The Mound Westonka wrestling squad competed in five dual meets over the past week, going 1-4 and salvaging a Wright County Conference win over Rockford when they hosted the Rockets on Feb. 1.
“Our lineup is a bit depleted right now with some injuries, illness and match count issues, so we're just trying to battle through it and get the squad ready for sections,” said head coach Todd Munsterteiger.
The White Hawks defeated the Rockets, 42-30, but fell to the Foley Falcons, 41-23. Winning both matches were eighth grader Brady Kirkpatrick, sophomore Cooper Rowe, junior Cole Munsterteiger and senior Jack Nelson.
The White Hawks traveled to the Armstrong Duals Invite on Feb. 3 and lost all three of their duals, but they had some individual successes throughout the day. “Overall we wrestled well as a team and faced some tough squads, similar to what we will see in sections,” said assistant coach Eric Rodelius. The White Hawks fell to Minnetonka (39-32), Eastview (42-31) and Goodhue (48-16). Rowe, Munsterteiger and Nelson won all three of their matches.
While the rest of the squad was at Armstrong, freshman Deacon Ramthun competed in the Ninth Grade League State Tournament in Champlin Park. Ramthun had an outstanding day, going 3-1 and placing third. After victories in the first two rounds, Ramthun lost a close 4-3 decision to the eventual champion from Chatfield. In the third-place match, Ramthun avenged a loss to his Scott West opponent in the region finals with a 6-5 overtime win. “Deacon wrestled a great tourney and capped it off with a huge win,” said freshman coach John Wardlow.
The White Hawks will conclude the regular season by hosting the 10-team Leopold Haglund Invite this Friday, Feb. 9. First-round action begins at 4 p.m.
Freshman Deacon Ramthun poses with Coach Wardlow, donning his third-place state medal.