The White Hawks wrestling squad shows off their hardware earned at the Osakis Duals.
The Mound Westonka White Hawks wrestling squad competed in four duals over two days, going 1-3 against some stiff competition.
On Jan. 9, the White Hawks hosted conference and section opponent Watertown-Mayer, who are currently the top-rated team in the state. The White Hawks battled hard but fell 51-21.
“It was Youth Night so we had a nice crowd and a good atmosphere," said head coach Todd Munsterteiger. "It was fun seeing the youth wrestle as part of the meet." Winning matches for the White Hawks were sophomore Deacon Ramthun, juniors Cooper Rowe and Phillip Pisarchuk, and senior Cole Munsterteiger.
On Jan. 10, the White Hawks traveled west to the Osakis Duals, a six-team tournament made up mostly of Class A teams. In the opening round, the White Hawks faced the Canby Lancers, ranked ninth in Class A. In a back-and-forth dual, the Lancers prevailed 39-24. “The Merritt family is originally from Canby, so there was a lot of familiarity between the squads, and we even had cousins (Tallen and Mason Merritt) wrestle each other,” said assistant coach Eric Rodelius.
The White Hawks rebounded with a 47-18 win in the second round over the host Osakis Silverstreaks, and then fell to the fourth-rated United North Central Warriors in the last round, 35-22, finishing third by virtue of tie-breaking criteria.
“Overall, we wrestled well, and were just a few matches away from beating ranked teams," added Munsterteiger. "It was just what we needed as we head into the heart of the dual meet season and need to learn how to wrestle as a team.”
Individual champions were Deacon Ramthun, Cooper Rowe and Cole Munsterteiger. Rowe earned his third outstanding wrestler award of the year, while Munsterteiger reached a career milestone with his 175th victory.
The White Hawks will resume action on Thursday, Jan. 16, when they travel to Glencoe-Silver Lake to take on the host Panthers, as well as the Scott West cooperative. First-round action begins at 5 p.m.