The Mound Westonka White Hawks wrestling squad traveled to Chanhassen High School on Jan. 18 to take on the Chaska/Chanhassen Storm Hawks, in what was formerly billed as the “Battle of the Hawks.”  This year’s meeting took on a new meaning, as a traveling bobblehead of the late Gerry Bakke, hall of fame coach and mentor to both head coaches, was on the line. 

“We thought it would be fun to commemorate a great man, so we created a bobblehead as a traveling trophy,” said head coach Todd Munsterteiger.  Unfortunately for the White Hawks, the bobblehead will be staying in Chanhassen for the year, as the White Hawks fell 42-31.  “We battled hard but came up just short,” said Munsterteiger. 

Winning matches for the White Hawks were: freshman Cooper Rowe, sophomore Cole Munsterteiger, juniors Jack Nelson and Drake Woodruff, and seniors Luke Rodelius and Sam Dioszeghy.

The White Hawks wrestlers traveled to Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted High School for an individual tournament on Jan. 21 and placed eighth out of 15 teams.  “There were some tough Class A and AA teams there, so overall we faced some tough competition and fared well,” said assistant coach Eric Rodelius. 

Placing for the White Hawks were: senior Terry Somerville and Drake Woodruff, fifth place; Cole Munsterteiger, second place; and Jack Nelson, Cooper Rowe and Sam Dioszeghy, first place. Dioszeghy also notched his 100th career victory in the process.

The White Hawks will travel to Delano on Thursday, Jan. 26 for a triangular with the host Tigers and Glencoe-Silver Lake/Lester Prairie. Start time for the White Hawks is 6 p.m.