Fifth grader Billy Ward and second grader Jack Clemenson each took top 6 honors in their respective weight classes this past weekend competing at the Gopher National tournament held in Monticello, Minnesota.  In a bracket with 19 other kids, Billy Ward finished in 5th place; wrestling at 120 lbs.  Ward finished 6-2 on the day that included 3 pins.  Jack Clemenson also has 19 other kids in his bracket as he finished in 6th place; wrestling at 60 lbs.  Jack finished 4-3 in his first national tournament.   

The Bison Wrestling Club had three other athletes competing in the tournament; third grader Chase Clemenson finished 2-2 wrestling at 75 lbs.; fourth grader Griffin Magee finished 1-2 at 63 lbs.; and sixth grader Stetson Gisselbeck finished 0-2 at 74lbs.

The following Bison Wrestling Club youth wrestlers competed at Fargo Davies High School on Saturday, January 26th.  The club had 12 wrestlers competing at the tournament and the results are as follows:

Coltyn Mueller- 1st Place; Watson Nagel- 1st Place; Griffin Magee- 1st Place;  Grady Olafson- 1st place; Stetson Gisselbeck- 1st Place; Billy Ward- 1st Place;  Jaxon Werder- 1st Place;  Nolan Genereux- 2nd Place; Jake Mattern- 2nd Place; Cameron Halverson- 2nd Place;  Harper Schultz- 2nd Place; Louie Sexton- 4th Place

The Bison Wrestling Club had two athletes take part in the Midwest Wrestling Tour Badgerland Nationals down in LaCrosse, Wisconsin on January 5th.  Fifth grader William Ward had a great weekend and finished in 3rd Place at 130 lbs.  Ward finished the day with a 3-1 record; which included two wins by pin and a 9-0 major decision.  Ward's only loss came to eventual champion in the semifinals by the a score of 15-8.  

Fourth grader Griffin Magee wrestled at 63 lbs and finished the day with a 1-2 record.  Magee won his first round match by pin in 1:21 then lost 9-0 to eventual champion in the quarterfinals.  In the consolation round Magee went on to lose a close 4-2 decision to end his day.

Overall, the boys wrestled well and learned a lot.  Tournaments like this are a great challenge for the athletes to see where they are good and where they need to make improvement.  

Next up for the Bison Wrestling Club will be January 11th in Moorhead, Minnesota; January 12th in  Fergus Falls, Minnesota; and potentially January 13th again in Moorhead, Minnesota

The Bison Wrestling Club Youth took to the mats on Sunday, December 30th competing at the prestigious youth wrestling tournament The Rumble on the Red; held in the Fargo Dome.  The BWC scored a total 62 team points with 7 club kids entered.  The team was led by 5th grader Billy Ward who finished in 2nd place at 130 lbs.  The BWC also had 5th grader Cameron Halverson; wrestling at 120 lbs.; finish in 5th place.   Fourth grader Griffin Magee finished in the Round of 12 in the 10U 65 lbs. division registering 3 wins and 2 loses.  Jack Clemenson (2nd Grade), finished 2-2 in the 8U 60 lb. category.  Chase Clemenson and Stetson Gisselbeck each registered 1 win on the day wrestling in the 10U 80lb. and 12U 75 lb. divisions. Derick Jorissen also competed in the 10U 60 lb. division and finished 0-2.  Overall, the boys wrestled their best and are looking to make improvements in the next few weeks here leading up to their next competitions. 

The Bison youth took to the mats again; this time in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota.  The club had 11 wrestlers competing with  four champions in Jack Clemenson- 2nd Grade;  Watson Nagel- 2nd Grade; Cameron Halverson- 5th Grade; and Billy Ward- 5th Grade.   The club also had five runner-up finishes in Coltyn Mueller- 2nd Grade; Chase Clemenson-3rd Grade; Jake Mattern- 4th Grade;  Stetson Gisselbeck- 6th grade; and Alex Anderson- 6th Grade.  Derick Jorissen and Harper Schultz each came home with bronze medals.

The Bison Wrestling Club youth season has begun.  The first local tournament was held in Glyndon, MN at the D-G-F High School.  A total of eleven club kids competed in the event.  The club had eight champions in Coltyn Mueller -2nd grade, Jack Clemenson-2nd grade, Watson Nagel- 2nd grade, Chase Clemenson- 3rd grade, Griffin Magee- 4th grade, Stetson Gisselbeck- 5th grade, Cameron Halverson- 5th grade, and Billy Ward- 5th grade.  The club also had a runner-up finish in Alex Anderson-6th grade; and bronze medals going to Jake Mattern-4th grade, and Derick Jorissen-4th grade.  

Great work boys!  Keep working hard and continue to improve for the next one.

Below is the form to fill out and return at Tuesday's November  20th's practice if you would like to purchase a singlet, shirt, and shorts for your child to wear during competitions.  These competition singlets, shorts and shirts are meant to be worn for all tournaments they may participate in.  If you are planning on writing a check please make it out to the Bison Wrestling Club; we also have the credit card option as well.  If you have any questions feel free to talk with Coach Magee.

Go to Join/Register and click on Folkstyle Info

The Bison Wrestling Club is playing host to a pre-season camp in the NDSU Wrestling room every Sunday until October 21st.  The sessions will run from 1:30-3:00 pm and are designed to get the wrestlers in some shape to prepare for their respective seasons.  The camp is open to all athletes in grades 7-12 and the cost is $70 for all 7 sessions.  Please refer to the flyer that is posted for more details.  

The Bison Wrestling Club had five athletes competing this past weekend in Rochester, MN with hopes of making a world team.  Wrestlers Paul Bianchi-57 kgs; McGwire Midkiff-61 kgs; Jaden VanMaanen- 70 kgs; Brandon Metz-125 kgs; and Brent Fleetwood-57 kgs all had their respective chances to get to that point.  With a number of great competitors and a barrage of talent, the BWC wrestlers had some highs and some lows.

Paul Bianchi lead the way for the Junior level wrestlers finishing second in the challenge tournament with significant wins over Pat McKee (Minnesota Storm) 18-8 and Gage Curry (American) 10-0.  Those wins set up a match against Ohio State recruit and two-time cadet world team member Malik Heinselman.  Bianchi would go on to lose the bout 8-2.

McGwire Midkiff and Brandon Metz each recorded wins to start their day.  Midkiff rattled off a 10-0 victory over Northern Iowa's Jack Skudlarczyk before running into Jordan Decatur and Joshua Saunders ending his run at making the team.  Brandon Metz came in as the second seed in the challenge tournament starting his run with a solid 3-0 victory over Michigan State's Christian Rebottaro.  In the challenge tournament semi-finals Metz was up against Illinois' Anthony Cassioppi.  Metz and Cassioppi are no strangers to each other as they had met in the 2017 Junior Greco and Freestyle finals in Fargo; with Cassioppi taking both bouts.  The match was pretty competitive with Cassioppi holding onto a 1-0 lead heading into the second period.  At the start of the second; Metz tweaked his right knee which led to the snowball effect of points that ended with Cassioppi winning 11-0.  Metz was forced to default out of the tournament.  Metz also has a chance to make the Greco world team this June.

In the toughest weight of the tournament Jaden VanMaanen- 70 kgs; lost both matches to very respectable opponents in David Carr (Titan Mercury WC) 15-9; and Brock Mauller (Eierman Elite) 11-0 to end his day 0-2.

In the Senior level; Brent Fleetwood- 57 kgs; came into the tournametn as the seventh seed having to face off against former University of Minnesota four-time All-American Zach Sanders (Minnesota Storm).  The two traded off attacks with Sanders scoring first. From there he never looked back as Sanders came away with an 8-0 victory.  Fleetwood would drop down to the consolation rounds where he faced off against former Cornell All-American Frank Perrelli (Titan Mercury WC); who was previouly ranked #19 in the world at 57 kgs.  Fleetwood came out hot by controlling the center of the mat and putting Perrelli on the shot clock and earnign the first point of the match. Fleetwood and Perrelli were tied 1-1 going into the second before Fleetwood  scored a two point takedown on a double leg attack; followed up by a four-point throw.  The throw you be challenged and it would stand to give Fleetwood the extra point and an 8-1 lead.  A late takedown by Perrelli wasn't enough and Fleetwood came away with an impressive 8-3 victory. Later in the day Fleetwood would lose a tough battle to former Illinois All-American Zane Richards 12-6 t end his impressive showings in both the U.S. Open and the UWW World Team Trails.

Overall, the experience was a good one for these athletes to see where they are at and what they can improve on.  It also shows us as a club where we need to grow and where we can benefit from resources we have coming in.  

The Bison Wrestling Club will have five athletes competing for a chance to make a world team this weekend in Rochester, MN.  The BWCRTC will have Brent Fleetwood 57kgs in the Senior Division competing  along with Junior Division competitors  Paul Bianchi 57kgs; McGwire Midkiff 61kgs; Jaden VanMaanen 70kgs; and Brandon Metz 125kgs who will all be trying to make a world team in Freestyle.  Junior competition starts Friday with the Senior level competition on Saturday.   All matches can be seen on http://www.flowrestling.com located in the FLOARENA. Matches can only be seen if you have a flowrestling account. 

Welcome to the new home of the Bison Wrestling Club.  We have upgraded/updated our website to help allow better communication of all activities associated with the club along with providing online registration/payment options and a live calendar to keep everyone in loop on practices, events, tournaments, etc.  Please take some time to navigate our new site and see all the new great features.  Ultimately we are striving to make a better experience for our alumni, fans, supporters, and participants!!