Mounds View Wrestling
By Brian Jerzak
Minnesota wrestling fans are used to seeing some of the blue blood programs with a zero in the loss column late into the season. Programs like Simley, Kasson-Mantorville, Shakopee, and St. Michael-Albertville routinely post outstanding regular-season records. One team that stayed undefeated late into the regular season this year might surprise you. The Mounds View Mustangs won their first seventeen dual meets. The season is shaping up to be their most successful since the Mustangs took fourth place at the state tournament in 2007. The best thing for head coach Dan Engebretson – if they make it to State this year or not – is the best is yet to come.
"We are a young team," Engebretson said. "We have three ninth graders and three eighth-graders starting on varsity. We didn't know what to expect, and they are overproducing. They are performing great. Different wrestlers have been stepping up every week. It has been a fun ride so far."
The team is wrestling with confidence beyond their years.
On Episode 9 of the Guillotine Grapevine, the focus comes back to Minnesota wrestling and what makes it great at the Division III level. Jeff Swenson, current Athletics Director at Augsburg and the architect for 10 of the 12 Auggie national championships joins the program.