Coach Troy's High School Update: Weeks 13 & 14
Crimson Wrestlers, Managers, and Families-
Week Eleven/Twelve Recap:
The section tournament is unlike any other tournament of the season in that the mix of emotions runs from the lowest lows to the highest highs – sometimes within minutes of each other. This past weekend, we saw our first three wrestlers officially punch their ticket to the State Tournament as senior Russo Capel (118) and sophomore Carol ‘CC’ Stevenson (155) won the girls individual section tournament while senior Elizabeth Ofuasia finished second. At the same time, we saw four girls come up just short – some of them taking heart breaking loses. Freshman Charlotte Nadolski (112) and sophomore Brooklyn True (148) finished third, while seniors Alyssa Pearson and Kathrine Melton finished fourth. We are all excited to see some new names on the wall and proud of all of our girls – each of whom gave everything they had throughout the day.
As for our boys, over the last two weeks, they went a combined 5-2 to give us a regular season record of 9-7 on the season. Last Wednesday, our JV competed at JV Conference – which is their big end of season tournament, while our Varsity did battle at the Westonka Tournament last Friday. We had some success at both events as seen below:
J.V. Conference (8 teams):
• Champion: Lamond McCabe (100)
• Runner-Up: Avery Royal (139) and Jonathan Hjelmstad (160)
• Third Place: Ayman Ahmed (121), Logan Belchak (160), and Gavin Thompson (145)
• Fourth Place: Imran Ahmed (133), Bryson Manders (172), and Benyam Reda (215)
• Fifth Place: Chris Ignacio (160), Nico Pruett (133), Richmond Tarquio (152), and Owen Yamaya (114).
Most weight classes had either seven or eight wrestlers with many Varsity quality wrestlers competing at the tournament. I felt our wrestlers competed hard and overall, we wrestled well. This was the last competition for the season for many of these athletes (unless they compete at MN/USA state), so wrestling well here had to feel good.
Varsity only Westonka (13 Teams):
• Champion: Connor Peterson (139)
• Fifth Place: Reese Redlinger (133) and Grady Mandle (172)
• Sixth Place: Alex Fox (152)
• Seventh Place: Amir Bouzouma (160)
This last minute add-in tournament was a great opportunity to compete against some very strong teams and provide some additional direction going down the stretch. We feel good with how we are currently competing but know there is still time to make additional gains. The experiences of this tournament will only help us as we prepare for the final stretch run.
The section and state tournaments are always the most exciting and intense matches this season and we have two more section tournaments coming up in the coming two weeks. You aren’t going to want to miss it. Here’s the information you’ll want to know for the upcoming two weeks’ worth of the wrestling season:
Week 13 Practice/Meet Schedule:
Monday, 2.9 – Strength Training at 2:10p. Wrestling at 3:10p.
Tuesday, 2.10 – Wrestle offs starting at 2:30p. Wrestling at 3:10p.
Wednesday, 2.11 – Wrestling at 3:10p
Thursday, 2.12 – Wrestling at 3:10p
Friday, 2.13 – Team Sections at Park Center. Bus leaves at 3:15p. Weigh-ins at 4p. Wrestling begins at 5p. We will wrestle Park Center in the first round and a win earns us the opportunity to wrestle STMA in the second round. NOTE: We are allowed 20 wresters on our roster for this event. Picking those 20 wrestlers comes down to a number of factors including chances that we will use each athlete to compete, practice attendance (especially last Saturday as it was stated that wrestlers who wanted to be on the section roster were required to be at that practice), and also factors in the need to spread out those extras so that we can easily fill in for any sickness or injuries). Please let me know if anyone has any questions on this.
Saturday, 2.14 – Practice/Crimson Olympics at 9a.
Week 14 Practice/Meet Schedule:
Monday, 2.16 – No School. Practice at 8a.
Tuesday, 2.17 - Practice at 3p.
Wednesday, 2.18 – Practice at 3p.
Thursday, 2.19 – Practice at 3p.
Friday, 2.20 – Practice at 3p.
Saturday, 2.21 – Individual Sections at St. Michael. Bus leaves Maple Grove at 7a. Weigh ins at 8a and wrestling begins at 10a. NOTE: There is not a return bus this day (drop off only).
2025 – 2026 Wrestler of the Week Honors:
• Week 2: Alex Fox, Max Schroeder, Alyssa Pearson
• Week 3: Egan Hong, Charlotte Nadolski
• Week 4: Reese Redlinger, Brooklyn True, Gabe Mullen
• Week 5: Connor Peterson, Elizabeth Ofuasia, and Khoa Nguyen
• Week 6: No Competitions.
• Week 7: Ollie Bielat, Jonah Prum, Grant Berg
• Week 8: Benyam Reda, London Graham
• Week 9: Ethan Hong, Carol Stevenson, Nathan Palmer
• Week 10: Ethan Hong, Maxwell Marsh, Rachel Kusie
• Week 11: To Be Announced.
• Week 12: To Be Determined.
Mat Boss Video Access:
You have noticed our amazing managers are recording (as well as scoring) our matches. If you are not currently able to watch your videos please talk to coach Troy at practice this week. Wrestlers only have access to their own matches.
We are also doing what we can to ensure the matches are uploaded and as accurate as possible. Unfortunately, with events sometimes having 6 or more mats we will not be able to record every match. Wrestlers/Parents are encouraged to have someone record their own matches for review purposes as well.
Watching matches opens up all kinds of cool possibilities for the team. The most basic of which is that each wrestler can watch their matches once they are uploaded. Watching back matches can be a great learning tool and is highly encouraged. Have your wrestler make sure I receive their email address and look for their invite to begin utilizing this valuable tool.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.
Crossbar, Hello Teams, and Future Communication:
Lastly if you haven’t, please download the Crossbar and HelloTeam Apps, and register to receive future communications (even in the offseason). A QR code should have been sent out for Hello Team and you can register for Crossbar at www.crimson-wrestling.com. Parents and wrestlers should each sign up to receive future communications and schedule changes through the Crossbar and HelloTeam apps. Please let me know if you have any questions with this as we will use these apps for communications throughout the season and the offseason.
With over half of our roster having completed the competition portion of their seasons, we are officially into the final stretch. Three of our girls have punched their ticket to the Excel Center and the opportunity for our boys varsity wrestlers to do the same will be upon us by the end of next week. This Friday will give us a taste for the intensity of the section tournament as our match with Park Center will demand the best effort of every individual Crimson wrestler who takes the mat. The plan is to come out firing and build some momentum towards wrestling our best matches of the season next Saturday at individual sections. We are locked in to doing everything we can to be at our best when it matters most and I’m confident our boys are excited for the opportunities ahead of them.
Every wrestler on our team is encouraged to actively participate in practices as we build up through the state tournament. We are a family, and the support of every member of that family is vital to the ultimate success of each of our competitors. Please encourage your athletes to continue to show up and be a part of the process. As always – looking forward to it! Let’s go Crimson!
Let me know if anybody has any questions.
Coach Troy
Mgwrestling99@gmail.com
763-913-0601