The 2024-25 high school season is in the books and there is a lot to be proud of!  From the team ending the year 15-9, to the countless hours of volunteering, to the individual ups and downs; this team has definitely met our program mission statement of getting better on the mat, in the classroom, and in life.  Our seniors have left their mark on this program and they will always be a huge part of New Prague Wrestling.  To those that are returning…next season started yesterday!  What are you going to do to find your way to the “X” in less than a year from today?!?!?!

Last week we sent three individuals to the MSHSL State Wrestling Tournament in St. Paul.  Thank you to the high school administration and band for sending Lawson Eller, Owen Johnson, and Azalea Kallal off on Wednesday with a parade through the halls of the high school.  Thank you to our youth girls for making signs for our state entrants as well during their practice last week.  They can certainly feel the love!

We headed out Wednesday night and had a great opportunity to acclimate the individuals to the Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, and get a workout down by the Mississippi, while catching team competition as well.  

Competition for two of our individuals started on Friday morning and one on Saturday morning.  Here is a little recap of each of the representatives for the Trojans:

Sophomore Owen Johnson 189 pounds:

Owen qualified for the MSHSL State Tournament by winning the section 2AAA qualifier.  Johnson opened the tournament against a senior out of Anoka.  Luke DeChene came into the tournament with a record of 24-7.  We knew this was an important match for OJ because the winner would then face the second seeded wrestler in the bracket.  As the rule goes, if you lose in the first round and the individual you lost to goes on to lose their next match; you are eliminated. Johnson came out in the opening round and wrestled arguably the best match he had all season long.  He had some great takedowns and won by a major decision score of 13-3.  In the next round he was defeated by the second seeded wrestler out of St. Cloud, but he would get another opportunity on the back side of the bracket.  Johnson dominated his next match over his opponent out of Two Rivers High School.  This qualified him for the second day of the tournament.  Johnson’s next match was in the blood rounds.  If he wins, he makes the podium.  If not, he is done.  Unfortunately Johnson fell a little short and was eliminated from the tournament.  Regardless of not making the podium he had an outstanding tournament and I cannot wait to see what the next two years bring for OJ…AKA “Juice”.  Congratulations on your tournament showing. 

Senior Lawson Eller 121 pounds:

Eller entered the tournament as the top seeded wrestler.  He dominated his opening round match and earned a second period technical fall over his opponent from Mounds View.  In the quarterfinals round he had an opponent out of Buffalo who entered the tournament with a 37-3 record.  Eller scored an early takedown and then had a tilt mat return to take an early 7-0 lead.  After the lead, Eller controlled all positions of wrestling and went on to win by a score of 9-0.  This put Eller into the semifinals against an opponent from Stillwater who was the fourth seeded wrestler who is ranked 3rd in state.  Eller earned a takedown on the edge of the mat with :17 remaining in the first period.  In the second period Lawson was unable to get out from the bottom which put the score at 3-0 going into the third period.  In the third his opponent chose the bottom position and was able to get an escape :10 into the third making it 3-1.  There were a couple intense flurries but Eller won each of them and was able to use his stellar defense to hold on to a 3-1 victory.  This put Eller in the State Finals for the FOURTH time in his high school career.  In the finals match Eller had an opponent from STMA who only had three losses entering the tournament.  This match was much easier on a coach's blood pressure than his semifinals match.  Eller controlled all positions of wrestling in the finals match.  He scored two takedowns and an escape in the opening two periods and then controlled the entire third period to win his second state title by a score of 7-0!  Eller is the third individual in program history to have multiple state titles.  He joins Griffin Parriott and Koy Buesgens in that category.  He also ended his high school career tied with Joey Novak for the second most wins in New Prague Wrestling history.  Congratulations Eller on an absolutely amazing NPHS wrestling career!

8th Grader Azalea Kallal  106 Girls Division

Azalea “Z” Kallal made her first trip to the MSHSL State Tournament this season.  She entered the tournament as the top seeded wrestler and an undefeated record against other female wrestlers.  In the opening round Z faced an opponent out of Mille Lacs and she went to work scoring an early takedown and a turn.  After the first period she was up 9-0.  Kallal continued to keep the pressure on and ended the match with a second period technical fall.  In her next match, which was the semifinals, she had who I thought would be her most challenging test of the tournament.  It lived up to be that way.  Z was 19-0 on the season against girls.  In the opening period she Z was taken down in :31.  This was the first time she was ever behind in a match against a girl.  Kallal would score an escape and end the first period down 1-3.  Kallal chose down in the second where she earned a reversal and a ride out to make the score 3-3 going into the 3rd.  :36 into the third Z scored a takedown and was great on top.  It wasn’t until :03 remaining in the match that her opponent earned an escape and scored a penalty point from stalling making the final 6-5 in favor of Kallal.  This put Z into the finals against the second seeded wrestler from STMA.  After two minutes of wrestling the two finalists were tied up 0-0.  In the second Z chose the bottom position.  She earned an escape and then a takedown with a ride out.  Entering the third Z was up 4-0.  Her opponent chose the bottom position in the third and was able to get out in :59.  However, Kallal’s defense on her feet prevented her opponent from scoring again and Z became the first girl in New Prague Wrestling history to win a girls state title!  Congratulations Azalea.  We are proud of you and cannot wait to see what the next four years will bring for you.

After this past weekend, New Prague Wrestling now has SIXTEEN individual state championships!

During the state tournament, the team was awarded a team academic award by the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association.  Thank you to coach Schoenecker for collecting our wrestlers academic accolades and submitting them to the coaches association.  Each year, coaches look at their post-season roster and take ten of those individuals to compile their team GPA. These teams can either qualify for a Silver Award (3.00-3.49) or Gold Award (3.5+) cumulative GPA.  This season the New Prague Trojans earned the Gold Academic Award by the MWCA for a cumulative GPA of 3.560

I want to give a HUGE thank you to the high school coaching staff for all they did this season.  I certainly could not do this without your support and guidance.  I truly believe that we have one of, if not the best, coaching staff in the state.  I would not trade what we have for anything.  Thank you so much to coaches Nick Schoenecker, Jake Trachte, Will Busch, and Gaige Giles for their countless hours spent helping these young men and women become better all around people. 

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