A fresh new start for Viking wrestling team

It’s been Matt Myrvik’s dream to coach the Minneota Viking wrestling team. Well, he’s got his chance, and has assembled a cast of assistant coaches to help get the job done.

They include Kris Fier and Matt Buysse from last year’s squad, added former varsity assistant Drew Bouwman and newcomers Wade Gillund and Brendan Reiss. “It was nice to see both Matt and Kris stay with the program, I value their years of experience and what they bring to our program.

Kris will move up from a volunteer coach to a paid varsity coach this year and will assist at all levels of the program,” said Coach Myrvik. He added, “Matt Buysse will move up to the Assistant Head Coach position and will work with me to develop the practice schedules, plans, and technique along with other various responsibilities.”

As for the others, “Wade Gillund and Brendan Reiss are both full time assistant coaches and will help with the varsity program along with working with our Ninth Grade League.

Brendan Reiss will take over our paid volunteer position our booster club provides.” Along with those coaches, Drew Bouwman will also assist the staff as a volunteer coach.

The question has always been, “Can Minneota win the Section 3A title and get back into the state tournament?” In the past two years, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton/Westbrook-Walnut Grove has blocked their path. Before that, Pipestone Area had a section title. Now, with a new beginning, Minneota will once again try to crawl to the top of the section.

The answer may only become known when sectional time rolls around. For now, the Vikings will embark on building a team, weight-by-weight. “We do have some guys back with experience and will be led by our captains, Blake Reiss, Austin Kloos, and Eric Carrasco.

Blake and Eric are returning state qualifiers along with sophomore Kade Lozinski.”

Starting with the known veterans from whom Myrvik and staff will build around, they include:

—Eric Carrasco. A junior who has been in the state tournament and a seasoned veteran. He’s risen from a 106-pounder to a couple weights higher.

—Kade Lozinski. A sophomore .500 wrestler last year who broke through to earn a state tourney berth. He’ll wrestle in the middle weights.

—­Blake Reiss. A senior who has wrestled in the state and will be a middle-weight wrestler.

—Zack Fier. A freshman who already has a couple of years experience. He’ll be a light weight wrestler this year.

—Jonah Gruenes. A sophomore, he wrestled several weights last year but has grown and may be in the higher weights this year.

—Austin Kloos. A senior who missed his junior year recovering from knee surgery, he was a starter a year earlier. He’s likely to anchor the middle-to-higher weight position.

—Jackson Esping. A sophomore, he’s got two years experience already and was a light-heavyweight last year. This year he’s likely to wrestle 220-pounds. “We do have some wrestlers coming back with experience and we expect them to take what they have learned and done in the past and to build on those things as the season goes on,” said the coach. “We also expect them to lead our young guys, to work with them and help them out along the way. Right now, our practice room has been very competitive, the kids have adjusted well to a new staff and there has been good energy in the room.”

Then there are those with limited experience:

—Jayden Gamrak. A sophomore, he will likely be the Minneota heavyweight. Although he lacks much varsity experience, he appears ready to help.

—Alex DePestel. As a seventh grader, he was thrown into the mix last year. Now as an eighth grader, he may help in the 120-pound and up range. —Troy Van Keulen. Sometimes the 106-pound starter last year, he is now a sophomore and could find a spot in the lineup. ­

— Truman Wambeke. Often thrown in at a weight he wasn’t ready for, he’s now a sophomore and may be ready to help.

Then there’s at least one wrestler who has been recovering from knee surgery and it’s unknown if he’ll wrestle:

—Trey Gronke. A junior, he is needed in the heavy categories. “Trey Gronke is continuing to rehab his injury and we hope that things continue to progress so he can join us later in the season,” said Coach Myrvik.

Other possibilities:

—Cole Sanow. A senior who hasn’t wrestled the past two years. He may be rusty, but is a competitor and is not new to wrestling.

—Tyler Gronke. Brother of Trey, he’s a sophomore without varsity experience but with a good upper-weight body.

—Peyton Gillund (9th); Tucker Thooft (10th); Conner Sik (10th). “Right now, those are the roles we are looking to develop, young guys who can grow as the season progresses and help the varsity team as we get closer to sections.”

“We feel we have some guys who have some varsity experience in Troy VanKeulen, Truman Wambeke and Alex DePestel and we have some others like Peyton Gillund, Hudson Scholten, and Tyler Gronke, along with newcomers Tucker Thooft and Conner Sik that we hope can help this team along the way,” said the coach.

He added, “Wrestling is a long season and we will need guys to fill in whether it is for an injury, strategy, or just to give someone the night off. Our goal is to put our best team on the mat at the end of the year and it will take everyone on this team to do so, our practice room and attitude will dictate how good of a season we will have.”

“If there is a spot in our lineup that we may not have a lot of depth it would be in the upper weights,” said the coach. “We do have wrestlers to cover the weights and we also look to get some guys back from injury and others down to weight,” he added.

As of now Jackson Esping and Jayden Gamrak will wrestle heavyweight. Hudson Scholten a freshman and Tyler Gronke a sophomore will look to wrestle 195 or 220 depending on the situations, both are young guys that we will look to develop as the year goes on. The coaching staff could worry about the knee of Austin Kloos.

But so far, that hasn’t been a concern. “Austin Kloos has been doing a great job as a leader in the room and has returned fully to practice, with any injury we will continue to monitor it and if time off or rest is needed then that is what we will do,” said the coach.

“Austin has worked hard and has looked good in the first two weeks and after having an injury last year that kept him off the mat, we look forward to see what this season will bring for him,” added Coach Myrvik.

You have to wonder if Cole Sanow can fit into the lineup after not wrestling since he was a freshman. “It took a lot of courage and a big leap of faith from Cole Sanow in coming back out for wrestling,” Coach Myrvik said.

“As coaches we know we are getting a young man who will work hard and will lead by example. We feel as the year goes on and he becomes more comfortable that he will be a huge asset to our team.”

Also out for wrestler is Zeke Monzon, a ninth grader who has been battling cancer. But he is not letting it get in the way of his athletics.

“Zeke is out and we look forward to him being cleared and able to wrestle. He is doing well and is able to do light conditioning and strength training right now. We hope to have him back in the lineup after Christmas,” the coach said.