I just encourage everyone to compete anywhere they can in the offseason. Offseason wrestlers make in season champions. So, if you are willing to put in the work in the offseason, you are going to see results in season. Put in the extra work, even when you don’t want to, fall in love with the process and just want to be one percent better every day.”

Blake Biessel

Over 7,000 wrestlers from all fifty states plus Guam and Puerto Rico descended upon the Fargo Dome for the 2024 U.S. Marine Corps Junior and 16U National Wrestling Tournament from July 12-20. This tournament focuses on the same two styles of wrestling at the Olympics, Freestyle and Greco Roman. Of those 7,000 plus competing, there are five names Hastings residents should recognize, Blake Beissel, Trey Beissel, Mark Svoboda, Jack Bainbridge and William Bainbridge.
For the Freestyle portion, William Bainbridge finished the tournament 3-2, Jack Bainbridge finished 0-2, Svoboda finished 1-2, Trey Beissel went 4-2 and Blake Beissel placed third overall. In Greco-Roman, Svoboda went 4-2, William 1-2.
Blake Beissel’s trip to the top five of the 120-pound Freestyle brackets started with a match against a wrestler from Florida. Beissel skunked him 10-0 earning a technical superiority win. The next match he was against a wrestler from Illinois, he and Beissel wrestled at the same qualifying meet where Beissel took third in the 126-weight class and the Illinois wrestler took third in 120. This time, he had to wrestle a Beissel and Blake wasted little time winning with another technical superiority with a score of 10-0.
The next match for Beissel was against a three-time state champ from Tennessee who is committed to South Dakota State University. That match was a 5-0 win for Beissel. Another multiple state champ was next in line for our own multiple state champ, this time from Arizona. For Beissel it was almost like looking in the mirror with his opponent being a strong, compact wrestler. Beissel won 4-2.
Up next was a four-time Oregon state champion that is committed to Oregon State.
“He was up on me 8-0,” said Beissel. Remember, a ten-point lead is a technical superiority win. “I ended up storming back and beat him 18-8.”
Beissel’s first loss of the tournament came at the hands of a wrestler from Pennsylvania 6-4 moving him to the consolation bracket where he faced another Illinois state champion who is ranked as the fifth best wrestler in the US in the 113-pound weight class. Beissel once again found himself trailing, this time 6-0 and once again, he made a huge comeback to win 12-6.
The final match was Beissel’s toughest of the tournament, a Penn State Commit out of Pennsylvania. The match was back and forth for a long time until Beissel took the lead for good eventually getting up 7-4. A late push from his opponent narrowed the score to 7-6 and that is when Beissel’s defensive prowess kicked in.
“Coach Vaith said that was the craziest last minute of a match he has ever seen,” laughed Beissel. “There was a lot of action, but nothing happened. There were a lot of shots, a lot of blocks and it was high paced action, but no points were scored.”
For wrestlers, a big draw for a tournament like the one in Fargo is to wrestle the best of the best. That gives each person a chance to assess what their strengths are and what opportunities they need to work on. They also go to camps with some of the best wrestlers in the country and they see a level of coaching that could rival even the best colleges. It is all an opportunity to get better in the high school off season.
“Every single match, like Blake was saying, it's against the Florida state champ. It's against Illinois State champions,” added Raiders head coach Tim Haneberg. “You are wrestling the best competition. So obviously, your skills are put to the test, and you get to really hone your skills.”
“Competition is the most important thing in wrestling, you're not going to get better just practicing. You have to compete to see where you're at and there is no better way to do that than face the best kids because you're going to get better but you're not going to get as good if you're wrestling guys that are not at your level. So, the opportunity to go and so these guys are just awesome. It is an awesome opportunity for me to be able to just go and have the opportunity to face the rest of these guys,” said Beissel.
Beissel will make his move to the University of Minnesota in just a few weeks, and he cannot wait. A few days after he moves in, he starts his first college practice. That made this tournament his last official one as a high school senior.
What advice does he have for young wrestlers?
“I just encourage everyone to compete anywhere they can in the offseason. Offseason wrestlers make in season champions. So, if you are willing to put in the work in the offseason, you are going to see results in season. Put in the extra work, even when you don’t want to, fall in love with the process and just want to be one percent better every day.”
That sounds like good advice for any young athlete and even good advice for every day, just try to be one percent better each day.
Thanks for a great Raider career and for leading by example for as long as you have Blake and good luck with the Gophers!