Westonka Sophomore Sam Bennyhoff Takes Second at State Wrestling Tournament

The Mound Westonka White Hawks had seven wrestlers that competed in the 2013 Class AAA individual wrestling tournament on Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2 at the Xcel Center in St Paul.  

Sophomore Sam Bennyhoff took home runner-up honors, becoming the first state finalist since Jake Saatzer won a title in 2007.  

“Sam wrestled a great tournament including a thrilling overtime win in the semis to get to the finals,” said head coach Todd Munsterteiger.  

Bennyhoff started off with an opening round win over Colin LaBrosse of Park High School. After falling behind early, Bennyhoff stormed back and then held on for a 7-5 win.  

“It was important for Sam to get that first state tournament win and get him rolling,” commented assistant coach Eric Rodelius.  

Bennyhoff’s second-round opponent was junior Colin Degrammont of Lakeville North, one he was familiar with and was confident he could beat. Bennyhoff dominated his opponent the entire match and was up 11-3 in the third period before Degrammont was forced to default with an injury. Bennyhoff’s win set up a semi-final matchup with sophomore Brian Maas of Bemidji, who ended Bennyhoff’s season last year when he beat him in the consolation bracket at the state tourney.  

“We knew Maas would be tough, but Sam is bigger than he was last year and more technically sound. As long as he attacked right away and stayed on him we thought he could beat him,” added assistant coach Jake Saatzer.  

After both wrestlers earned a takedown and an escape, the score was tied 3-3 after the first period. An escape for each wrestler in the next two periods sent the match to overtime.

In the first sudden-death overtime period, neither wrestler scored after one minute elapsed, setting up the next overtime: two 30 second periods.  

Maas had the choice in the first period, and chose the down position. Bennyhoff was able to ride him out and prevent the escape, setting up his chance for the win. He chose down as well, and was able to earn an escape with seconds to go and hold off Maas for the win.  

“It was an awfully exciting match and a great victory for us,” added Rodelius.  

Bennyhoff’s opponent in the finals was defending state champion Mailu Woiwer of Apple Valley, who was the top-ranked wrestler at 113 pounds and a heavy favorite to repeat as state champion.  

“We knew it was going to be a tough go in the finals, but we told him to do his stuff and have some fun,” said Saatzer.  

Woiwer had an answer for everything he threw at him and earned a 13-0 state finals victory.  

“It was a great run for Sam, and we know he is going to work even harder in the off-season to get another shot at a title,” added Munsterteiger.

The six other state entrants wrestled well but were not able get to the placing rounds. Freshmen Ryan Reid and Drake Heath both battled well, but lost in the first round and were eliminated. Junior Ryder Schmidt had an impressive first-round 8-0 victory, but ran into eventual champion Daniel Woiwer (Mailu’s brother) in the quarterfinals. Schmidt was defeated by Woiwer, then lost in the first round of consolation to end his season. Bryan Tierney had a tough draw facing the top two rated kids in each of his matches and narrowly losing 5-4 and 8-5 respectively. Both of his opponents placed in the top four.  

Senior Will Van Sant also lost two close matches, dropping his first-round match to the eventual runner-up 6-4, and then losing a 1-0 nail-biter in the first round of consolation.

Senior Tyler Hebig made his fourth and final trip to state, and was close to getting on the podium. After a tough 3-1 opening round loss to the eventual runner-up, Hebig fought through a physical match in the first round of consolation and came out on top with 2-1 victory. In the second round, Hebig was down 1-0 late in the match, and then gave up a two point near fall in a desperation move for a 3-0 loss.  

“Tyler was so close and just missed out on his goal of placing. Regardless, he had an outstanding career and was one of the best leaders and student-athletes I have ever had the privilege of coaching. His achievements and contributions to the program are simply monumental,” said Munsterteiger.

The White Hawks wrestling family will celebrate their outstanding season at the annual banquet on Tuesday, March 12, at 5:30 p.m. at the Gillespie Center.