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Itasca places 4th at nationals
March 2, 2004
The Itasca Community College wrestling team exceeded all expectations this past weekend when they placed 4th in the division 3 National Tournament and crowned two All-Americans. Although six of the seven ICC entrants scored points for the Vikings, three wrestlers really excelled.
Kyle Trout (Wadena, MN) won three in a row, including an 11-4 win over returning All-American Mitch Bunne of Rochester in the quarterfinals to enter the semi finals. In the semis, Trout lost to last year's National runner-up, Mike Rio from Harper, Ill. In the 5th place match, Trout also lost an extremely close match to Iowa Central nemesis Jason Barnett. Barnett squeaked out a 4-3 victory and Kyle ended up 6th in his first national tournament. Trout learned the college style of wrestling early in the year and continued to hone his skills through out the season.
Nick Wilkes (Onamia, MN) turned a lot of heads as well, winning five of seven matches to place 7th out of a 32-man bracket. Nick is not a flashy wrestler, but is very competitive and uses sound basic technique to score and control his opponents. Nick won his seventh place match by one point with exactly one minute of riding time. Through out the weekend it was interesting to watch how Nick handles the pressure of a national tournement; he just wrestled each match one period at a time. It is exceptional to see this kind of poise out of a freshman.
Joe Facchinni (Nashwauk, MN) was one match away from all American with a top ten finish at the 197 weight class. Joe had the toughest draw of any of the ICC wrestlers because he had to face James Williams of Labette College in the opening round. Williams was last year's runner-up at the same weight, but Joe showed no fear as he scored at the first whistle and dominated completely for two periods. Joe never let the All-American get set - he was constantly countering Joe's leg attacks. Halfway through the 3rd period, Williams decided he did not want to wrestle Facchinni any longer; he walked off the mat and forfeited the match. I've coached a few years now and have never seen anything quite like this. Joe went on to win three more times during the tournement and finally fell one match short of the All-American round. Losing in the last eight seconds of the match to Jeff Knoll (Iowa Central) by a 7-6 verdict. Two weeks prior to the National tournement, Joe lost by fall to Knoll. At the end of a grueling wrestling season, wrestlers hardly ever stay at the same level of intensity; they either improve or get worse. This is the best example I have witnessed of an athlete who was willing to step up to the next level when it really mattered.
Winning one match apiece at the tournament for the Vikings was Matt Steffenson (Onamia, MN), Trevor Brady (Little Falls), and Brandon Engel (Forest Lake). Steffenson has been a standout for our team all year, but struggled to put it all together this past weekend. He is extremely talented and has the best record on the team, but sometimes things don't click into place at the right time. Matt is definitely an All-American caliber wrestler and I expect big things from him next year. Despite wrestling with injuries, Engel has been the anchor for this team all season and his dedication to our program showed once more as he pushed for a fall and came up big for the team in the second round. Trevor started out slow the first round and was unable to put together enough points to win. He rebounded with a big match ending in a pin during the second round. Eventually Emery McReynold from Labette College eliminated Brady from the tournament. These two pins were the difference between 4th and 6th place for ICC in the final standings. Brad Malum (Amery,WI) was upset during the first round by Donte Burney of Triton, Illinois. Brad started out sharp and then got caught up in a scramble in which resulted in a tight cradle that he was unable to break out of. The matches are so fast paced at this tournament that a lax moment often results in a disappointing upset. Second round Brad ran head long into Wilmar Esteban from Muskegan College and although it was a good match from start to finish, Brad was not able to compensate for the extra experience of the sophomore. Brad is one of our most improved wrestlers this season and I suspect he will be tough to beat as a sophomore.
The key to placing in the top five was the fact that almost everyone contributed by winning at least one match. The team commitment has been strong all year and this is a close team. This has been an exceptional group of freshman and I have enjoyed this year very much. As recruiting gets underway, it is exciting to look forward to next year.