Wrestling

      The Aitkin Gobblers will do something Thursday night that has never been done in Aitkin. They will host the first wrestling triangular wrestling meet for girls only. That’s right, a girls wrestling meet at the Noel Bailey Gym and wouldn’t he be proud. The meet features girls teams from Aitkin, Mora and Mille Lacs and should draw a big crowd. This has been brewing for some time now and it's becoming a reality this week. Coach Greg Hills talked about the process, "Girls wrestling is the fastest growing sport in the nation, and our girls program is blowing up. A big part of this is freshman Carli Crain and her job of recruiting. She was the only female wrestler at the start of last season and now we have 11 girls wrestling. We also have a nice group of girls in the elementary program, so girls wrestling is here to stay. We will be hosting a home match Thursday starting at 5:00. #5 ranked Mora and Mille Lacs are coming to town, Mora currently has four ranked wrestlers and Mille Lacs has two ranked wrestlers. We are excited to be able to fill most of the weights for this match. We have Mali Wasserzieher as a volunteer coach and Maddie Strohmayer is helping out and will coach the girls when we are busy coaching the boys' teams. It will be an awesome atmosphere hosting our first girls' event. The way these girls work in practice we are hoping to have our own ranked girls by the end of the year." Speaking of Maddie, (pictured), she started all this several years ago and competed at State in 2022 finishing 2nd, and in 2023 she was 4th. She has some thoughts on the girls' program as well, "It's been amazing to see the girls wrestling program grow as a sport, not just in Aitkin. Being able to coach and help the girls has been an honor. Even in these few short weeks I see the girls improving. They are hard workers and determined to get better by asking a lot of questions and listening to what's being taught. I'm very excited to see what the future holds for the girls."

       You've heard from the coaches, what about the girls who are ready to make some history Thursday night. Here's a sneak-peek at three of them.

Brianna Ecklund-8th grade, first year of wrestling. “I decided to join wrestling because I knew it wasn’t an easy sport for some people and wanted to see how I would do my first year. I knew it would get me in shape and I would have an amazing experience. It has been a good program run by good coaches. They push us in a good way and if we need help, they are there and will help us through steps.”

Carli Crain-9th grade-2nd. Year wrestler. “I decided to join wrestling because Uncle B.J. wanted me to join, and my coaches and because my first year in high school I was a manager for the wrestling team. I also did it to grow women’s wrestling for Aitkin. I like the sport because I like the excitement and to learn really cool moves. I also like how our wrestling team is like a big family.”

Alaina Henline-8th grade-first year of wrestling. “I decided to join wrestling mostly because both of my younger sisters were in it and I didn’t want to be in basketball anymore. My mom wants me to be in an activity so I’m not sitting at home doing nothing all the time so I decided to try wrestling. I had tried a few camps and started going to Takedown gym in Brainerd with the Crains. I like it a lot better than I did basketball and it was just more fun for me. I really like hanging out with the group of girls. They are all really nice and fun to hang out with. It’s also a pretty competitive sport and really fun to watch.”

        Thursday will be a big day for girls wrestling in Aitkin and as Coach Hills says, Aitkin Gobbler Girls Wrestling has a nice ring to it!"

      It was a great day for the younger wrestlers at the Noel Bailey Gym Saturday, and the Gobblers did pretty well on the day.

First Place

Kaylee Henline

Sierra Laffin

Alaina Henline

Carli Crain

Brianna Ecklund

Drake Thole

Sophie Crain

Peyton Gully

Second Place

Graysen Christensen

Carson Crain

Nikolai Searle

Josh Thole

Brenynn Huse

Annabelle Groce

Hunter Lenarz

Valentino Grace

Tessa Kyllonen

Ana Teal

Lily Covington

Sydney Obert

Henry Nelson

Third Place

Noel Hasskamp

Cody Nelson

Mikael Perrine

Dutch Hasskamp

Jeffery Young

Fourth Place

Lindan Koch

Brekken Allen

Jacyon Northington

Ethan Daniels 

Raegan Gravel

       Congratulations to all the wrestlers and a great showing of fans today as well.

       The Aitkin Gobbler wrestling team opened their season at home Tuesday against Hibbing and lost a close 38-32 match. The Gobblers got wins from Rylan Moritz at 114 with a pin at 3:40, Andrew Hudrlik with a fall at 1:33, Sam Fairchild with a pin at 1:39, Garrett Trotter with an 11-4 decision at 160, Zane Larson with a fall at 172 and Peyton Gully with a pin at 215. Drake Thole, Enzo Grasser, Grayson Christensen and Ethan Daniels all recorded wins in the JV match and Sophie Crain and Sierra Laffin both picked up wins in the girl's match. Gobbler Coach Greg Hills after the match, "We started 3-8th graders and 3-9th graders. The kids wrestled really well and showed that they were ready to fight. That's all a coach can ask for. We had quite a few kids wrestle their first matches after just eight days of practice. We have a fun hard-working group of men and women. I just had four more athletes reach out to me to see if they could join." Hills also went on to talk about the upcoming season, "We're really excited for this season. We've got nine girls in the room now, which is the most we've ever had and that surge of interest is going to jump-start our program in a big way. On the boys side we're young but this group of 28 is incredibly committed and willing to put in the work. If they keep that attitude, they're going to surprise some people."

      The 2025-26 Gobbler wrestling schedule is out. Here's a look.

Tuesday, December 2--Hibbing at Aitkin

Friday, December 5--Aitkin at Foley (multiple schools)

Saturday, December 13--Aitkin at Jackson County Central Tournament

Tuesday, December 16--Multiple schools at Aitkin

Friday, December 19--Aitkin vs Pine-River-Backus at Pequot Lakes Tournament

Saturday, December 20--Aitkin vs Pine River-Backus at Pequot Lakes Tournament

Saturday, January 3--Aitkin at Mora Tournament

Tuesday, January 6--Aitkin at Cloquet (multiple schools)

Friday, January 9--Aitkin at Ogilvie (multiple schools)

Tuesday, January 13--Aitkin at Foley (multiple schools)

Thursday, January 15--Aitkin at Onamia (multiple schools)

Saturday, January 17--Aitkin at Ashland Tournament

Thursday, January 22--Walker-Hackensack at Aitkin

Saturday, January 24--Aitkin at South St. Paul Tournament

Friday, January 30--Aitkin at Conference Tournament at Ogilvie