Cardinal Wrestlers Have to Have the Guts!
“Have the Guts to Be, What You Want to Be”! This slogan will be on the backs of our shirts this year and will act as a reminder to take action and go after the goal. In life, people often sell themselves short and fail to accomplish their dreams and goals simply because they failed to take action. They wish they could be this or do that, but they often lack the fortitude, or the guts, to go after their dream; to “take action” to accomplish their personal goals. They wish they were a varsity wrestler or had a winning record, or they wish they could be a State Champion, or they wish they were a doctor or an engineer… wishing my friend, is only for those who are looking at a falling star.
The Cardinal Wrestling team finished the season last year with a 19-4 record and finished ranked #8 in the state of Minnesota. The Cardinal grapplers traditionally are one of the states top teams, but even that isn’t good enough if you want to get out of Section 7AAA. Last year the Cardinals left the 7AAA Section Tournament with a very sour taste in their mouths and the memory of failure is a harsh reminder that just wishing for success isn’t enough. The goal is and always has been, to get to the Minnesota State Tournament in St. Paul to compete for the State Championship. Getting out of the 7AAA Section Tournament meat grinder this year won’t be an easy task, with as many as five of the states top 10 teams in the section all vying for the same glory. The Cardinals will have to bring a hardnosed attitude and the belief that they are an elite team in the state to get to the big show.
They say that, “steel sharpens steel”, and if that’s the case the Cards will surly sharpen their will and their skill with this year’s grueling schedule that includes some of the top teams in the state all season long including the Hastings Duals tournament, the Board Hyland Cardinal Duals, the Christmas Tournament and what many consider to be the toughest high school wrestling tournament in the country in the Clash in Rochester, Minnesota, where 32 of the country’s top teams have been invited to claim the unofficial “National Title”. Other dual meets include Albert Lea, Forest Lake, and an end-of-the-year match-up with Class AA power Foley. Twenty two of the Cardinal wrestlers “took action” and worked hard over the summer and participated in numerous wrestling camps, including a trip to Ohio, where they ate, slept and wrestled in a barn for an entire week to prepare for the season ahead.
This year’s team will be lead by returning “All State” wrestler and Captain Tanner Lowe (285)(3rd) and All State Wrestler Michael Burckhardt (220)(4th) as well as six All Conference starters including Corey Vaillancourt (113), Joe Anderson (119), Captain Darren Gagne (138), Captain Austin Lubinski (145), James Magaard (160), Captain Brandt Halseth (171), and All Conference Honorable Mention Riley Lawson (160) along with Section place-winner Jon Chmilowsky (152).
Promising in-coming freshman, Blaine Tschida (106), will more than likely be the team sparkplug on the Varsity and should compete for a State Tournament berth and possibly a State Title. Tschida put in countless hours over the summer and that hard work will hopefully payoff. Ninth grade State Champs Tyler Berdahl (171) and Shad Olson (Hwt.) could also make some noise at the Varsity level this year. Others wrestlers with considerable experience that should prove to be instrumental in the team’s success are: Reece Ahlsten, Josh Fleck, Jesse Macklin, Brad Danielson, Buddy Falconer, Nate Julkowski, Dakota Johnson, Jake Montague, Joe Murphy, Nick Olson, Jason Ramirez, Nick Voigt, Jesse Westerberg, Alex Calderilla, Cedrick German, Jarrod Julkowski and Alex Wiser.
Athletics teaches us many of life’s lessons and often times the most important lesson is having the courage to take action, in other words, to “Have the Guts to Be, What You Want To Be”
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