The Holiday season is a great time for high school wrestling as many athletes participate in a variety of large tournaments. These tournaments serve as a tremendous measuring stick for everyone as well as an opportunity to gain state and national recognition. Many Victory athletes represented their communities in the Bi-State Classic in LaCrosse, Northern Badger Classic in River Falls and the Cheesehead Invitational in Kaukauna. The Minnesota Christmas tournament took place the weekend before Christmas and The Clash National Duals will take place next week.
Over 80 individuals competed at the Northern Badger Wrestling Classic in River Falls on December 29-30. We were also fortunate to watch six teams compete in the Badger after participating in Victory Team Camps last summer. Individual champions who have participated at Victory were: 103-Chad Bartschenfeld (Amery), 125-Logan Cudd (River Falls), 130-Bubba Gudis (Bruce), 135-Dustin McKinney (Unity), 145-Roy Munroe (Cadott), 152-Brayden Wienke (Clear Lake), 160-Garrett Bonte (Glenwood City), 189-Joe Raygor (St. Croix Falls), 215-Ryan Miesbauer (Northwestern) and 285-Cody Hegeman (Boyceville).
At the Bi-State in LaCrosse, local teams from Ellsworth, Hudson and New Richmond had athletes who have participated in various activities at Victory as well. Hudson’s Nick Larson was an individual champion at 160 pounds. Destin McCauley from Apple Valley was a Cheesehead champion at 152 pounds. McCauley is currently ranked #3 in the nation. He defeated the #5 wrestler from Brandon, FL in the finals.
