Little Falls Boys’ Wrestling Clinches 1st State Appearance Since 2012

Little Falls boys’ wrestling have punched their ticket to the Class AA state tournament for the first time since 2012 after defeating Grand Rapids in thrilling fashion in the Section 7AA championship.

The Flyers finished the season 19-4 and ranked 10th in Class AA while boasting three wrestlers ranked individually in their respective weight classes. But they will have a tall order on hand at the state tournament, where they’ll square off with top-seeded Simley, who has won the past five Class AA state titles.

Regardless of the opponent, though, Little Falls is excited to be competing as a team at the X next week.

“When you qualify as a team, it’s a special experience. I’ve been there before with a number of other teams and it’s always a memorable experience,” said coach Simon Waltman. “I hope to have some success down there and not just show up and enjoy the experience, hopefully bring home some medals, maybe bring  home some hardware as well.”

“I’m just ready to get down there and compete and just be with our team just one last time being all together and just, I’m really happy that it’ll be in the state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center,” said captain Hank LeClair.

“This is big for me. I think I was I was in tears that, like, I don’t know, this hasn’t happened for 12 years,” added captain Joey Wilczek. “I’m just excited to wrestle there. I’ve gone down pretty much since I was in eighth grade. That’s the most exciting, is, you know, I don’t have to sit in the stands anymore. I can, I’ll be down there on the mat.”

The Flyers will compete against Simley on Thursday, Feb. 29 at 9 AM at the Xcel Energy Center, but they still have their individual section tournament this Saturday. Little Falls hasn’t had an individual state wrestling champion since Kevin Larsen and Steve Prozinski in 1979, and they have yet to win a state team title.