Sartell Varsity Wrestling 2021-22 has shown up on the mat

Spencer Johnson, Journalist|February 18, 2022

Sartell wrestling gathers around to celebrate Enriquez’s 100th varsity win.

The Sartell wrestling team has had a lot of ups and downs this year. 

They have had multiple people on the team enter the state rankings with Will Budge currently ranked 7th at 182 AAA, Ashton Lipinski ranked 2nd AAA, and Dylan Enriquez ranked 6th at 132 AAA. They also had placers at big tournaments such as Rumble on the Red in Fargo, ND, and the Red River Riot in Red River Falls, MN. 

As the season is coming to the end, the varsity wrestlers have reflected on how their season has been so far.

106: Alex Hendrickson, 8th grader, started his first varsity season as the 106 pounder for the team. Though he is small for his weight he has been able to put up consistent wins for the team.

113: Julian Morris, 7th grader, is having his first year on varsity as well. He’s quickly learning the difference between middle school wrestling and varsity wrestling.

120: Zac Anderson, a sophomore, states “My favorite memory from this season is when Spencer pinned that kid from Prior Lake. My favorite tournament was the 2-day tournament in Fargo, and my favorite coach is Olson.” Zac started his season off a bit slow, but recently has been coming up with some big wins and beginning to get in rhythm with sections coming soon.

132: Dutch Nordby, a senior, talks about how he has enjoyed the season a lot by hanging out with his team despite highs and lows in his season. “So my favorite memory from this season is probably going to some of the overnight tournaments like the Riot or the Rumble on the Red, playing poker with everyone, and just hanging out for a few days. This season’s been going pretty good this year. I had kind of a slow start hurting my back and being sick, but it’s still fun to see the team progress through the year. Like I said, my favorite tournament so far this year like I said was the overnight tournaments. And my favorite coach this year is Josh Halike. You can always have fun with him.”

138: Dylan Enriquez, a senior, has had a good start to his season, currently ranked 6th in the state with a record of 26-7. He states, “My favorite memory from this season was one hundred wins.” He says his season didn’t start how he wanted it to, but in the last couple weeks he’s been doing a lot better. “My favorite tournament was probably the Rumble. Just hanging out with my team and staying there for a couple days. My favorite coach is Josh Halike. He is probably the most fun coach and has been coaching me for most of my career.”

145: Kaden Brooks, a junior, had to wrestle off for his spot on the varsity line-up. Following his teammates injury he was able to snag the 145 spot. Kaden went on a 11 person win streak following the Rumble.

152: Ashton Lipinski, a senior ranked 2nd in the state with a record of 25-5. Although he has been dealing with a shoulder injury this season, he has still continued to stay dominant at his weight class. “My favorite memory from this season is the weekend of Rumble on the Red, and my season has been going good so far.”

160: Senior Calen O’Connell got into wrestling sophomore year and has been a menace on the mat ever since. He has been able to solidify his spot as a varsity starter.

170: Larkin Lang, senior. Larkin has been dealing with injury most of this season, but has been able to get a solid amount of mat time. He started his season off with his first varsity dub at the Big Lake Open. “My favorite memory of this season is hanging out with the boys in the hotel rooms at the overnight tournaments, playing poker, and just spending time with the boys. My favorite coach is coach Halike.”

182: Donovan Lund, a junior, was kept out of the beginning of the season due to a groin injury. Nevertheless, he’s back and has been a huge addition back into the lineup. 

195: Will Budge, a senior, ranked 7th in the state has been dominating his opponents this year. “My favorite memory from this year was our first tournament of the year at Big Lake. Season has been good, some memorable times have been all the duals we’ve wrestled as a team, and my favorite coach is Meyer.”

220: Ben Karasch, a senior, who just started wrestling this year. Though it’s his first year and he’s wrestling up a couple of weight classes, he has still managed to put up points for our team. “My favorite memory from this season was watching Spencer pin a ranked kid in the nation… pretty dope. My season has been going decent now that I got a couple wins, and my favorite coach is Josh.”

Hwt: Tucker Mugg, a junior, is the big dog of the team. He has only been wrestling for the team for a couple of years but has been the difference for some duals. He came up big at the Fergus Falls quad dual when he pinned the Alexandria HWT to put the team up 2 points to win the dual.