High School News

Year-End National Girls High School Rankings, Pound-For-Pound Rankings Released

USA Wrestling, FloWrestling and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum have published its July 2023 rankings for high school girls wrestlers for the 2022-23 season. This national ranking evaluates all girls enrolled in grades 8-12, and athletes from all 50 states are eligible for selection.

This is the final ranking of the 2022-23 season and still includes the high school seniors from the year who have graduated. The next ranking will come in the fall of 2023, with all of the graduated seniors taken out.

This ranking is timed just prior to the 2023 USMC Junior/16U Nationals in Fargo, N.D. which will begin next week. The girls competition, which is loaded with ranked wrestlers and up-and-coming talents, will be held July 15-16 and broadcast live on FloWrestling.

Continue reading →

Lumberjacks split boys and girls, Greg Skerik and Rance Bahr take over

BEMIDJI – The list of impactful Bemidji High School wrestling figures is long, so it’s no surprise the Lumberjacks returned to the well to stay at a high level.

The winningest wrestler in BHS history accepted the boys head coaching position starting in 2023-24. Greg Skerik amassed 211 victories before graduating in 2006. The four-time state individual participant and two-time state medalist will replace Rance Bahr, who resigned after 14 seasons.

“I’m from Bemidji, and I’ve been a part of this (wrestling) program for close to 30 years,” Skerik said. “It’s always kind of been a position I wanted, just more of a timing thing with Rance. He’s done a great job for so long. I worked with him when he first started coaching high school. Whenever Rance decided it was time to change things up, I was hoping things worked out on my end, and I’d be in a position to apply.”

Bahr isn’t going anywhere. Shortly after his resignation, he applied for the newly created girls wrestling head coaching position at BHS. In an effort to provide more resources for the largest high school girls wrestling program in Minnesota, Bahr was named Bemidji’s first girls-specific wrestling head coach in school history. Continue reading at bemidjipioneer.com →

Tyler Wells Added to 2023 Recruiting Class

MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota wrestling has added another piece to its 2023 recruiting class as Tyler Wells has signed a National Letter of Intent, head coach Brandon Eggum announced Friday.

Wells becomes the fifth member of a class that includes previously announced Rhett Koenig, Max McEnelly, Gavin Nelson, and Ethan Riddle. A Princeton, Minn., native, Wells joins McEnelly (Waconia) and Nelson (Inver Grove Heights) as in-state products.

“We are excited to add Tyler to an already great recruiting class,” Eggum said. “Tyler is a four-time Minnesota state champion and holds the best career winning percentage for the state of Minnesota. It’s always our goal to keep the best in-state kids home and are excited for the opportunity for Tyler to compete for his home state.”

Continue reading →

Swede Olson Is Hard To Overlook

By Jeff Bro Olsen

It’s only fitting that Alan “Swede” Olson was born on D-Day. It just wasn’t on June 6, 1944. He was born 13 years later to the day.

So, he’s getting old.

No wonder he’s also a Bartelma Hall of Famer for his durability and talents. “I’ve reffed the Fertile Northwest Tournament for 45 straight years.”

The bloke never gets sick. Either that or his wife, Jackie, doesn’t want him hanging around on that particular Saturday in early February. “You’re not sick, you big Swede!” she says, rubbing Vicks on his chest.

He’s been around so long that he finally got to ref at the Minnesota State Wrestling Tournament. It was long overdue. In 2022, he got the assignment to referee the state team consolation matches. “It had never worked out before. The schedule never cooperated.”

He’s not a ballerina, and he looks like a pipefitter. In fact, he’s an electrician. “I did the subsections and sections until I started coaching.”

Continue reading →