Wrestling Tigers vie in "Border Battle"

So much wrestling at the Milbank (SD) "Border Battle." That was the name for quite the showcase. Our Tigers of MAHACA were in the midst of it all. Thanks to the wrestling publication "Guillotine" (not a very appealing name) for having quite detailed reviews. 

I guess "guillotine" is a wrestling hold. Outside of that it does not conjure up very favorable thoughts or images, does it. 

Didn't the Jan. 6 rioters set up a big guillotine prop outside the U.S. capitol to show what they wanted to do with Mike Pence? "Hang Mike Pence." Seemed like a sordid state of affairs in our nation's capitol - just my opinion. What if the assaulters had actually gotten ahold of Pence or his wife Karen? They came extremely close. Some of the security people sent "goodbye" messages to their families. 

Thank the Lord these attacks were not pulled off successfully. It was all done on behalf of Donald Trump. Who is in prison now? Well I guess not. Disgraced? Not that either, I guess. Looks like he's the prohibitive favorite for the Republican presidential nomination. 

Iowa could stop that. But it won't. The "evangelical Christians" are too strong in Iowa, a very backwards state. And extreme Christianity is what is buoying Donald Trump now, according to various credible news reports. Christianity! It has come to this. "Nationwide abortion ban." You'd think a female candidate like Nikki Haley would stand up for her gender and "reproductive health care rights." She does not. The first woman president of the U.S. would have to be a Democrat. 

We can feel thankful that neither Pence nor his wife lost their lives on Jan. 6. The "guillotine" prop ended up being just that, a "prop," an incredibly stupid and offensive prop. But the person who inspired all that behavior looks like he may be headed back to presidential power. 

With the help of our Stevens County? That looks to be the case. With the help of our local Apostolic Christians? This too looks to be the case. We reap what we sow. Maybe it's time for all good people to start turning their backs on Christianity. I write this with the utmost seriousness. The ELCA of the Lutheran faith cannot fight these battles alone. 

 

 The poster says it all! (Facebook image)

Sioux Falls Jefferson 42, Tigers 21

The MAHS wrestling Tigers unfortunately did not fare well on a team basis at Milbank. That's how it goes sometimes. Nevertheless the program obviously has lots of vitality and enthusiasm. Wrestling is not my cup of tea but I enjoy writing about it. The wrestlers can torture themselves to lose weight. I don't have to do that. The Tigers were defeated by Sioux Falls Jefferson 42-21.

Let's roll up our sleeves and look through this dual. Let's stay familiar with many of the names gracing the wrestling mat this winter. 

I do see a problem with forfeits in this matchup: three of them right away in the bottom weights. "Double forfeits." That is a downer.

The individuals

Xavier Kleindl at 126 pounds lost by fall to Aidan Wells in 1:34. Then we see two more forfeits in the next two classes going up. Downer again - total pet peeve of mine in the wrestling sport, ranking up there with weight loss. The two Sioux Falls Jefferson winners were Graham Wilde (132) and Brady Kuhnert (138). 

We get some good news at 144 pounds. Here it was Tiger Grayson Gibson winning by fall in 3:20 over Benjamin Neilan. Success continued at 150 where Andrew Marty was the victor over Austin Osborn. The "Guillotine" reports this bout outcome as "Inj. 4:00." So, caused by injury?

Andrew Marty (Facebook)

Jefferson's Carter Dahl won by forfeit at 157 pounds. At 165 pounds it was Jefferson's Sam Glesiah pinning our Ryker Erickson in 3:05. The 175 bout saw Jefferson's Anneyso Ahmed pin our Connor Duncan in 4:57. Connor Olson of the Tigers was the fall winner at 190 over Landon VanRoekel (5:48). 

Our 215-pounder Issac Lhotka came out on the short end by fall in 2:21 against Landon Duran. Our "big guy" at 285 was Javon Johnson and he prevailed by decision 5-1 over Noah Duran. 

The Tigers were on the short end of their duals in this "Border Battle." But it was an invigorating event for competition.

 

Girls basketball

Let's take a look at our Morris newspaper website to see what's up with sports. Here we go - wait a minute, you'd think all our sports here involves "UMM Cougars." What's up with that? Shouldn't our media outlets prioritize our own local kids who are growing up here? And if not, why not? Besides, doesn't UMM athletics have its own high-quality website for reporting with all the bells and whistles, pictures etc.? 

So what gives? Can anyone answer me on that? 

I scroll down and I eventually see a heading about the MACA girls basketball game against Minnewaska. That's nice, isn't it. It actually isn't, as this was a game the media ought not prioritize. It was a very "down" night for the Tigers with an embarrassing final score. But it gets attention on the Stevens County Times website. I feel kind of insulted and I'm not even a parent. 

How can we not feel insulted by our local paper on this, because since the infamous 'Waska game, the Tigers have picked up three wins. The three most recent games have had these outcomes: 74-72 over Rocori, 53-37 over Paynesville and 55-44 over CGB. We have lifted our won-lost record to within one game of .500. Why can't the Stevens County Times website stay on top of things better? 

I give a rip about these things and I am not even paid to do so. The paper has people who get paid, Kemosabe.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com