LAKE CRYSTAL — When Nate Meixell became the wrestling coach at Lake Wellcome Memorial Area, the current seniors were in fourth grade, but as he worked with the youth program, he saw something special.
“This is super rewarding,” Meixell said. “You follow these kids all the way through high school, and you see how hard they worked … This is awesome.”
Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial Area scored a couple of key victories early and rolled past Westfield 63-2 in the championship match of the Section 2A wrestling tournament Saturday.
It will be the first trip to the state meet for the Knights since 2015, when the team placed fifth.
“I graduated from here (in 2012), and I was fortunate to be on some teams that made it to state,” Meixell said. “I know how special this next two weeks will be, and I’m glad this group can experience that.”
LCWM Area defeated Medford 45-16 in the semifinals earlier Saturday, while Westfield, a co-op of Hayfield and Blooming Prairie, defeated Waterville-Elysian-Morristown/Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton 43-27.
The Knights defeated Westfield 68-3 on Jan. 30, but Meixell was concerned about possible lineup changes or the emotions on the section tournament.
In the 107-pound match, eighth-grader Brody Herbst found himself in trouble early, but he recovered for a 12-6 decision to start the match.
LCWMA’s Connor Outhudt was in a tough match at 114, tied at 2 midway through the third period. But Outhoudt got a takedown right to his opponent’s back, getting the fall in 4:50.
“Getting the momentum makes all the difference in a dual,” LCWMA senior Griffin Gimenez said. “This means a lot. I was on the team when we didn’t do very well, and now we’re going to state as a team.”
Ryder Antony and Gimenez followed with pins as the Knights took charge, leading 21-0.
After Westfield got on the board with a major decision, Parker Kamm (5:04), Zach Palmer (2:35), Talan Osborne (:41), Ryan Palmer (1:28) and Nathan Sickler (1:27) won by fall as the Knights started to celebrate.
“We had such good support from our crowd,” Meixell said. “When you’re getting pins and looking up at the crowd and everyone is standing and cheering, that’s awesome.”
Nick Slater posted a technical fall at 189, Mason Adams had an 8-3 major decision at 215, and Dietrich Rosin finished with a 9-2 decision.
“Everyone was ready and had a great mindset,” Gimenez said. “We were ready to go.”
The Knights (25-3) will compete in the Class A tournament on Feb. 29 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Pairings will be determined.
Please follow Chad Courrier on X @ChadCourrier.