2005 State Wrestling Tournament

Matousek, Fessler, Bigboy, Kulseth, Elg, and Sanders going for third championship

By Jeff Beshey

672 wrestlers will take to the mats in the individual tournament alone at the 68th Minnesota State High School League State Wrestling Tournament on February 24-26, 2005. Of those 672, only 42 will be left standing on the top of the awards stand on Saturday. Here's a look at the 16 returning wrestlers who already know what it's like to win it all.

Nate Matousek of Glencoe-Silver Lake will compete for the last time in his high school career going for his third Class AA state title at 160 pounds. He has made it to the state tournament every year since debuting at 119 pounds as a seventh grader. Nate has won state championships the last two years at 152 pounds and he placed fifth as an eighth grader at 130 pounds.

On February 1st, Matousek broke Minnesota's all-time high school career wins record with his 234th win (see page 15). He currently has over 115 pins in his high school career and is on a winning streak of 113 wins dating back to 2002. Matousek will continue his wrestling career next year with the Minnesota Gophers.

Some wrestlers who will try to keep Matousek from winning his third title include Kaleb Young of Blackduck/Cass Lake-Bena, Dan Schulte of La Crescent, Andy Kotsmith of Milaca, Ryan Fast of Windom Area/Butterfield-Odin/Mountain Lake, and Mike Schmitz of Stewartville.

Senior Richard Fessler of Apple Valley will attempt to win his third consecutive Class AAA state title this year. Fessler has battled through injuries but he remained unbeaten at the end of the regular season at 34-0. Fessler, wrestling at 135 pounds this season, won state titles the past two seasons at 125 pounds. He has won an amazing 96% of his high school matches (135-6). Fessler had a memorable match against two-time state champion Travis Elg of Windom Area/Butterfield-Odin/Mountain Lake in the finals of this season's Minnesota Christmas Tournament, winning 7-3.

A couple of wrestlers who might stand in the way of Fessler's third title are David Albrecht of Woodbury, Jon Brandtjen of Totino-Grace and Trevor Erler of Owatonna.

Zach Bigboy of Bloomington Kennedy ends his final season in search of his third Class AAA state championship. Bigboy won titles at 103 pounds in 2003 and 112 pounds in 2004. He is currently rated number one at 119 pounds.

Bigboy is one of only three wrestlers to win four titles at the 51-team Bi-State Classic Tournament held in La Crosse, WI.

Wrestlers hoping to rain on Bigboy's parade include Derek Bomstad of Hutchinson, Josh Wiseman of Champlin Park, and John Sundgren of Blaine.

Senior Nick Kulseth of Windom Area/Butterfield-Odin/Mountain Lake looks to stand atop of the awards stand for the third time in his career. Kulseth won his first Class AA state title at 119 pounds two years ago as a sophomore and his next at 125 pounds as a junior. Nick placed 5th in state at 119 pounds as a freshman and he qualified to state in 8th grade. Kulseth reached the 150 wins milestone on December 4th of this season and is currently ranked number one at 125 pounds. Kulseth signed to wrestle for Division I South Dakota State next season.

Possible spoilers of Kulseth's party are Chad Listul of Yellow Medicine East, John Dahlheimer of Monticello, Andrew Pudwill of Scott West, Alex Becker of St. Michael-Albertville, Kurt Salmen of Dassel-Cokato, and Jake Saatzer of Mound-Westonka.

Travis Elg, also of Windom Area/Butterfield-Odin/Mountain Lake, is one of only two multiple state title winners who are undercalssmen. Elg, a junior, could be Minnesota's next four-time champ if everything works out for him.

Travis won his first state championship as a freshman in 2003 at 103 pounds. He won a title last year at 119 pounds. Elg also placed fourth in eighth grade at 103 pounds. He is currently ranked number one at 135 pounds.

Wrestlers gunning for Elg this season include Zach Winter of Sauk Centre, John Fradette of Milaca, Ben Anderson of Annandale/Maple Lake, Nels Anderson of Dassel-Cokato, and Shad Tappe of Detroit Lakes.

Sophomore Zach Sanders of Wabasha-Kellogg is the other undercalssman with more than one state title. Sanders won his first championship as an eighth-grader at 103 pounds. He added his second title a year ago, also at 103 pounds. Zach is the favorite at 112 pounds in Class A this season.

In three years on varsity, Sanders has only lost five times. If everything goes well, he has the opportunity to finish with more than 200 wins and join his older brother, Eric, and Frazee's Matt Nagel, with the record for most state titles with five.

Joe Murphy of Trinity at River Ridge, Hank Virnig of Pierz, Ryan Campbell of Greenbush-Middle River/Badger are some of the wrestlers who could stand in the way of Sanders' goals.

Senior Jayson Ness of Bloomington Kennedy is perhaps the best returning state champion with just a single title. Ness won a Class AAA state title in 2003 at 112 pounds. Last year Jayson ran into eventual four-time state champion Charlie Falck of Apple Valley in the 119 pound finals. Ness, who split with Falck during the season, was denied his second title. Jayson placed third in state as a freshman at 103 pounds.

Ness ended this year's regular season undefeated at 33-0 and is the top ranked wrestler at 125 pounds. He will join Matousek as a Minnesota Gopher next season.

Wrestlers looking to knock off Ness this postseason include Jason Adams of Coon Rapids, Mike Polley of Wayzata, Paul Bjorkstrand of Burnsville.

Junior Mike Thorn of St. Michael-Albertville returns after winning a Class AA state title at 112 pounds last season. Thorn ended the regular season at 29-2 and a career record of 123-7. He had a big win at this year's Minnesota Christmas Tournament when he beat two-time state champion Zach Bigboy for the 119 pound title.

Mike was a perfect 49-0 as a sophomore and placed second in state as a freshman at 103 pounds.

Seth Flodeen of Cannon Falls/Randolph, Travis Rutt of New Prague, Robert Koranda of Becker, Torey Stewart of Jackson County Central, and Jeff Stang of Sartell are wrestlers who will attempt to upset Thorn in St. Paul.

Andy Przekwas, senior from Roseau, is a two-time Class AA state finalist winning the 160 pound title in 2003 and placing second at 171 pounds last season. Przekwas has battled injuries this season but remains the top-ranked wrestler at 171 pounds. Przekwas first made it to state as a freshman at 145 pounds. He has over 150 wins in his career.

Wrestlers who may battle Przekwas for the top spot at 171 include Kevin Landry of Cannon Falls/Randolph, Ryan Mergen of Monticello, and Nick Henning of Fulda/Murray County Central.

Sophomore Kirk Anderson of Barnesville is a three-time Class A state entrant placing second at 103 pounds as an eighth-grader and winning the 112 pound title as a freshman. Anderson picked up his 150th career win on February 4th and is on pace to break the all-time high school career wins record if all goes well. He is ranked number one at 119 pounds this season.

Standing in the way of Anderson's second title may be Andy Forstner of Madelia/Truman, Kyle Bednar of Pierz, and Zach Diercks of Goodhue.

Senior Joe Bunne of Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/Kingsland will try to defend his Class A 160 pound state title this season. Bunne's perfect 40-0 season last year helped him reach the 100 win milestone in early December. He was a state entrant in 2003 at 152 pounds and he placed 6th in 2002 at 152 pounds as a freshman. Bunne is ranked number one at 160 pounds.

Wrestlers who may challenge Bunne in St. Paul are Derrick Jenniges of Wabasso, Torrey Line of Browerville/Eagle Valley, Kyle Girtz of Pierz, Damon Traxler of Sibley East, and Josh Hall of Greenbush-Middle River/Badger

Kurt Haakinson, senior from Sauk Centre, is a two-time Class AA state tournament placewinner. He won the 145 pound title last season and took sixth at 135 pounds in 2003. Haakinson is ranked seventh at 145 pounds.

Mike Wubbena of Fairmont, Levi Price of Cannon Falls, Jacob Roberts of Scott West, Mickey Kirk of St. Michael-Albertville, Dusty Bullerman of Adrian, and Steven Vedders of Milaca are some wrestlers who stand in the way of Haakinson repeating as champion.

Junior Alex Meger of Owatonna was a Class AAA state champion last season at 103 pounds. He was a state entrant in 2003 at 103 pounds. Meger has moved up in weight this season and is ranked second at 112 pounds.

Wrestlers who will likely fight for the top spot against Meger are Terrance Young of Minneapolis Edison, Matt Laine of Hastings, Brian Theroux of White Bear Lake Area, Mike Ryan of Spring Lake Park, and Matt Workman of Eden Prairie.

Mitch Millner of Simley returns to defend his Class AAA 145 pound state title. This senior wrestler already has four state tournament appearances under his belt. He placed first a year ago at 145 pounds, third in 2003 at 135 pounds, fourth in 2002 at 125 pounds and was an entrant in 2001 at 112 pounds. Millner is the number one ranked wrestler at 145 pounds.

Jordan Kolbow of Forest Lake, Noel Sweeney of Grand Rapids, Matt Brauer of Burnsville, Andy Leisen of Rochester Mayo, and Jeff O'Connor of Cambridge-Isanti.

Junior Derek Pesta of Long Prairie-Grey Eagle made the most of his first state tournament appearance last year by winning the Class AA state championship at 103 pounds. Pesta is currently ranked first at 112 pounds.

Pesta will have to outperform a very talented group of wrestlers who may challenge for the title at 112 pounds. This group includes Brian Beilke of Sauk Centre, Joey Bullerman of Adrian, Ryan Tongen of Yellow Medicine East, Dan Greeno of St. Michael-Albertville, Brian Meyers of Cannon Falls, Tony Valek of Scott West, Travis Lewellyn of Sartell, Brandon McVey of Mound-Westonka, and Chuck LaMee of Milaca.

Heavyweight Jared Schwanz of St. James has been ranked number one all season after winning the Class A heavyweight title a year ago. Schwanz, a senior, was a state entrant two years ago but did not place. He recently notched his 100th career win on February 5th.

Heavyweights who may stand in Schwanz's path to another state title include Jon Dosh of Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Abe Miller of Benson, Jared Franta of Montgomery-Lonsdale, Jared Theleman of Waterville-Elysian-Morristown, and Evan Hacker of Canby.