Wrestling: Willmar Cardinals ramp up for another deep run

Dec. 2---- A tiebreaker forced the Willmar wrestling team to stay home for the state tournament last season.

Bemidji ended the Cardinals' chances at a fifth straight Section 8AAA championship. Tied 29-29 at the end of the championship dual, the Lumberjacks advanced to state via a tiebreaker. Bemidji won seven matches to Willmar's six.

So, it's not hard to find some motivation for the 2025-26 Willmar wrestling team.

"It lights a fire under everyone's tush in the room," said senior Cam Champagne. "Guys that may not have been our key guys ... it lights a fire underneath them to step it up and it kind of gives us an edge.

"We lost once (to Bemidji), we don't ever want to feel that feeling again. It's a really big motivator to keep us disciplined and consistent."

The Cardinals' hopes of returning atop the section begin on Thursday. They open the season with a Central Lakes Conference triangular against Detroit Lakes and Rocori at 5 p.m. at Willmar's Big Red Gym.

Fifty-three boys are registered for the Cardinals, according to head coach Ed Oehlers. Willmar begins the season ranked seventh in Class AAA according to

, a statewide wrestling publication. Elsewhere in Section 8AAA, Bemidji is ranked fifth in AAA while Brainerd is just outside the top 12 in the Lean and Mean ratings.

"We've had great effort (at practice)," Oehlers said after the team's public scrimmage on Nov. 24. "The big thing is chemistry. You have some years where it's like, well, we're going to have to work on that all season. And I don't see that yet this year. ... I think they have a great chemistry and we just have to continue to develop it towards our goals."

Four state competitors are back for Willmar, including medalists Cavin Carlson (second at 139 pounds), Caiden Kassel (third at 114) and Landen Kassel (sixth at 107). Champagne returns after reaching state at 160.

Caiden Kassel, a junior in his second year at Willmar after transferring from Washington state, noted tougher early season practices as a team.

"It was really tough last year (losing to Bemidji)," Caiden said. "I've never got to go to (Grand Island Arena in Nebraska) as a team. Losses aren't necessarily bad, but they hurt most of the time. Losses hurt, but they propel you. They make you want to work harder and be tougher."

Willmar has four wrestlers ranked to start the season. The Kassel brothers are both ranked second, with Landen, a freshman, at 107 and Caiden at 114. Carlson, a South Dakota State University commit, is ranked second at 145 to start his senior season. Champagne is ranked seventh at 189.

While not as highly touted as the four ranked wrestlers, the other nine spots have experience to build off of.

"There's a good chunk of us that have been wrestling for a while like Wyatt Cruze, Caleb Cruze and Isaac Cayler, we're all kind of at the same weight," said Carlson, who plans to wrestle at 160 this season. "Hopefully we can spread ourselves out to make our team more solid throughout the lineup. We'll have to get guys wherever we can fit them and try to make our lineup as solid as possible."

Champagne likes what the Cardinals have in the upper weights with wrestlers like juniors Lawson Anez and Cayler. At the lower weights, Caiden sees big things from his brother Landen and junior Logan Fagerlie.

"I think everyone is excited to show the community of Willmar and the state that they practice just as hard as the top guys and they're ready to compete any day and anywhere," Champagne said. "It's really exciting."

Caiden added, "There's so many guys who may not get the varsity spot, but they're in the room grinding every day. I have to give credit to them."

The Cardinals have high-end individual tournaments with the St. Michael-Albertville Invitational on Saturday, the Minnesota Christmas Tournament on Dec. 19-20 at Rochester, the Rumble on the Red on Jan. 2-3 in Fargo, North Dakota and the Hutchinson/Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart invitational on Jan. 17. For team tournaments, there are the Kiffmeyer Duals in St. Cloud on Jan. 10 and the Annandale/Maple Lake Lightning Duals on Jan. 31.

The Cardinals host five meets this season. They have a CLC triangular with Brainerd and Sauk Rapids on Jan. 15. There's back-to-back dual meets with Becker on Jan. 22 and with Bemidji on Jan. 23. The match with the Lumberjacks will be held at the new gym at Willmar Middle School. The final home meet is a triangular with Moorhead and Perham on Feb. 5.

"When you look at lineups, we're not going to be that standout where we can give up matches," Oehlers said. "We're going to need our leaders and some of our more experienced guys to help in the daily routines at practices."

Carlson added, "I think it's really important that every person on this team improves as much as they can," Carlson said. "If we can focus on that, we can make some really good headway. I think we have just as good of a shot to make it to state as anyone else does."

Coach: Ed Oehlers

Section: 8AAA

At State: Seven state entrants, one state champion, one runner-up, five medalists

Key Graduates: Conlan Carlson, 50-1, state champion (152), section champion, school's all-time career wins record (253-23); Sully Anez, 35-8, 5th at state (145), section champion; Steven Cruze, 30-9, state entrant (172), section champion; Finley Donelan, 29-18, 5th at sections (285)

Key Returners: Cavin Carlson, sr., 49-6, state runner-up (139), section runner-up, South Dakota State commit; Caiden Kassel, jr., 3rd at state (114), section champion; Landen Kassel, fr., 2724, 6th at state (107), section runner-up; Cameren Champagne, sr., 32-12, state entrant (160), section champion; Lawson Anez, jr., 30-12, 3rd at sections (189), Logan Fagerlie, jr., 18-26, 4th at sections (121)

Preseason Rankings:

Team: 7th (Class AAA)

Individuals: Landen Kassel (2nd, 107AAA); Caiden Kassell (2nd, 114AAA); Cavin Carlson (2nd, 145AAA); Cameren Champagne (7th, 189AAA)