released on this site as we get closer to the event.

2022-2023 Folkstyle Youth Wrestling Programs

Junior Grapplers: This is an introductory program for all PreK – Kindergarten kids aimed at building athleticism and a passion for the sport while having fun and learning functional wrestling movements through games and physical activity. PreK wrestlers must be at least 4 years old to start. Practices will be 1x per week from November – January. Practices usually are scheduled on Monday nights.

Novice / Intermediate Youth: This program is for 1st - 4th graders that are either brand new ("Novice" wrestlers) or those with a few years of experience ("Intermediate" wrestlers) and is geared toward working on the basics and fundamental techniques to aid the individual development of each kid. Practice groups will be determined based on grade, weight, skill level and experience to group practice partners appropriately. Practices will be 2x per week from November - January. Practices for this group are normally on Tuesday & Thursday nights. Intermediate/Novice will be eligible to join (or "graduate") to the Advanced program for the February/March season if interested pending a readiness assessment by the coaching staff and consultation with parents.

Advanced Youth: For 2nd - 6th graders that have 3+ years of experience, our Advanced program will provide more detailed techniques, positions, and a more challenging pace to practice advancing each kid to the next level of their development. Practices will be 2-3x per week from November – early April. Practices for this group are typically across Monday, Tuesday, Thursday nights.

Registration Information & Dates:

Registration Start Date & Deadline: "Early Bird" Registration will begin in late August and go through October 2nd, before prices increase $25. Late registration will begin October 3rd through November 14th.

Dates: Practices will begin the week of November 14th. 

Program Fees Per Wrestler (Early Bird Prices - Fees Increase by $25/wrestler on 10/3) before processing fees. NOTE: Program Fees for the 2022-23 Season are still being finalized. Below represents best estimates (subject to change) for this year using prior year's rates: 

• Estimated Program Fees (subject to change for 2022-2023 season)
  • $55 - $65 Junior Grapplers (late fee of $25 added after 10/2)
  • $105 - $120 Novice/Intermediate/Advanced (late fee of $25 added after 10/2)
• Estimated USA Wrestling Membership Fees (2022-2023 season rates will be announced on 9/1/2022)
  • $55 - $65 USAW Membership (required for all Waconia Wrestling Club members)

What's Included? Program fees fund the order of T-shirts for each wrestler, free entry into our Waconia Individual Tournament (in December) and help fund our coaching expenses, team tournaments, facility rental, and program operating expenses. Each wrestler's USAW membership provides includes supplemental medical/accident insurance fees through USAW along with entry into all USAW / MNUSA sanctioned wrestling tournaments. For wrestlers that tryout and make the competitive and "junior" (developmental) Youth Dual Teams, all team tournament fees will be paid for by the club. Individual tournaments (outside of the Waconia Open) are the responsibility of each wrestler. Additional items are available for purchase including additional t-shirts ($15). Wrestling singlets are also available for purchase for $80 and are optional.

Singlets: A wrestling singlet is the preferred uniform that most wrestlers wear at tournaments. For our brand new wrestlers / families that are new to the sport, singlets are NOT required for practice, but are normally used for competition and tournaments. So, if you are not sure if your wrestler will be ready to compete in a tournament this year, you may choose NOT to buy a singlet. However, we will begin operating a used singlet "buy-back" program later this year for singlets that are in good shape and gently used.

Other Equipment/Attire: For practice, the required equipment includes: 1) t-shirt/shorts/sweats, 2) clean shoes OR wrestling shoes (preferred) and a mouthguard for wrestlers with braces. Wrestlers are strongly recommended to purchase / wear headgear as well for their safety as well during practice (especially during live wrestling). Communications will be sent out upon registration on ways to acquire equipment and preferred vendors. Hustle and Heart Sports in Waconia also has used gear in inventory including singlets, shoes, headgear, etc.

How do I register? Signup and early registration will be open late August/early September here on waconiawrestling.com. Program registration will be starting soon (but is not available yet), so stay tuned for details as the LINK will be posted on this website!

Parent Meeting: Before the season start, a parent meeting to go over the program details, logistics and expectations for the season will be scheduled for the week of November 7th-11th to go over expectations, logistics and details of the season. 

Questions: For any questions, contact our Club Program Director, Jeff Katherman, at jdkatherman@gmail.com or 612-968-5488.

On July 31st, 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! In case you missed it, 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.    

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!

After winning the UWW U17 Team Trials for Team USA back in May, Max McEnelly will be competing in Rome, Italy at the UWW U17 World Freestyle Championships at 92kg (~202lbs).

Checkout the following links below for how to stay updated on the event and for the event schedule. Max is set to begin competing at 4:30am cst time on Saturday, 7/30, then Semifinals will continue at 10:00am cst. The medal round will begin on 11am cst on Sunday, 7/31. 

UWW U17 Championships Event Page: https://uww.org/event/world-championships-58?section=schedule

UWW U17 Worlds Coverage: https://www.flowrestling.org/events/7215595-2022-u17-world-championships/news

UWW U17 92kg Bracket: https://uww.org/arena/weight-category/c1b8a05f-0e6c-11ed-a5f5-08002745f808/bracket.pdf

Livestream: https://www.flowrestling.org/events/7215595

Waconia Wrestling will have 3 wrestlers this year competing at the prestigious USAW 16U/Junior Freestyle/Greco Nationals in Fargo, marking the most wrestlers Waconia has ever sent to Fargo in any year!  

Lincoln Vick will compete in the Junior Freestyle bracket at 138#. Lincoln was the MNUSA State Champion in Freestyle at 132# and also competed at USAW Northern Plains Regionals in Freestyle. This will be Lincoln's 2nd trip to Fargo Nationals. Lincoln will compete beginning on July 17-19th.

Carter Katherman will compete in the 16U Greco bracket at 120#. Carter finshed 4th place in Greco at USAW Northern Plains Regionals and placed 5th in Greco and 4th in Freestyle at the MNUSA Freestyle/Greco State Tournament. Carter also competed earlier in the summer at the 16U National Duals in both Freestyle/Greco for Team Minnesota. This will be Carter's first trip to Fargo Nationals. Carter will be competing July 20-21st.

Bradee Dwinell will compete in the Junior Greco bracket at 145#. Bradee competed in both styles at both MNUSA State placing 4th in Freestyle and 3rd in Greco. Bradee also competed in both styles at USAW Northern Plains Regionals. This will be Bradee's first trip to Fargo Nationals. Bradee will be competing on July 21-22nd.

Team Minnesota - Fargo Roster: https://theguillotine.com/2022/07/minnesotas-fargo-rosters-released/

Flowrestling Fargo Nationals Coverage: https://www.flowrestling.org/events/7417656-2022-usmcusaw-junior-and-cadet-national-championships/news

For kids interested in participating in Waconia Wrestling Club's Summer Weekly Open Practices Program, please fill out the below registration form below.

Coaches: Kids this summer will be coached by Waconia alumni & previous MHSHL State Champions & current Augustana University wrestlers...Cade Mueller & Tyler Wagener assisted by volunteers across Waconia Wrestling Club.

Dates/Times*: Practices will span June 8th through August 8th. Practice times are tentatively planned to occur from 6:00-7:30 on Monday or Wednesday nights repeating weekly throughout the summer. 

*NOTE: Practice timing could be adjusted based on numbers and room capacity.

Location: Waconia High School Wrestling Room 

Ages: All interested Waconia wrestlers are welcome. However, practices will be geared for experienced Waconia youth and high school wrestlers ages 2nd - 12th grade (grade entering Fall 2022). For kids in the younger grades we recommend bringing a practice partner. 

Cost: All registered wrestlers are required to have a USA Wrestling Membership (for $55) for the 2021-2022 membership year for insurance/liability purposes. Part of the USA Wrestling membership provides annual accident and injury insurance protection during wrestling practices and competitions among other benefits. To purchase or renew a USAW membership, go to https://www.usawmembership.com for all the details. Voluntary donations are also welcome, but not required in any way. But, if interested, you can donate via check (to WWC) or Venmo (@WaconiaWresting) to Waconia Wrestling Club to help offset our program costs for these summer practices.

Registration / Sign-Up: Please, register by Sunday, June 5th to help us plan practices accordingly and ensure room capacity.

• Open Mat Practices Signup Link

Questions: Please contact our Summer Open Mat Practice Program Director, Jeff Johnson with any questions at jjohnson5150@yahoo.com or (952) 237-3725.

Congratulations to the following Waconia Wrestling Club wrestlers that will be competing on several Team Minnesota Age Group Freestyle/Greco National Dual Teams this summer!

Jon Kopp (8th Grade) 165# has been invited to be a part of the MN National 14U/Schoolboy Freestyle/Greco Team that will compete June 9th - June 13th in Franklin, Indiana. See the details at https://usawrestlingevents.com/event/2200107302.

Carter Katherman (9th Grade) 113# and Vincent Halliday (8th Grade) 220# have been invited to be members of the MN National 16U/Schoolboy Freestyle/Greco Team that will compete June 8th - June 12th in Loves Park, Illinois. See the details at https://usawrestlingevents.com/event/2200115502.

Wishing the best of luck to Jon, Vincent and Carter at the USAW National Freestyle/Greco Duals this summer! Train hard, have fun and Go Minnesota Storm!

Waconia Junior, Max McEnelly, competed in the UWW U17 (Cadet) Freestyle World Trials on April 30th & May 1st and was victorious in winning his 2nd National Title and claiming the World Team spot at 92kg (~202lbs). To do so, Max had to navigate a brutally tough bracket filled with Freestyle National All-Americans and nationally ranked kids to make the finals. Once in the finals, Max faced Camden McDanel for a best 2 out of 3 series. Max lost the first match 12-12 (on criteria), then rallied back to win match #2 5-3 and match #3 15-14 on a last second takedown! Winning this tournament means that Max will wrestle this summer at the U17 Freestyle & Greco World Championships across July 25-31 in Rome, Italy. Congrats to Max on this phenomenal accomplishment! Everyone across Waconia Wrestling Club is extremely proud of your representation of our club and know you will wrestle hard in Rome!

• Here's is Max's post-match interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVYXtYsee5Y
• Max's UWW U17 92kg Results:
  • Win vs. Kade West (Ascend Wrestling Academy) 10-0
  • Win vs. Melvin Whitehead (Gold Rush Wrestling) 10-0
  • Win vs. Austin Johnson (Pennsylvania) 12-0
  • Win vs. Sawyer Bartlet (Gladiator Wrestling) 6-5
  • Loss vs. Camden McDanel (Ohio) 12-12 (loss on criteria)
  • Win vs. Camden McDanel (Ohio) 5-3
  • Win vs. Camden McDanel (Ohio) 15-14

Congratulations to all our Waconia wrestlers that participated at the MNUSA Freestyle & Greco State Championships on April 30th & May 1st in Shakopee. A large number of kids across the K-12 program within Waconia Wrestling Club have really embraced these new styles, had fun and have gained some new skills that will improve their positioning and skilset when we flex back to folkstyle this summer/fall. Congrats to all the kids that put it on the line this weekend as follows:

MNUSA Greco State Participants/Results

12U: Will Katherman 3rd, Max Miller 3rd, Calvin Steen

14U: Beckett Marsh 6th, Wes Hammarsten 4th, Blake Miller 4th,

16U: Ian Olson 3rd, Carter Katherman 5th, Jimmy Johnson 6th, Sawyer Nemitz 3rd, Vince Halliday 2nd

Juniors: Bradee Dwinell 3rd, Sam Connell 3rd

MNUSA Freestyle State Participants/Results

10U: Lucas Turek

12U: Max Miller 3rd, Will Katherman 6th, Keegan Hammarsten,

14U: Jon Kopp 3rd, Beckett Marsh 5th, Blake Miller 5th, Wes Hammarsten, Cooper Stejskal,

16U: Ian Olson 2nd, Vincent Halliday 3rd, Carter Katherman 4th, Jimmy Johnson, Wil Goldschmidt, Sawyer Nemitz,

Juniors: Lincoln Vick 1st, Bradee Dwinell 4th, Alex Torres 5th, Andrew Torres, Sam Connell,

Congrats to all our kids that competed in the NYWA post-season series, across Districts, Regionals and the State Championships! We had great participation this year and had a lot of fun hosting both the Individual and Team Regional Qualifiers as well. Thank you to all who helped to make it a super successful end of the year!

K-8 Individual Region 3 Results: Link

K-6 Team Region 3 Results: Link

K-6 Grade State Tournament Results: Link 

• Team 14th out of 32 Teams

State Individual:

• Max Martin - Runner Up Kindergarten 105#
• Logan Kleinknight - Runner Up 1st/2nd Grade 54#
• Lincoln Kleinknight - 5th Place 3rd/4th Grade 76#
• Michael Reiner - 5th Place 3rd/4th Grade 80#
• Clayton Johnson - 5th Place 3rd/4th Grade 155#

Girls Division:

• Caroline Moyer - Champion 1st/2nd Grade 50#

State Invite:

• Will Koosmann - 2nd Place 3-4th Grade 72#
• Beau Bieniek - 3rd Place 3-4th Grade 76#
• Will Katherman - 4th Place 5-6th Grade 80#
• Adam Torres - 3rd Place 5-6th Grade 80#
• Will Beste - 3rd Place 5-6th Grade 84#
• Joe Alger - 3rd Place 5-6th Grade 93#
• Jacob Ess - 4th Place 5-6th Grade 102#

By the numbers - 7-8th Grade:

• Region 3 Team Champions! 
• Team State: 7th out of 32 Teams (Link) (wins over GMLOS, Foley, United, losses to Staples-Motley & Pine Island)

7-8th Grade State Individual:

• Ian Olson - Runner Up 85#
• Vincent Halliday- 3rd Place

Invite:

• Mitchell Moyer -4th Place 7-8th 85#

Congrats to our youth wrestling team on a great performance at MNUSA! The K-6 dual team finished 4th overall in the team tournament. Also, the program sent 23 individual qualifiers to the MNUSA Folkstyle State Tourney, allowing each kid to get valuable experience and test themselves against some of the state's best wrestlers.

Congratulations to the following individual place winners:

Girls

Caroline Moyer 8U 50# - State Champion 

Breslyn Kirkpatrick 10U 60# - State Champion (now 2x!)

6U & 8U

Jacob Reiner 6U 55# - Runner Up

Logan Kleinknight 8U 55# - 3rd Place

10U 

Lincoln Kleinknight 10U 77# - Runner Up

Michael Reiner 10U 77# - 6th Place

14U

Aiden Meuwissen 14U 136# - State Champion (now 2x!)

Beckett Marsh 14U 77# - 5th Place

16U 

Vincent Halliday 220# - Runner Up

Ian Olson 88# - 3rd Place

Sawyer Nemitz 170# - 3rd Place

Congratulations to our Waconia High School Wrestling Team on a great 2021-2022 season! 

• Metro West Conference Champs
• 2nd Place Section 6AAA Team
• 10 MSHSL AAA Individual State Qualifiers: Carter Katherman, Maverick Mueller, Lincoln Vick, Aiden Meuwissen, Levi Mueller, Bradee Dwinell, Josh Wagener, Gage Mueller, Alex Riley, Max McEnelly
• Congrats to Alex Riley (AAA 182#) and Lincoln Vick (AAA 126#) on finishing 3rd place at the MSHSL State Tournament
• Congrats to Max McEnelly (AAA 195#) on winning his 3rd straight State Title

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