Wrestling

This winter, the Cannon Falls wrestling team saw more students get named as All Conference athletes than any other sports program on campus. Among the five wrestlers that were recognized was senior, Cooper Peterson, who played a massive role in the team’s success this season, with a mind bogglingly successful season. Peterson was utterly dominant in conference encounters, coming out on the losing side of just one match against a wrestler who went on to be the second best in the state. His overall record of 38-4 speaks for itself. Come the end of the season, his third All Conference award was inevitable. Raw ability would not have been enough to reach such heights, the senior acknowledged. Together, a strong work ethic and a drive to push himself to be the best version of himself both on and off the mats largely explain the dominance he dished out during his high school career. Another valuable skill that Peterson learned during his time wrestling for the Bombers was the importance of asking questions. “I encourage younger athletes who are chasing greatness to ask questions. The more prepared you are for a situation, the more likely you are to see a good outcome,” he advised. For years, Peterson epitomized what it means to lead by example. As hard as it may have been to close the curtains on an illustrious high school career, he now has set his sights on his next challenge: collegiate wrestling at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. As long as he maintains the work ethic, drive, and passion that spectators have seen from him on the mats for the last six seasons, Peterson will undoubtedly rise to the occasion. 

Another soon to be high school graduate, Ryan Linde, was the other senior to be awarded a spot on the All Conference wrestling team this season. Linde was an integral part of the team’s success, as he picked up a large portion of the team’s points. He kicked the season off by tearing through the competition, going undefeated for his first 14 matchups. He and Peterson are credited with leading the team to its first winning record season in a number of years. Although having fun was the most important thing to Linde for his final season, he did buckle down and deliver the results his team needed. “I tried to have fun at practices and tournaments, but, when it came down to it, I got serious when I needed to be,” he said. As Linde closes this chapter in his life, he can hold his head high at what he brought to the Bomber wrestling team. 

Despite losing two valuable team members, the future looks incredibly promising, as the squad will be retaining three more All Conference wrestlers for the next two years, and two of them for a year beyond that. As just freshmen, Colten Black, and Cooper’s younger brother, Gavin Peterson, were astonishingly named to the All Conference along with their sophomore teammate, Riley Keenan. Peterson was understandably ecstatic when asked how he felt about sharing the limelight with his little brother. “It was awesome to be able to share this honor with him. He is a very talented wrestler who has a very bright future ahead of him. He is going to do great things,” Cooper said, full of praise. The pair of seniors oozed nothing but delight at all the success that these three underclassmen were able to achieve so early on in their careers. People will likely be talking about these young wrestling sensations for the years to come.