The Mound Westonka White Hawks wrestling team competed at the Section 6AAA Team Tournament on Saturday, February 15, at Wayzata High School. The White Hawks were the second seed, and faced seventh seeded Hopkins in the quarterfinals. The White Hawks started the day out well with a comfortable 49-18 victory over the Royals. “We were able to use some of our alternates and rest some starters, which helped in the subsequent rounds,” said head coach Todd Munsterteiger. Senior Adrian Wear and junior Noah Byers stepped in and both earned victories for the White Hawks. Next up was Rocori High School, who entered the tournament as the third seed, and defeated sixth seeded Robbinsdale Armstrong in the quarterfinals. The White Hawks started out fast winning the first six weight classes,and never looked back cruising to a 55-18 win and earning a spot in the finals. “That was one of the best duals we wrestled this season. We got some big wins early on and just kept rolling,” commented assistant coach Eric Rodelius. The White Hawks faced the two-time defending champion Willmar Cardinals in the finals, who advanced with victories over Buffalo and Wayzata. The White Hawks managed to win four of the first six weights, but then ran into the heart of Willmar’s line-up, losing the next five weight classes. Bryan Tierney pinned his opponent at 195 pounds to finish the White Hawks scoring, and the White Hawks fell by a final score of 46-23. The loss was a disappointing end to the team aspect of the season, but the White Hawks finished with a 17-5 overall record, including 7-2 in the conference. “We had an excellent season, knocking off some tough teams and going on a 14 match win streak. Now we have to focus on the individuals and achieving their personal goals. We have a lot of wrestling left before we’re done,” added Munsterteiger.
The White Hawks wrestlers will begin individual competition on Friday, February 21 at Robbinsdale Armstrong High School, at 5:30. Wrestling will resume on Saturday, with an 11:00 a.m. start time.
