BEMIDJI 鈥� Like father, like daughter.
The Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 boys wrestling team鈥檚 head coach, Greg Skerik, hit 50 wins while competing for the Jacks before he was even in high school.
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Saturday afternoon, his daughter did the same.
Eight-grader Chasity Skerik eclipsed 50 wins in just her second year on Bemidji鈥檚 varsity team, picking up her milestone victory in the individual portion of the Rick Lee Invitational.
鈥淚t was really fun to share that with my dad,鈥� Skerik said. 鈥淗e was so happy. .. He鈥檚 the person that got me into wrestling.鈥�
However, that 50-win milestone wasn鈥檛 even Skerik鈥檚 most impressive feat of the weekend.
The eighth-grader took home gold for the Lumberjacks in the 142-pound weight class, pinning Sauk Centre/Melrose鈥檚 Monika Frericks in 3:45 in the first-place match.
鈥淪he鈥檚 an eighth grader and she just won a high school varsity tournament, so I think that speaks volumes of itself,鈥� head coach Rance Bahr said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a great individual, she鈥檚 a great person, she works hard, she鈥檚 got a good attitude, so it鈥檚 good to see things go well for her and others because she鈥檚 very deserving of that.鈥�
Skerik secured each of her wins by fall, starting out the day by knocking Hibbing's Allison Perkins out of the first round in 39 seconds. She went on to pin Favour Kulu of Sartell in 1:54, then bested Annandale-Maple Lake鈥檚 Addison Kramer in 1:27 to reach the championship match.
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鈥淚t feels really good,鈥� Skerik said. 鈥淚t was really to put it together at a home event, just being at home, having family and friends that came to watch. 鈥� That was my one goal this weekend, just go out there and wrestle hard.鈥�
Considering her youth, Skerik seems to have a bright future with BHS ahead of her. For now, though, she鈥檚 keeping her goals simple.
鈥淢y one big goal for this season is just to be on the section team,鈥� Skerik said. 鈥淛ust wrestle hard at sections, and wrestle hard the rest of the year.鈥�
Skerik was one of three BHS wrestlers to finish the day at the top of their weight class. All three first-place finishes came courtesy of wrestlers in their sophomore year or younger.
鈥淎 lot of the younger girls are stepping up and doing very well,鈥� Bahr said. 鈥淲e have a lot of the eighth, ninth-grade, 10th-grade girls who did really well. Over on the JV side, I think we had six girls in the finals right in a row on the jv side that wrestled a great tournament and are ready and prepared to step into varsity roles when that time comes.鈥�
A fellow middle schooler, Keeari Goodfellow, took home first place at 235. After a bye in the opening round, Goodfellow pinned fellow Lumberjack McKenzie Ghinter in 21 seconds to make it to the championship match, where she pinned Willow Horack of Nash-Kee-Greenway in 1:57.
Sophomore Taylor Merschman survived the 100-pound weight class to capture Bemidji鈥檚 third first-place finish of the day. Her first victory was by fall, beating Staples-Motley鈥檚 Kana Reese in 3:04.
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In the quarterfinals, Merschman knocked off Teagan Earley of Zimmerman with a 19-11 major decision. She pinned Natalee Friedrichs (Sauk Centre/Melrose) in 4:31 and, in the championship bout, topped Kayla Pastika (Owatonna) by fall in 2:36.
鈥淚 went down a weight class, so this (was) like a big opportunity for me to show where I am,鈥� Merschman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really relieving, especially from my last tournament where I didn鈥檛 place as high as I would like to. It鈥檚 really rewarding.鈥�
Beyond the trio of young wrestlers who came away with top finishes, the Jacks had five wrestlers who earned top-five finishes in their respective weight classes.
鈥�(It鈥檚) just a continuation of what we had going on Friday, and honestly, what we鈥檝e had going on probably since winter break when we went to Lisbon,鈥� Bahr said. 鈥淭hey just kind of started hitting their stride right around Christmas break and they鈥檙e really clicking right now, doing a really nice job working on things that come up in tournaments that we need to fix and they鈥檙e doing a good job of focusing on that and making those corrections.鈥�
鈥淎s a team I think it鈥檚 a lot of support,鈥� Merschman said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e always on the mat. We鈥檙e always standing when it鈥檚 the end of a period, we鈥檙e always all together. Support is a big thing, especially in a sport where it鈥檚 a lot of mental stuff.鈥�
Maya Schmidt earned her way to the 190-pound weight class championship by pinning Roseau鈥檚 Morgan Skoien in 1:47. She lost a tightly-contested overtime bout to Nevaeh Buffett (Lisbon) 3-2 and ended the afternoon in second place.
Kieria Hagman-Nyagaka made it to the 118 semifinals with a 3:50 win by fall over Maija Aho (United North Central) and a 14-10 decision over Leila Reid (South Saint Paul). After losing to Abby Gindele (A-ML) by 16-0 technical fall, Hagman-Nyagaka collected a third-place finish by besting Myah Held (Pierz) by fall in 1:25.
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Ghinter, who lost to Goodfellow at 235, went on to pin Cheyenne Wergin in the consolation bracket (Badger-Greenbush-Middle River) in 1:39 before falling to Ella Sad (Lisbon) by fall in 0:38. Ghinter ended up in fourth place.
Wrestling at 112, Brenalen Fredriksen-Holm wound up in fifth, defeating Trinity Smaker by 17-0 technical fall in her final match of the meet. En route to the fifth-place matchup, Fredriksen-Holm defeated Peyton Walberg (A-ML) by 15-0 technical fall and pinned Sophie Johnson (UNC) in 3:38 in the consolation bracket.
Dezi Puffe (130) placed sixth, besting Moorhead鈥檚 Layla Counts in the consolation bracket before falling to Sauk Center/Melrose鈥檚 Georgia Anderson in the fifth-place bout.
Much like Friday鈥檚 duals , Saturday鈥檚 individual matches offered the Jacks some ever-important experience, especially when the postseason arrives.
鈥淭his is a huge tournament, there鈥檚 people everywhere, there鈥檚 10 mats,鈥� Bahr said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more of an experience like what we might see at the section tournament, what we might see at the state tournament. So it鈥檚 important to get those reps in and get that practice in so that we鈥檙e prepared for that moment when it comes.鈥�
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