OTC wrestlers competes at the Rumble on the Red
Sports | Published on January 10, 2023 at 12:30pm EST | Author: henningmaster
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After a string of cancellations and postponements, the OTC Bulldog wrestling finally got back on the mat in the Fargodome at the Rumble on the Red Wrestling Tournament.
“This was not originally on our schedule, but after the Jackhammer Tournament in Pequot Lakes got canceled a couple of weeks ago, I decided to get us in this tournament,” said head coach Jason Rogers. “This was an excellent opportunity for our athletes to get some quality matches and a lot of them. Plus it allowed us to bring our whole team to compete as they had Varsity, JV and girls tournaments all going on simultaneously.”
With as young of a team that the Bulldogs have, the decision was made to put most of their wrestlers in the JV tournament. The only wrestler to get entered in the varsity tournament was Kale Rich at heavyweight. Rich had a good tournament going 2-2, with his losses coming to two individuals that ended up placing.
The JV tournament was where most of the Bulldogs competed.
“There were 64 teams entered in this tournament and in the JV, teams could enter multiple entrants at each weight. Some of the brackets had 70+ kids in them,” said Rogers.
The highlight for the Bulldogs came from Carson Roehl at 138 lbs., as Roehl finished third in a 54-man bracket. Roehl was able to make it to the semi-finals before he lost to the eventual champion. He then won his next two to secure the third place finish. Roehl ended up going 6-1 in the tournament.
Some other notable wrestlers for the Bulldogs were Charlie Bertrand at 85 lbs. going 2-2, Mason Christianson at 126 lbs. going 3-2, Tayden Soma at 132 lbs. going 3-2, Tommy Ehlert at 145 lbs. going 4-2 and Levi Evavold at 152 lbs. going 2-2.
Last but not least the Bulldogs had two female wrestlers competing in the girls tournament. They were Kayetana Lopez-Moen at 120 lbs. and Alyssa Witt at 125 pounds. Both girls went out and put up a great effort. Lopez-Moen ended up going 1-2, gaining a pin and both losses were close decisions. Witt ended up going 0-2, but had to wrestle the eventual champion in the first round.
“I thought this was a great experience for all the Bulldogs involved. Everyone ended up with good quality matches, and the atmosphere was amazing. With 22 mats all wrestling at the same time, the athletes got to see what it takes to win a big tournament like this and hopefully it will help set the tone for the rest of the season,” said Rogers.