Upcoming mbc wrestling season

[Jimmy]

With skinfolds winding down l think it's time for little guys annual preseason outlook on the upcoming mbc wrestling season.

[shouldvewrestled]

Here is a quick preview.  It's not as in depth as Electric Guy over in the Badger conference thread but should get some talk going maybe.

Team wise Ellsworth will be a top contender in all of D2 probably starting the year out ranked #1.  Amery was nipping at their heels the past 4 years with that very tough senior class they had but not sure they can keep that up this year.  Will see how they can reload.  Dual season might not be pretty when wrestling Ellsworth but after that we should see some nice competitive duals from the other 7 conference teams.  Depending on how they can fill out lineups I think fans will enjoy many of the duals this year who attend; as many of the teams should be fairly evenly matched.

Conference tournament Ellsworth is heavy favorite once again but the fight for second should be a good one with each team having a shot at 2-4 finalists.

Amery

Key Losses: Andrew Smith, Hunter Marko, Brandon Paulson, Eli Newton.  That foursome along with a few other seniors from that class will be a tough group to replace on and off the mat with leadership.  Too bad we couldn't have brought 2 teams to team state from each section as this group especially deserved to feel that atmosphere at least once as they may have been the second best team in the state more than once.

Returning:
A good group led by Mike Smith in the low weights with Shawn Waalen coming on strong late last year in the middle.  Kody Dodgeon has seen a good deal of varsity mat time and Tyler Nichols in the upper weights.  Can they fill in the some of the other spots with JV type guys and incoming freshmen will determine their conference season.

BW

Key Losses:  Tanner Booth, Eric Bergquist, Owen Newton, Brice Almquist.  Tanner Booth will be a loss in the lower weights as he solidified himself as one of the top lower weight wrestlers in this area.  The other seniors helped fill out their lineup last year which is key to any team success.

Returning:
Jacek Nikowski saw some varsity time and should fill in somewhere in the lower weights.  Carter Newton looks to have a nice senior season after a nice campaign last year. Alex McCray, Joe Garcia, Landon Lorentson, Dakota Gartman, Kendall Martino all gained valuable experience which bodes well for the lower and middle weights.  Triston Thompson will be a good anchor in the beginning upper weights and Muatxju Lee will be back at heavy for them.  Not sure of any incoming freshmen for them but I'm sure Littleguy could help on that one.  If they fill out their lineup I would say they will be looking to win a few conference duals this year and look to crack the top 4 at the conference tournament.

[shouldvewrestled]

Ellsworth

Key Losses:  Devin Drier and Tristen Mueller were the 2 seniors on the regional lineup for a Team State champion bodes well for this year.  Mueller will be missed leadership wise.

Returning:
Return most of their lineup but will have competition for spots with some JV kids nipping at the heels and a few incoming freshmen.  One of which is another Stuhl in the lower weights.  Sam Stuhl going for his third state championship is probably the biggest highlight of a team that should be solid throughout the lineup with members like Matthew Peterson, Sawyer Strom, Owen Matzek, Cole Skelton, Anders Lantz, Dalton George, Jacob Sigler, Caleb Linder and Mike Freund.  Would venture expectations are high in the Panther wrestling room once again.

New Richmond

Key Losses:  Seth Leavens, Jackson Moeller, John Keifer, Caleb Neumann.  Bailey Germain.  Like Amery this group of seniors had their fair share of success on the mat and will be hard to replace for new head coach Jeff Swanson.  Will be fun to see how he does taking the reigns of the Tigers program.

Returning:
Bryce Younger will lead a fairly inexperienced squad along with Trevor Hildebrandt in the lower weights.  Nathan Fehlen and Jake LaVenture will be back in the middle of their lineup but after that it will be new faces and can hopefully fill out the lineup.

Osceola

Key Losses:
Ethan Freese, Nick Abernathy, Hunter Kautz, Austin Moltzer, and Evan Adams.  Solid group of seniors the Chieftains will miss for a team that was able to fill most of the 14 starting spots last year.  Not sure of depth or incoming freshman for them but hopefully they can do the same and fill out the lineup this year as well.

Returning:
They return good experience in the lower weights with Andrew Montpetit, Andrew Olson and John Hove.  Diego Lowney will anchor the middle weights along with Jack Feldt.  Brett Carlson and Tanner Johnson round out the upper weights for them which bodes well for them to be in most conference duals for them.  Noah Kunkel-Smith also returns in the middle and if they can fill the rest with incoming freshmen or a few JV kids they could be in for a winning dual season.

Prescott

Key Losses:
The Redbirds only lose one senior in River Christensen but also like New Richmond lose their coaching staff.  Jordan Poirer, state champ from Bloomer takes over and brings a new excitement to the Cardinals new wrestling room in their new high school.

Returning:
They return some solid talent in the middle to upper weights in Ty Sanford, Matthew McNurlin and Dillon Kimmen.  A freshman with some good youth state experience in Joey Schulte will fill another upper weight but will see how he handles being a freshman at a higher weight class.  They also bring back all of their lower weights hoping for more success after a year of varsity experience in Ethan Tulip, Mason Cable, Blake and Cody Atherton, Ethan Luksich, Jacob Hillyer, Andrew Shelstad, and Alex Ewing.  With their returning upper weights I could see them sneaking into the top 3 at the conference tournament.

Saint Croix Central

Key Losses:
Luke Smith, Kyle Larson, Trent Smith and Cody Gostovich was another strong senior class leaving the Middle Border ranks and will be missed in the Panthers lineup.

Returning:
Jacob Nyhagen and Drew Malecek will anchor the lower weights with sophomore Ryan Larson looking to build on a solid freshman campaign in the middle and Jordan Winegar in the upper weights.  Those four should keep SCC in the hunt in most duals and lead a team looking to keep growing stronger in the MBC.  I would expect a top 3 finish from them as well if they can fill in the spots around them.

Somerset

Key Losses:  
Logan Peterson was the lone senior leaving them from their regional lineup but he was a very seasoned and tough wrestler and will be hard to replace.  

Returning:
Preston Anez, and Josh Maack will look to lead them in the lower weights along with Sam Woods and Nick Kearns.  Their upper middle and upper weights were mostly sophomores and freshmen last year in Jerad Grahovac, Nick Bushinger, Garret Hecht, Peter Lepper and Jacob Wittstock and will look to build on the experience gained. Might be another tougher year dual record wise but wouldn't count them out either.

[Jimmy]

Thanks shouldof,  excellent job! Lg must still be wrapping up some projects before winter

[shouldvewrestled]

Thanks shouldof,  excellent job! Lg must still be wrapping up some projects before winter

Being unseasonably warm I'm sure is keeping him busy  .

[shouldvewrestled]

Also feel free to add anyone I missed or incoming freshmen or JV kids from last year.  I pretty much went off of Regional lineups and the little memory I have of last year.

[FinalWord]

Speaking for LG: "Fire bad, Ellsworth good!"
Thank you,

[Jimmy]

Word? Are you sure you are not giving Lg to much credit! 

[FinalWord]

Word? Are you sure you are not giving Lg to much credit! 

Thanks, now you're the one that's in trouble with LG!!

[Jimmy]

Word, I spoke with Lg.Im typing this with my left hand,but all in all he took it pretty well. He mentioned something about some technical difficulties with his computer but he strongly agreed with your statement.

[Jimmy]

I wonder why Tom has blocked Lg, without his thought provoking insight this thread is not the same.

[TomM]

I wonder why Tom has blocked Lg, without his thought provoking insight this thread is not the same.

Ha... He's not blocked... as far as I know. He has my phone number if he has trouble logging in.

[shouldvewrestled]

I missed Carson Johnson leaving from Ellsworth as well and will be missed in the upper weights as he wrestled well when he got back at the end of last year in the team dual series.

[Jimmy]

So you think he is giving us the silent treatment just like mrs. Jimmy does?

[NWIS]

I would like to see Younger and Stuhl face each other in the dual meet but I think Bryce will be heavier.