Waconia Wrestling

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 body awareness when we flex back to folkstyle this summer/fall. Great job Wildcats! 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

Waconia Wrestling Club is pleased to begin offering a new Freestyle/Greco training program for kids ages 4th grade - 12th grade 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. 

See below for all the details, including how to register, program flyer, key dates, FAQs and interviews/testimonials on the benefits of freestyle/greco-roman training.

PROGRAM DETAILS:

• Season Dates: April 5 - May 15, 2022 
• Days/Times: Tuesdays & Thursdays 6:00 - 7:30pm 
• Location: Waconia High School Wrestling Room
• Ages: 4th - 12th Grade 
• Cost: Free + USAW MEMBERSHIP (REQUIRED). Donations to Waconia Wrestling Club welcome (Venmo = @WaconiaWrestling or make check payable to WWC)
• Freestyle/Greco FAQs

WWC FREESTYLE/GRECO PROGRAM COACHES / STAFF: 

• Coaches: Tim Stapleton, Nate Matousek, Manny Rivera, Tyler Safratowich, Jon May
• Coordinator: Jeff Katherman

KEY TOURNAMENT DATES:

• April 30th - MNUSA Freestyle State Tournament (Shakopee, MN)
• May 1st - MNUSA Greco State Tournament (Shakopee, MN)
• May 13th - 15th - Northern Plains Freestyle/Greco Regional Tournament (Wisconsin Dells, WI)

FREESTYLE/GRECO EXPERIENCES & TESTIMONIALS

• Lincoln Vick Interview/Testimonial (Sept 2021)
• Max McEnelly Interview (Aug 2021) (enter password k$OHM6T!)

OTHER INFORMATION/RESOURCES:

• 2022_Fargo_Qualifying_Process.pdf (sportngin.com) (for 16U, 18U)
• MNUSA Free Clinic and Freestyle/Greco Kickoff Flyer (for 14U, 16U, 18U)
• MNUSA Regional Training Site Information/Practices (for 14U, 16U, 18U)

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

The Waconia Wrestling Community really came through and held a Takedown Cancer fundraiser on January 13th for the Randy Shaver Cancer and Community Fund. Thanks to all of you for the support of the variety of fundraising initiatives, being in attendance, and big shoutout to the youth wrestlers who operated the raffle & donation table. The event ended up raising $6,193 with the raffle & donation table accounting for over $1000 of the total. We look forward to making this an annual tradition.

Platinum Golf Sponsors 2021

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