Basketball and hockey aren't the only sports heavy with tournaments during the holiday season.
Wrestling is on the calendar, too. The high school portion of one of the biggest events, the Rumble on the Red in Fargo, concluded Friday, and Minnesota teams and individuals dominated.
Teams from Minnesota took the top eight spots and nine of the top 11. New Prague was first with 193.5 points, far outdistancing runner-up Stillwater, which had 146. Jackson County Central was third with 135.5 and Waconia fourth with 115.
Among individuals, a surprise came at 195 pounds, where New Prague senior Joey Novak defeated Waconia senior Max McEnelly 5-0 in the final. McEnelly, a three-time state champion, last lost during his freshman season.
Stillwater's Ryder Rogotzke, who tied a state record with 44 pins last season, was at it again, pinning all five of his opponents to win at 182 pounds. Rogotzke dispatched Caden O'Malley of Tri-City United at 1:14 in the final.
Novak wasn't the only standout from New Prague. Trojans senior Koy Buesgens won at 145, defeating Nolan Reiter of Big Lake 18-6 in the final, and Lawson Eller won at 106.
Albert Lea also had three wrestlers finish atop weight classes: Brody Ignaszewski at 126, Logan Davis at 120 and Michael Olson at 113.
Alex Braun of Woodbury slipped past Tyson Charmoli of St. Francis 3-2 in the 138-pound final, and Nolan Ambrose of Jackson County Central won at 132.
The Rumble bills itself as the "largest high school sanctioned wrestling tournament in the USA" and includes brackets for boys and girls. Forty of the teams in the 71-team field hailed from Minnesota.
The holiday wrestling season began two weeks ago with the Minnesota Christmas Tournament at the Rochester Mayo Civic Center. Simley won the team championship, and St. Michael-Albertville took second.
The biggest upcoming event is The Clash Duals, routinely drawing top programs from around the country. Formerly held at Rochester Community and Technical College, this year it will take place at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse (Wis.) next Friday and Saturday.
The boys' bracket features 32 teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Connecticut, Arizona, Missouri and California. Four states are represented in the eight-team girls' bracket: Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa and Arizona.
The prestigious, 38-team Kaukauna (Wis.) Cheesehead Invitational also begins next Friday. Five notable teams from Minnesota are involved, including two of the top teams in Class 2A, Simley and Kasson-Mantorville. Others are Farmington, St. Thomas Academy and Wayzata.