Joey Payeur
Fulfilling others’ requests works well for Jeremy Mann.
The assistant coach of Mighty Mustang Wrestling in International Falls said there’s a simple explanation why the third-annual “Top of the Nation” Folkstyle Wrestling Championship meet is being held at Falls High School this Sunday (March 26) instead of its April date of previous years.
“Usually, we have it after the Jaycee state tournament, but that would mean it would fall on Easter weekend this year,” noted Mann.
“The feedback we got from the clubs who attended previously was that they would like to see it earlier than in the past.”
About 200 wrestlers from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and possibly some places in Ontario, as well as from right here in Fort Frances, are expected to participate.
“We’re happy with how both the first two tournaments have turned out,” said Mann.
“We’ve had lots of real good support from the community, and we would really like to see more youth turn out to watch so they can see what it is all about,” he added.
“We’re not financially driven,” Mann stressed. “Our goal is to promote the sport in the local area.
“We want to let people know in Fort Frances we think there are a lot of kids over there who could be very good wrestlers.
“The door is always open,” added Mann. “If we can get one kid off the couch, that’s cool.
“We even have a girl wrestler signed up for next year.”
Five club members currently live in Fort Frances, two of whom already have qualified for the Jaycee state tournament next month.
Zayne Basaraba, who just won his second career tournament two weeks ago in Hibbing, and Landon Dressaire-Hammond earned their berths in the state championship earlier this season.
Basaraba was in Thief River Falls, Mn on Saturday, where he sandwiched two losses on points around a pinfall win to finish in third place in the K 45- to 50-pound division.
Vai Lockman, Jack Reinhardt, and Zachary Hammond round out the Canadian contingent of the Mustangs.
That group technically could include Hudson Mann, a Fort Frances native who now lives in the Falls and who just won gold at the MN USA state championships in Rochester two weeks ago.
The club has 26 wrestlers in total, including 12 who are competitive.
“We have a lot of first-year wrestlers who are not ready for competition yet,” explained Mann, who has done plenty of legwork to compile the large field that now attends the meet.
“The competition here is greater than a regular tournament because for a lot of the kids who come, it’s their last matches before the NYWA and Jaycee state tournaments,” he noted.
“The network we’ve built with other clubs and people has helped get better competition up here,” Mann added.
“We want this tournament to be a positive experience whether it’s for a first-year wrestler or a seasoned veteran.”
Action will get underway at 10 a.m., with a fundraising pancake breakfast running from 7:30-9 a.m. at the school.
