Wolves Wrestlers headed to State
Jade Hepper
Guest Columnist
Regionals at home, what a rollercoaster from start to finish. Watford City will be taking 8 wrestlers to State. 6 boys and 2 girls.
Sam Inman HWT, this kid is an athlete, came in seeded 4th finished 3rd in a dramatic triple overtime match. For most heavy weights, riding legs, taking shots, and cradles are not realistic. Sam just doesn’t really like to wrestle by the book! He took out the 3 seed by fall in the consolation semi finals with a beautiful cross face roll through cradle. He then got revenge win against Bismarck Highs Easton Egeberg who beat Sam with a throw in the final seconds of the quarter finals earlier in the day.
Brier Arnegard 152# seeded 4th finished 4th. Brier received a first round bye where he then met Lucas Schlepuetz of Jamestown in the quarter finals. Brier dominated the match like the previous 3 in the season and would go on to #1 ranked Conrad Kopari of Dickinson in the semi finals. Wrestled a good match but lost 4-1, close scrambles could have gone either way and just needed a takedown to change the tide. Brier would then breeze to the 3rd place match against St. Mary’s Joryn Richter. Brier got an early takedown and was leading 3-1 when he got into a scramble situation and pinned while there was no control or back points. A defensive pin. Us coaches didn’t even see it coming and made me think. This was the only time Brier has been pinned in the 2 years I’ve been coaching. A testament to his grit.
Zane Wagoner #145 seeded 6th placed 4th. This kid has improved so much this year it’s incredible. He got a big revenge win over Kaden Kraft of Minot. Kraft beat Zane earlier in the season but this match went much different, Zane won 15-0 by tech fall in the consolation semi finals. He then had battle with the 2 seed in the 3rd place match who was upset in the semi finals, Seamus Kuklok of Bismarck Century. Zane got the first takedown but couldn’t get out of wing and pinned late in the second period.
Corban Sorenson #127 seeded 8th finished 6th. Corban pinned his first round match where he would then face the 2 time defending state champ Joey Enzminger of Bismarck Legacy. Corban gave him a run for his money. He lost by decision 5-8 but man he was close to nearfall criteria multiple times in the match exposing Enzmingers back. He would then come back to upset the 5 seed Durand Hamley 9-3 in the consolation quarter finals. Corban lost the consolation semis and the 5th place match but we learned what to work on this week to prepare for state.
Rowdy Mott #139 seeded 5th finished 8th. Rowdy had an off day and had to wrestle his teammate Will Langford in the blood round, one goes to state one stays home. Can’t feel bad or make excuses though hoping to get some revenge at state.
James Rasmussen #133 seeded 7th placed 7th. James qualified for his first state tournament this year and had some exciting matches but was also forced to wrestle his teammate Wyatt Boekelman in the blood round. Not ideal but he’s headed to the Fargodome. In the placing round James beat the 8 seed, Minot’s Kaden Philion. After running up a 9-2 lead Philion wrestled back strong in the third, but James lived up to his seed winning 9-6.
Girls Division:
Cora Sorenson 100# seeded 4th placed 4th. This seventh grader has no quit and unbothered or nervous wrestling girls older and more experienced than her. She pinned her way to the semi finals where she was against the #1 seed Brooklyn Lafrenz of Mandan. Coming up short she picked up a tech fall in the consolation semi finals to land her in the 3rd place match. She was up against a common opponent the 3 seed Maci Broulillette of Williston. Everyone of these matches has gotten closer and closer and even though she came up short once again I really think she will make it happen in the dome !
Sari Sorenson 100# unseeded finished 8th place. Sari, Cora and Corban’s sister decided she was sick of running matboss and stating, she was ready to get in the mix. She made this decision a few weeks before regions. So with just very basics and getting her gas tank ready she came out firing. Sari upset the 6 seed from Bismarck high Lauralie Fruchs in the first round by pin. She would lose to Broulillette in the quarter finals but came back to get on the podium and punched her ticket. I’m sure Cora and her are getting some extra practice on the living room floor to prep her for Fargo.
Everytime I watch these kids wrestle I see a little glimpse of Coy and that makes the long weekends and practices worth every second. It would have been his Senior year. One of his best opponents but yet buddy Ben DeForest of Bismarck High was Region Athlete of the Year.
Thank you to the staff, parents, and alumni for making this possible and to the fans for the extra noise in the crowd. It was awesome to showcase our beautiful facility and hoping to get another tournament scheduled for next season.
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