The Mound Westonka White Hawks wrestling squad won three duals during the week, including a huge upset over Hutchinson, who is currently ranked third in the state in Class AA. The White Hawks hosted the Tigers on Thursday, January 16, and came out with a thrilling 33-31 win over the defending conference champs. The White Hawks jumped out to an early lead, winning six of the first seven matches, but the Tigers got two pins in the next two weights to close the gap. The White Hawks got a win from Ryder Schmidt and a big pin from Bryan Tierney, putting them up by 17, forcing the Tigers to get three pins for the win. The White Hawks subsequently gave up a pin and a forfeit, and went into the heavyweight match clinging to a five point lead. First year wrestler Kyle Johnson was bumped to heavyweight, and faced with the tall task of going the distance with the sixth ranked heavyweight in the state. Johnson was up to the challenge, losing just 4-2 and preserving the victory for the White Hawks in front of a raucous crowd. “It was a great victory for us and a total team effort,” said head coach Todd Munsterteiger. It was doubly sweet night for Tierney, as his pin was also his 100th victory of his career. “Tierney’s a hard worker and a great team guy, so it was definitely satisfying seeing him reach a personal milestone on the same night as a big team win,” commented assistant coach Eric Rodelius.
The White Hawks traveled to Buffalo on Friday, January 17 for a triangular with the host Bison and the Zimmerman Thunder. The White Hawks coasted to victories over both squads, topping Zimmerman 49-15 and Buffalo 58-13. Both squads had holes due to injury and match count, but the White Hawks still took care of business in workmanlike fashion. “It was good to see that we didn’t have a letdown from the night before. We have to bring the same intensity to every match regardless of the circumstances,” added assistant coach Jake Saatzer.
The White Hawks have a busy week with a make-up match versus Glencoe-Silver Lake on Monday, January 20; a double dual at Litchfield on Thursday, January 23; and a home dual versus Hopkins on Friday, January 24 at 7:00 p.m. The Hopkins dual will also be a TakeDown Cancer night, which will benefit the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund. In addition to the varsity dual with Hopkins, the K-6 youth teams from Orono and Mound Westonka will be facing off at 5:30. All students will be admitted free, and there will be many promotions throughout the evening.