Wrestling Trip
The Wildcats embarked for Minnesota on February 5th 2009 to compete in its
"Lucky 13th" state.
Our travel squad was comprised of wrestlers Jacob Victorio, Melvin Aquino, Vivek Reddy, Kevin Cabato, Jeremy Tabilos, Jarelle Ventura and coaches McNally and Guiducci.
The distance to Monticello, MN, which lies
1, 928 miles from Springstowne's hometown of Vallejo, CA and freezing temperatures were a few things the Wildcats expected to hurdle on their way to the
Gopher State Champiosnhips.
However, many pleasant surprises were headed their way as they were able to beat the weather by visiting the
Mall of America and spending a day at the University of Minnesota, where they were able to train in the
NCAA powerhouse Golden Gophers facility.
While at UoM, they met legendary Coach J Robinson and were able to pick up some tips from NCAA All-Americans Mack Reiter and Brandon Eggum.
The Wildcats were most excited to take in the college atmoshphere by dining in Dinkytown and watching Minnesota take on the Michigan Wolverines in a Big 10 Dual Meet.
Minneapolis was a cultural delight as they experienced it's diverse culture by visiting the "Little Mogadishu" District, where they learned how to say thank you in Somali ... "mahadsanid" and they fell in love with midwest coffee house Caribou.
To some, the most memorable event was the trip to Becker, MN where they were treated to an ice fishing excursion on the frozen Lake Julia, one of Minnesota's mythical 10, 000 lakes.
Having not forgotten why they were in Minnesota, the Wildcats donned their colors and stepped onto the mat versus some of the Midwest's fiercest competitors on February 8th.
As always they led the way with their signature class and sportsmanhip, all the while wrestling their hardest and bringing home 6 medals
GO WILDCATS!!!
Special Thanks
To the University Of Minnesota Wrestling Staff of Coach J Robinson, Mack Reiter, Joe Russell and Mary Christensen-White for their hospitality.
To Heidi Hamre and Erica from Beck's Pub who arranged the ice fishing trip.
To Jeremy Innes of the MYAS for the
Gopher State Wrestling experience.
