By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Members of the New York Mills wrestling team recently held their end of season awards banquet at the school. The team finished the year with a record of 13-10 overall, but with just one senior on the team, the Eagles will return a large part of their squad next season.

“We have some depth with our underclassmen and it will be exciting to pair them with 13 returning letter winners and eight returning Section 6A place winners,” said head coach Eric Niemi. “I think as a team and a program we are definitely looking forward to next season.”

The Eagles wrapped up their regular season with a 45-22 win over Otter Tail Central, before falling to Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie 37-30 in the Section 6A tournament.

“I was very pleased to see our guys battle their way to a winning season,” said Niemi. “We finished the season with a very competitive practice room and nice dual team.”

The lone senior on this year’s team was heavyweight Grady Roberts who has been an anchor for the team atop the 285 lbs. weight class for a number of years. He was also the lone entrant for the boys wrestlers and will be missed next year.

“Roberts had another great year being our anchor up top.  Grady is a leader in the classroom and on the mat, he was a great captain this season,” said Niemi. 

Letter winners this season include: seventh grader- Zeke Geiser; eighth graders- Jaeger Zutter, Oakley Kern; ninth grader- Toivo Mursu; 10th graders- Dawson Seelhammer, Elijah O’Dea, Royce Lorentz, Wessten Simpson, Wyatt Helmbrecht; 11th graders- Carlyle Tumberg, Creed Mursu, Tony Nichols and 12th grade- Grady Roberts.

Award winners include: 

Captains- Grady Roberts, Tony Nichols, Creed Mursu and Carlyle Tumberg

Most Outstanding- Grady Roberts

Eagle Award- Caryle Tumberg and Creed Mursu

Most Improved- Wyatt Helmbrecht

Rookie of the Year- Toivo Mursu

Pins- Creed Mursu-19 

Takedown- Tony Nichols- 69

Escape- Wessten Simpson-35

Reversal- Elijah O’Dea- 23

Nearfall 2- Carlyle Tumberg and Oakley Kern tie at 3

Nearfall 3- Tony Nichols- 5

Nearfall 4- Elijah O’Dea- 15

Section 6A place winners- 107: Oakley Kern fourth; 121: Wyatt Helmbrecht third; 127: Carlyle Tumberg sixth; 133: Elijah O’Dea third; 139: Creed Mursu fourth; 152: Tony Nichols fourth; 172: Chevy Herron sixth; 189: Westten Simpson fourth and 285: Grady Robets second.