With another successful season under their belt, the Cannon Falls wrestlers reminisce over their achievements of the year. From sophomores to seniors, team members excelled all the way up to the state tournament. As sophomore, Cooper Peterson, put it, “This season was probably the most fun season that I ever experienced. We had a great group of guys who were all striving to get better. We worked hard, but had a lot of fun while doing it.” Sections and State are a good place to display the effort put into the season, and with many on the team peaking at the perfect moment, the work has finally paid off.

At sections, many of the top ten Cannon Falls wrestlers placed quite high in their weight class. Levi Anderson, Sam Ludden, Chris Modrak, Dylan Rohr, and Henry Johnson all wrestled in sections along with Peter Fitterer and Erwin Strelow, who placed 3rd, and Ryan Linde, who placed 6th. State qualifiers Cooper Peterson and Hayden Strain were both highlights of the section competition with Peterson qualifying in a true second match and Strain placing 1st. Peterson was thankful for seniors, Hayden Strain, Dylan Rohr, and Charlie Otto, saying, “I also want to thank the going away seniors for all that they have taught me, and I wish them luck in whatever their future holds.” Only wrestling one match in State may not seem like the biggest success, but Peterson reached a level that many seniors aspire to reach very early in his career. Not only was he grateful for the seniors, but Peterson’s immense appreciation for his coaches was obvious as well, “I want to thank our coaches for helping us to improve throughout the season and for putting a lot of their time and effort into helping us find success.”

Getting back to State and placing 4th was a very big accomplishment for Strain, and being a captain gives the younger wrestlers motivation to strive for greatness, like through encouragement during strenuous running drills in practice. He said, “It’s a once in a lifetime experience. I’m happy I was able to go to state twice. I hope next year we send a bunch more individuals to state,” and his hope for the future is thriving throughout the whole team. Many others were satisfied with their season, and Peterson’s recap on his journey to state expresses a lot of how his other teammates may have felt, “This season was one wild ride for me, wrestling up as high as 126, and as low as 113. I had never wrestled multiple weight classes in a season before, but I liked the challenge of it and I feel that it helped me become a better wrestler. Making it to state was an unreal experience. I’m still amazed at the whole journey that I took to wind up there.” The road for a wrestler is an upward climb, but through the results of this season, one thing is clear to see: Cannon Falls wrestling is on the rise.