BEMIDJI 鈥� Gavin Obsorn feels like his senior season started 鈥渁 week ago.鈥� But time flies.
Osborn, alongside a handful of seniors on the Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 boys wrestling team, competed in their last-ever regular season home matches Tuesday night at the BHS Gymnasium.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Lumberjacks welcomed Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Pakers Prairie and Staples-Motley in a triangular, celebrating its senior class between duals.
鈥�(It's) just a great group, they鈥檝e made it really fun for me,鈥� head coach Greg Skerik said. 鈥淧robably my favorite thing about coaching is the relationship with the kids. They're a fun, entertaining group. We have a good time, definitely gonna miss those guys.鈥�
The BHS girls wrestling team also participated in the festivities, recognizing the six wrestlers in its senior class.
The Jacks topped B-H/V/PP 54-13 and suffered a 43-21 loss to the Cardinals, who are currently
The night came with some standout performances from Bemidji鈥檚 seniors. Osborn went 1-0 in the 139-pound weight class, picking up a 15-11 win by decision over Justin Olson (B-H/V/PP).
鈥淚t was nice to get my last real regular-season win at home,鈥� Osborn said
Alec Newby grabbed a win by forfeit at 160 before defeating Dustin Converse of Staples-Motley with a 3-0 decision at 172. Kohen Donat (189) managed to pin Owen Zigan (B-H-V-PP) in 1:29.
ADVERTISEMENT
Lincoln Schmitt posted a 2-0 record at 152, besting both Gage Barthel (B-H-V-PP) and Jackson Schouviller (SM) by 15-0 technical falls.
鈥淟incoln has improved so much over the last couple years,鈥� Skerik said. 鈥淭o see him put it all together at the end of the senior year going into sections, again, just super excited to see what he can do with it. He鈥檚 gained a ton of momentum the last couple weeks and I want him to follow through with that.鈥�
BHS had plenty of impressive results beyond the seniors as well. Tanner Littler (172) picked up his first-ever dual win in dramatic fashion, pinning Tanner Schulke (B-H-V-PP) thirteen seconds into overtime.
鈥�(He did) it in front of the home crowd and in a match where he wrestled extremely well,鈥� Skerik said. 鈥淗e wrestled through some tough positions, and (he鈥檚) a tough kid.鈥�
Nehemiah Schwinghammer collected a pair of wins at 285, picking up a forfeit and a 13-3 major decision win over Steven Petrich of Staples-Motley. Nick Strand took a similar path to 2-0, grabbing a forfeit after pinning Preston Captain (B-H/V/PP) in 1:42. Gabe Morin topped Cooper Tappe (Staples-Motley) by an 8-3 decision after tallying a forfeit.
Ozzie Hanks went 1-1, earning his win by a 16-8 major decision over Adam Grabow (B-H/V/PP).
Tuesday night might have been the last regular season home matches for the senior class, but it won鈥檛 be the last time they take to the mats at the BHS Gymnasium.
ADVERTISEMENT
The No. 2-seeded Lumberjacks will host No.7-seeded Buffalo on Feb. 12 to kick off the Section 8-3A team tournament. The winner will advance to the section semifinals on Feb. 14, held at Buffalo High 歪歪漫画.
BHS will enter the tournament with a .500 record in duals. However, considering the strength of the competition, that record is a bit misleading.
鈥淲e kind of laughed about our dual record this year,鈥� Skerik said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e 10-10 on the year. ... I think eight of those are top-10, top-five teams in the state, so the competition we鈥檝e wrestled this year has really got us ready for sections, and I鈥檓 excited. I think we have a lot of talent. We鈥檙e a gritty team, and it鈥檒l be fun to see what we can do.鈥�
鈥淚 think our record doesn鈥檛 reflect how good of a team we are,鈥� Osborn said. 鈥淚 think that we鈥檙e peaking right before sections.鈥�
Osborn, like many of his senior counterparts, is no stranger to postseason success. He鈥檚 made it to state three times, and he鈥檚 only continued to grow during his senior season.
鈥淢entally I鈥檝e taken a step, that鈥檚 always kind of been my issue,鈥� Osborn said. 鈥淕reg has been a big help for that. 鈥� When things get hard, pushing through adversity in matches is the big one for me.鈥�
That improvement in the mental aspect of Osborn鈥檚 game has been on display all season. Though he tends to take things 鈥渙ne match at a time,鈥� Osborn is heading into postseason play with some real confidence.
ADVERTISEMENT
鈥淚 think a lot of it is just building confidence in all the kids, but him especially,鈥� Skerik said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 an unbelievable wrestler, but I think just getting the confidence and getting him believing in himself and be able to put it together over and over again, he鈥檚 done a really good job of that. ... I鈥檓 really looking forward to the next couple of weeks to see how he does."
Bemidji 54, Bertha-Hewitt-Verndale-Parkers Prairie 13
107: Ozzie Hanks (BHS) over Adam Grabow, MD 16-8
114: Mason Hoffman (BHVPP) over Keaton Glynn, TF 17-1
121: Merrick Hoffman (BHVPP) over Levi Mellema, Dec 7-6
127: Casey Sisneros (BHS) by forfeit
133: Gabe Morin (BHS) by forfeit
ADVERTISEMENT
139: Gavin Osborn (BHS) over Justin Olson, Dec 15-11
145: Nick Strand (BHS) over Preston Captain, Fall 1:42
152: Lincoln Schmitt (BHS) over Gage Barthel, TF 15-0
160: Alec Newby (BHS) by forfeit
172: Tanner Littler (BHS) over Tanner Schulke, Fall 6:13
189: Kohen Donat (BHS) over Owen Zigan, Fall 1:29
215: Braden Shamp (BHVPP) over Benjermen Desrosier, TF 32-16
ADVERTISEMENT
285: Nehemiah Schwinghammer (BHS) by forfeit
Staples-Motley 43, Bemidji 21
107: Garrett Bjerga (SM) over Ozzie Hanks, Fall 1:20
114: Caden Kramer (SM) over Keaton GLynn, Fall 1:21
121: Gage Bjerga (SM) over Levi Mellema, Fall 1:27
127: Cayden Neisen (SM) over Casey Sisneros, TF 27-12
133: Gabe Morin (BHS) over Cooper Tappe, Dec 8-3
139: Turner Beachy (SM) by forfeit
145: Nick Strand (BHS) by forfeit
152: Lincoln Schmitt (BHS) over Jackson Schouviller, TF 15-0
160: RIley Reese (SM) over Trenten Fredriksen-Holm, TF 18-2
172: Alec Newby (BHS) over Dustin Converse, Dec 3-0
189: Luke Bjerga (SM) over Kohen Donat, Dec 7-3
215: Adrian Gomez (SM) over Jerry Farmer, Fall 5:07
285: Nehemiah Schwinghammer (BHS) over Steven Petrich, MD 13-3
The Trust Project
