ST. PAUL – A 12-15 regular-season record for the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted wrestling team doesn’t seem like much. It’s a big deal considering the competition they went up against all year, it’s paying off on the state’s biggest stage.
At the Class A state individual tournament, the Lakers have five of their six wrestlers advancing to championship Saturday. Raydon Graham and Isaac Busse wrestled their way to the semifinals while Collin Boese, Mitchell Mallak, and Colton Long stayed alive with wins in their wrestlebacks Friday night.
“It’s pretty awesome,” HLWW coach Joe Puncochar said about the success his team is having. “One thing that has helped lead to our success this year is our schedule. Everybody thinks we had a great year. Our team record was 12-15. We had a great year but we wrestled some tough competition so that when we get down here, we’re not phased by that. That showed up big time today.”
The second session of the day started with a bang for the Lakers. At 106, Graham took down the No. 2 ranked wrestler in his weight class with a 4-3 decision over Chatfield’s Javier Berg. Following his win, Graham let out a roar of jubilation as he’ll get the chance to wrestle for a state title Saturday.
“Raydon’s an emotional kid,” Puncochar said. “After his section championship, he had tears in his eyes and he was crying on my shoulder. He was so happy with himself. That’s wrestling. You put everything you have into it. When it all works out like that, it just comes out.”
Graham will take on Holdingford’s Wyatt Norvitzki in the semifinals. Norvitzki is ranked No. 5 in Class A at 106.
“He’s been wrestling really well since January,” Puncochar said. “He’s lost one match since that point and it came against the kid he’ll face tomorrow. We’re ready for that match.”
Also joining Graham in the state semifinals is Isaac Busse. In comeback fashion, Busse won his match against Ottertail Central’s Jaxon Rich. Busse will take on Jackson County Central’s Payton Handevidt Saturday. Handevidt is the No. 1 ranked wrestler in Class at 160.
Joining Graham and Busse will be three other HLWW wrestlers. Mitchell Mallak (138), Collin Boese (170), and Colton Long (220) all won their wrestlebacks to keep their seasons alive.
“To see Collin come back and dominate that next match was nice,” Puncochar said. “He really wants to get on the podium. It’s the fourth time he’s been in this arena. He’s not scared of anybody. It’s time to go for him. The other guys are following his lead because he’s the only one who’s been down here before out of our group. We’re just feeding off each other right now.”
Long weekend for the Royals continues
It’s been a long weekend for the Watertown-Mayer wrestling team. It’s about to get even longer. After finishing fourth in the Class AA team tournament Friday, the Royals brought six individuals to the Class AA meet and four of them will be competing on Championship Saturday.
Bryce Burkett went 2-0 on the day to reach the state semifinals Saturday. Wrestling at 160, Burkett needed a 2-1 decision to pick up his first win. In his second match, he needed some late drama to pick up a 5-3 overtime win to advance to the semifinals.
Also joining Burkett on the final day will be Jonah Hamberger (132), Jackson Drahos (195), and Ashton Congdon (220). All three bounced back with wins in their final matches of the night with their seasons on the line.
The Class AA state tournament resumes Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Xcel Energy Center.