Novy and Fischer Take Firsts at Faulkton Wrestling Tournament

Owen Fischer and Landon Novy were crowned champions in their weight classes at a new tournament on Milbank’s schedule. Milbank also collected six other finishes in the top five. According to Josh Schmeichel, head coach for the Bulldogs wrestling team, Milbank decided to switch things up a little this year. “In years past, the wrestling team would go out to Rapid City for a really big and tough tournament. With the changes they have made to the tournament and last year our team not going due to illness, we did some thinking,” Schmeichel said. “We decided not to go out to Rapid and instead found a tournament in Faulkton. After attending, I believe this was a good choice for our team.”

Coach Schmeichel recapped the results for the Bulldogs at Faulkton on December 9:
106 pounds – Evan Folk had a good tournament. He went 3-1 on the day, and he only lost a close match to the No. 4-ranked wrestler in North Dakota Class B.
120 pounds– Owen Fischer had a great day. He probably had one of the toughest weight classes at the tournament with five returning state place winners from last year. He started by beating the No-7- ranked Class B wrestler, then moved on to take down the No.3-ranked Class B wrestler. He finished up by beating the No. 8-ranked wrestler in North Dakota Class B. Owen was one of our two champs! Schmeichel also noted that Owen is Milbank’s only returning state place winner. He earned an 8th-place finish last year at 106. “This year, he has returned bigger, stronger, and more determined. On the route to winning the tournament, he beat three highly ranked Class B wrestlers. His goal this year is to place in the top five in the state and to beat one of the coaches – his big brother Eli.”

126 – Jacob Giles didn’t place, but he went 1-2 on the day.
132 – Jacob Johnson went 3-1. His three wins were all by fall and the match he lost was by a major decision to the No. 1-ranked wrestler in Class B. Jacob finished in third place.
138 – Jayce Jonason had a tough day and went 0-2 for the day.
150 – Joe French had a rough start to the day. He lost a close match 6-7, but he came back to win his next four matches, with three pins and a decision, to finish the day 4-1. He ended with a third- place finish.

157 – Nollen Sheeley wrestled hard and finished in fifth place for the Bulldogs.
165 – Reese Rabe went 2-2. His two wins were by fall and one of his losses was to the No. 1-ranked wrestler in Class B. Reese finished in fifth place.
190 – Jesse Schneck went 3-2 in the tournament. His two losses came from the wrestler who is ranked 11th in Class B. The first time he lost, he got majored and lost 11-1, but the second time he wrestled tougher and kept it to only five points. He earned a fourth-place finish.

215 – Carter Gloe had a great day for his situation. He was out sick the previous week and was struggling because of it. He finished the day 4-2 with four pins. His two losses came from the No. 10 wrestler in Class B. Carter took fourth place.
285 – Landon Novy pinned his way through the tournament with four falls on his way to winning the tournament. He was our second champ of the day! He pinned the No. 6 and No. 8-ranked B wrestlers.

What’s next? Coming soon: See the results from the NEC Conference match hosted by Milbank on Thursday, December 14. Then, the Bulldog wrestlers take a break until December 30 when they travel to an invitational at Sioux Falls Lincoln.

File Photo