Westonka Takes Second in Hopkins Tournament

Westonka's wrestling squad tied for second place at the Paul Bengston Invitational at Hopkins High School on Saturday, Jan. 7.  After a tough semi-final round, the White Hawks where in 6th place but closed out the last two rounds with a strong performance to bring home a second place trophy.  

“We had some tough, close losses in the semi-final round, and our chances of winning the tourney were over," head coach Todd Munsterteiger said. "I challenged the kids to forget about that round and focus on placing in the top three. They responded well and we had an exciting finish to earn some hardware."

In the end, the White Hawks were deadlocked with Hinckley Finlayson at 171 points and just edged out Minneapolis South, who finished 4th with 167.5 points. Section-rival Hopkins won the tourney with 210.5 points, but the White Hawks may have challenged for the title with their full squad.  

“We were missing four regulars and had two open weights," assistant coach Eric Rodelius said. "With everyone there we could have been right in the thick of it.”

Placing for the White Hawks were: Travis Peterson and Noah Byers, 5th; Adrian Wear, John Byers and Erik Hannigan, 4th; Ben Rogers, Ryder Schmidt, Tyler Ihli and Sam Lungstrom, 3rd; and champions Sam Bennyhoff, Tyler Hebig and Will Van Sant.

The White Hawks will travel to St. Paul Humboldt on Thursday, Jan. 12, for a triangular with Humboldt and St. Paul Como Park. On Friday, Jan. 13 the White Hawks will compete in the Minnetonka Invite. Start times for both meets is 5:30 p.m.

Information provided by the Westonka Wrestling Program.