Prior Lake High School Wrestling Team won their first Section 2AAA Team Championship in the School’s 52 year history [Prior Lake was seeded fourth in the tournament]. The road to the championship included a 48-18 win over fifth seeded (and conference rival) Shakopee. The semifinal victory was a 28-28 tie, with a decision by the criteria of most falls, over the number one seeded Wayzata (The Guillotine’s eighth ranked team in the state). The Championship match was a 32-30 victory over the Section’s second seed and Missota Conference Champions Hutchinson (The Guillotine’s 11th ranked team in the state).
The Lakers won several tournaments this year including the Ron Edwards Classic in Prior Lake, the Hopkins Invitational, and the Monticello Invitational. This championship season represents one of the biggest turnarounds in high school wrestling history. After winning just six dual meets (6-66) in three years 2001-2004 and going 13-11 last year (2004-05).” Prior Lake has posted a 20-5 record going into the State Tournament. One of the most notable victories was over Apple Valley (Prior Lake 38 – Apple Valley 21). Apple Valley (The Guillotine’s seventh ranked team in the state) captured every big school wrestling title from 1999 through 2004 (and 13 State titles starting with in 1983.). Prior Lake’s losses were to rated teams in Owatonna (2 times), Wayzata, Hutchinson and Coon Rapids. On Thursday March 2, 2006 at 2:00 pm Prior Lake will face Centennial in the first round of the Minnesota State High School Team Tournament.
Much of the team’s success can be attributed to a dedicated leader in head coach Joe Block. Coach Block is involved with coaching at all levels (K-College). Further, Coach Block has been instrumental in the volunteer organization that supports the Prior Lake Wrestling Program (K-12) and leading the search to find coaches, volunteers and support staff. Coach Block states, "My goal when I first took over the Prior Lake program was to build a K-12 program that was not only successful on the mat but one in which we could instill core values into our student athletes in an effort to arm them with life skills to be successful young men in the real world."
Student athletes provided the talent and dedication for the team include Jake Johnson (36-0 Record), Jake Kahnke (37-1), Brad Overby (33-5), Chris Stevermer (31-4), Calvin Wolff (31-8), Tyler Kivel (29-6), Andy Larson (27-3), Andy Lubinski (25-14), Eric Muldoon (23-10), Casey Clayton (21-11), and other varsity wrestlers like Levi Kropp, Aaron Johnson, Corey Hentig, Doug Lundberg, Jesse Martinez, Dawson Streifel, Matt Borgerding, Tyler Trattles, Austin Schere and Matt Lauseng. Three-year captain, Jake Johnson provided needed leadership during the tough times. One thing Jake did during when it was mathematically impossible for the team to win, due to the number of forfeits, was to recognize team-mates with the “Stud Muffin Award”. This award was a real muffin, but the meaning was much more important. The Stud Muffin was given to the wrestler who showed the most heart, put-out the best effort, and never let-up during their match. This kind of team award helped build a chemistry that retained team members and created a feeling of working together for a common goal. Each member was pulling for the others success and ultimately creating momentum to build a competitive team.
