by Dennis Dalman
The Sartell Sabres Youth Wrestling Team took first place in the Pool 4 statewide championship April 7 in Rochester.
That is a step from the team’s last year first-place win in Pool 5.
The two-day 2024 Northland Youth Wrestling Association Tournament involved 32 teams from throughout the state and included many individual wrestling competitions.
The Sartell Sabres youth wrestlers are children in pre-K through sixth grade. There are 21 wrestlers, and the team keeps growing by leaps and bounds in just the past few years.
On Sunday, in the Pool 4 competition, the Sabres’ team won after defeating two teams – Farmington, with a score of 45-30; and Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville by 38-30.
On the day before, the Sabres’ results in Bracket C were one win over New York Mills (56-24) and two losses, one to Centennial (49-21) and one to Minneota (46-25).
The winning match for first place in Pool 4 was decided by two Sabres wrestlers, competing as individuals who pinned down two opponents for six points each to win 38-30. Those two Sabres were Jaiden Schwegel (125 pounds) and Ashby Kouba, wrestling as a heavyweight, who each pinned their opponents.
During the tournament Schwegel wrestled three times in three brackets, pinning two boys and one girl.
Well before the Rochester state tournament, the Sabres qualified March 16 in Pierz where they earned third place in Region 4.
“The Sartell Sabre (wrestling) team is headed in the right direction,” said Dustin Coffin, one of its coaches during an interview with the Newsleaderd. “They worked very hard to get where they are; they worked their tails off.”
The other coaches of the Sabres youth team besides Coffin, are Nick Gruber, Alex Pachan, Justin Smith, Avery Starz, Corey Winkelman and Eric Wilson.
In another interview with the Newsleaders, Jamie Schwegel, the mother of one of the wrestlers, Jaiden Schwegel, expressed her heartfelt pride in the Sabres team, including her happiness for her own daughter.
“I’m so proud of her and the whole team,” Jamie said.
Jaiden, 12, the daughter of Jamie and Derek Schwegel, is a sixth-grader in Sartell Middle School. The family lives in rural Rice, near St. Stephen, which is within the Sartell-St. Stephen School District. Jaiden’s siblings are Jessa, a fourth-grader; and Ryker, a second-grader. Both of them also wrestle but not this year at the state tournament.
The Schwegels seem to have athletic prowess in their genetic lineage. Jaidan is also involved in track; father Derek played football and was on the high-school track team; his father Richard also enjoyed wrestling; and Jaiden’s mother was a figure skater while growing up in Bemidji.
Jamie Schwegel shared statistics from the state tournament in Rochester, which are as follows.
Northland Youth Wrestling Association Girls State Tournament:
Jaidan Schwegel (category grades 5-6, 160-pound weight class), first place.
Arianna Brooks, 3-4 grade, second place.
NYWA Boys State Tournament:
Kamden Gallus, 5-6th grade, 65 pounds class, third place.
Ashby Kouba, 5-6th, grade 155 pounds class, third place.
Otto Lang, 5-6th grade, 235 pounds class, did not place.
Ben Mack, 3-4th grade 80 pounds class, fourth place.
Liam Thom, 3-4th grade, 64 pounds class, fourth place.
Corbin Scherer, 3-4th grade, 68 pounds class, did not place.
Landon Thom, 1-2nd grade, 54 pounds class, fifth place.
NYWA Boys Invite Tournament:
Owen Wiger, 5-6th grade, 88 pounds class, first place.
Bodyn Molitor, 5-6th grade, 93 pounds class, third place.
Dexter Schoenberg, 3-4th grade, 76 pounds class, third place.
Bryce Cummings, 3-4th grade, 85 pounds class, second place.
Emmett Coffin, 3-4th grade, 60 pounds class, fourth place.
Micah Smith, 3-4th grade, 60 pounds class, did not place.
Hudson Winkelman, 1-2nd grade, 70 pounds class, fourth place.
The Sartell Sabres youth wrestlers, grades pre-k to 6, celebrate after their team won the Pool 4 State Championship Award April 7 in Rochester. Thirty-two teams from throughout the state competed at the Northland Youth Wrestling Association tournament.
Sartell Sabre wrestler Jaiden Schwegel pinned opponent Thomas Yancey III of Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville in the final team match to win first place in Pool 4 at the state tournament. The Northland Youth Wrestling Association’s tournament took place in Rochester. Schwegel’s pin-down, along with a pin-down by Sabre Ashby Kouba gave the Sabres’ team enough points (total of 12) to win by 38-30.
Sartell Sabre wrestler Ashby Kouba pinned opponent Sophia Graham of Farmington during the state team tournament in Rochester. That pin-down, along with Sabre wrestler Jaiden Schwegel’s pin-down, gave the Sartell Sabres team enough points (total of 12) to win 38-30.
