Wrestling

      On May 17th in Benson, Minnesota the Dave Bartelma Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association will induct another class, and this one includes one of our own. Tom Gruhlke, from the Gobbler class of 1976 and longtime high school coach will join 15 others in the hallowed hall. Tom was a tremendous wrestler for the Gobblers and was a state entrant in 1976. He went on to be a two-time National Qualifier at Concordia of Moorhead and later was head coach at Bird Island-Lake Lillian, BOLD, Eden Prairie and then coached at Ridgewater College. HIs high school teams were a combined 348-318-3 and he took BOLD to the State Team Championship in 2003. He became President of the MWCA and was instrumental in making the Team event at State a Thursday event and Individual Tournament on Friday and Saturday. Tom was one of the best wrestlers I had the opportunity to cover on radio back in that era and he talked to me about the honor of being named to the Hall of Fame, "It's nice, fantastic, to be in the Hall of Fame with such great coaches as Noel Bailey, Skip Nalan, longtime coach at Grand Rapids, Don Dravis, legendary coach at Staples and John Fremling, it's just wonderful." He also had a story for me. "When I was at Concordia my brother Alan passed away. I came home of course, and I dropped off another student, Terri, in Staples on my way. Terri took me to the school and told Coach Dravis what had happened, and he wrote a letter to my parents. He didn't even know who they were, but he knew me and what a nice thing to do. By the way, she always cheered against me loudly when I faced Dave Roberts, a guy I wrestled nine times in my career." That Terri he dropped off. She is now Terri Butenhoff. Tom coached a young man at Bird Island named Steve Wadsworth. Steve had a rough home life and one summer Tom brought him up to the farm and he stayed for a while. He wrote about Tom for the Hall of Fame, "I would not have the life I have without Tom Gruhlke. He saw an awful situation and addressed it head on, changing my life forever. My life will forever be positively impacted by his selfless acts, caring gestures and encouraging spirit. The wrestling community is better because Tom is a part of it and he is deserving of this award." (thanks to the MWCA for Steve's quotes). Tom also told me about the night Noel Bailey allowed Tom's father to sit behind him as he coached Tom against his rival from Staples Dave Roberts. On his deathbed in 2009, Richard asked his son how he had made that happen. What a great memory for father and son to share three decades later. Congratulations Tom, you have spent a lifetime making wrestlers and the sport itself better!

2025 State Wrestling Tournament--Jacobs Journey

***First Round

       Jacob Williams defeated Charlie Witzel of St. Agnes 10-4

Coach Greg Hills, "He wrestled a great match, in control all the way. It was his 150th career win."

***Second Round

      Jacob Williams defeated Caleb Kurtti of Goodhue 4-3. The match was tied into the third but Jacob got a takedown late to win his 40th match of the season. That puts him into the semifinals Saturday against Eli Roiko, a sophomore with a record of 36-4 from United North Central.

      Jacob after the match, "It was an exciting match. I knew he was a head-locker so I had to stay away from that. He got two escapes, and a penalty point because my knee pad had a hole in it." Coach Greg Hills after the match, "It was a great match, we had a good game plan, and he executed it to perfection."

***Third Round

     Jacob lost 4-2 to Eli Roiko, a sophomore who placed last season. Roiko got a takedown in the first period but Jacob was unable to match it and lost for the first time this season. He wrestles Jeremy Blascyk of West Central Area next, and a win would put him into the third place match. Coach Greg Hills on the loss, "He faced a tough kid who placed in the State last season. Hopefully we can get the next one and get to the third place match."

***Fourth Round

     Jacob scored a 10-5 win over Blascyk to advance to the third place match shortly after 4pm. Coach Greg Hills, "We were a little more offensive this match and Jacob did a great job. He's wrestling Caleb Kurtti of Goodhue for third place. He is the kid Jacob beat in the second round 4-3." Jacob moved his record to 41-1 with the win.

***Final Round

     Jacob lost a tough 2-1 third place match to Caleb Kurtti of Goodhue to end the season at 41-2. That was a great run for the senior. Congratulations young man and thanks for taking us on a great journey with you this season. You are one of the best ever to take the mat at Aitkin. His only comment after his final match, "I would have liked to have finished higher on the podium."

      Jacob Williams has had a great year on the wrestling mat and goes into the State Tournament this week unbeaten. The senior has one more chance to grab that State Championship that he has worked so hard to achieve. It’s his second trip to State. He had a 5th place finish in 2023. He knows a ton about the sport, but it never hurts to get a few tips from some of the former Gobblers who have been there. First off though let's hear from a couple of guys who know a lot about the sport and Jacob Williams. Let's start with his Head Coach Greg Hills. "It has truly been an honor to be with Jacob on this journey. You could use all the cliches to describe his work ethic and leadership this season. He definitely leads by example, first one in the room every day and last one out. He also goes to Takedown Gym every Tuesday and Sunday. Our young team has been fortunate to have his leadership. He is currently at 149 wins in his career and has given up only one takedown all season. This week is going to be fun with him at State."
Dan Stifter, former Gobbler Head Coach, a Hall of Famer and current Superintendent at Aitkin Public Schools.
      "Jacob has battled through some injuries throughout his high school career. He has had to focus on doing what he needed to do to get healthy and compete. He has learned to build his mental toughness, and it has helped him excel his senior year. As a wrestler he has the "feel" that coaches talk about. He can be explosive and is fun to watch on the mat."
Bob Lake, longtime assistant coach at Aitkin and wrestling aficionado.
     "You are a Section Champion, act like it and take advantage of going against a 2nd. place finisher. Confidence is important now, don't look at records. They are all good but so are you, in fact you're better. Go offense the whole time, one match at a time."
       Aitkin has sent many wrestlers to the State Tournament over the years and what they learned has served them well. They also have some advice for Jacob this week.
Jason Math-State Champion in 1985.
     "Control the ties and be the aggressor. When you are on top stay behind the arms and make him carry your weight. When you're on the bottom, back pressure, control one hand and up and out. Go get 'em!
Stuart Nutting-Four time State entrant and runner-up in 1990.
    "As Noel Bailey used to say, "It doesn't matter who they are or what they are ranked, everybody puts their jock on one leg at a time." "Going to the big house might be a bit overwhelming but it's just another place to roll out a mat and do battle. Use everything you've learned and leave it all on the mat. That's all you can do. Good luck Jacob, kick some a$$!"
Brett Todd-5th place finisher in 1978.
    "Jacob, as you walk onto the floor at the Xcel Energy Center make it your own personal Noel Bailey Gym. Own it with pride. In your matches be focused and aggressive by putting constant pressure on your opponents. This is even from the bottom position. Be explosive and put your opponent in a defensive mode. Capitalize on your opponent's mistakes and win. Though this might be repetitive, the best advice one wrestler can give another is to have fun, every minute, on and off the mat. Enjoy, you will look back at this time the rest of your life."
Noah Landrus-State Champion in 2016.
    "Believe in yourself, trust your training and put your heart, mind and soul into every second of every match and you can become a State Champion. Wrestling is 100% mental!"
       And who better to talk about Jacob Williams than his mom Shannon, the person who has seen all the ups and downs of his life. "As his mom, what I see in him every day is the same strength, determination and kindness that others see on the football field, wrestling mat and the track. He is a fierce competitor, a dedicated teammate and a leader that younger athletes admire. But, at home he is a regular teenage boy, one who still needs guidance, love and the occasional reminder to pick up after himself. Sometimes he is a bonehead that does silly things. Even in these everyday moments his heart shines through. With everything he has accomplished it's easy to forget that he's still young, still learning and still figuring out his world. He is good, soft-hearted, always willing to lend a hand or share a kind word. No matter how hard he works, how high he climbs, he remains humble, kind and full of the same warmth that makes me proud to be his mom!"
     Jacob Williams takes to the mat this week with 149 wins in his career. He opens against Charlie Witzel of St. Agnes who brings a record of 24-4 into the tournament. Jacob hopes to add four more to that win total and finish his career as a State Champion. Nothing I've seen makes me think that won't happen. In my eyes he is one of the best athletes, sport to sport, that I have ever seen wear the Gobbler colors.

       Jacob Williams stayed unbeaten and won the 215 pound weight class at the Section Individuals at Cass Lake-Bena Friday. Williams moves on to the State Tournament next week. Here's a look at how the nine Gobbler wrestlers did in their weight classes.

107 Carson Crain went 1-2   DNP 

114  Ayden Wendt finished 3-3 in 6th place

121  Weston Kyllonen was 3-2 and in 5th place

127  Andrew Hudrlik was 3-1 in 5th place

145  Quinn Crowther was 2-3 in 6th place

152  Garrett Trotter was 2-2   DNP

160  Luke Workman was 2-2  DNP

189  Damien Maciel was 1-2 and DNP

215  Jacob Williams was 3-0 and SECTION CHAMPION

      Williams was short and sweet after his title match, "The tourney went about like I expected, I had a tough one in the finals though". Jacob beat Andres Gomez of Staples/Motley 7-3 in the final match.

     Coach Greg Hills was impressed with how his kids wrestled, "I thought we wrestled well. This is the toughest Section in the state. It was a great experience for our younger kids to get a taste of the Section tourney. It gives us something to build on with the underclassmen. They will get to watch Jacob finish off his high school career at the State Tournament. Next week it will be fun to see where he ends up".

      Dan Stifter, longtime wrestling coach at Aitkin High School and current Superintendent will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in April in Austin, Mn. The announcement was made recently and they couldn't have selected a better guy. Let's take a peek at his resume. He had a record of 88-36 at Winsted Holy Trinity High School before taking his talents to University of Minnesota-Morris where he won another 80 matches. He was an All-American in 1987, graduating in 1989. He soon moved to Aitkin where he coached from 1993-2009, three of those years with the legendary Noel Bailey. HIs teams reached the State Tournament in 1997, 2007 and 2008.He was named Coach of the Year in the Great River Conference three times and selected Teacher of the Year in 2002. Congratulations Dan, well deserved!