4 hours Ago By Alex VandenHouten
ROCHESTER — Christmas and the holiday season are just around the corner, which means one thing: The Minnesota Christmas Tournament. Over the years, the tournament has proven to be one of the premier high school wrestling events in Minnesota. The 37th edition continues that tradition.
ADVERTISEMENT Of the 41 teams, 17 are ranked, including 11 of the top 12 in Class 3A and the top four in Class 2A in the state. In all, more than 100 individuals will enter the two-day tournament that begins Friday ranked in their respective weight class. That includes 19 of the top-ranked wrestlers in Minnesota.
Six teams from southeastern Minnesota — Class 2A No. 1-ranked Kasson-Mantorville, Class 1A No. 7-ranked Kenyon-Wanamingo, Byron, Mayo, Plainview-Elgin-Millville and Zumbrota-Mazeppa — will compete, bringing with them 21 ranked individuals total.
K-M, P-E-M and K-W lead the way with each having five ranked in the latest The Guillotine rankings. Overall, it should once again be a great event for southeastern Minnesota wrestling fans. Session I kicks off at noon Friday at the Mayo Civic Center with Session II to follow.
Saturday is slated to start with Session III at 10 a.m., with finals set for 3 p.
m. Here are 12 wrestlers all fans should know about as they hunt for a title and that coveted Santa Hat that goes to the winner of each weight class: The three-time defending state champion and five-time MSHSL state finalist is listed as the No. 9-ranked high school wrestler pound-for-pound in the country by FloWrestling.
As a junior, Robideau set a state record for most takedowns in a season, surpassing 449 in early February. This came a week after he set the program mark for career victories with 219 as part of an undefeated junior campaign. He is set to wrestle at Oklahoma State University after flipping his commitment from the University of Minnesota in July.
Robideau's future college teammate Wolbert will also be a fun one to keep an eye on. The Oconomowoc — 35 miles west of Milwaukee — junior is already a two-time state champ — in Wisconsin, wrestlers can't compete on varsity until they reach high school. ADVERTISEMENT He is a Fargo champion as well and recently committed to Oklahoma State over the likes of Missouri, Michigan and Wisconsin.
The top-ranked recruit in Wisconsin is ranked as the No. 22 prospect for the Class of 2026 by FloWrestling. The reigning state champ at 114 pounds in Class 3A, Swenson had a record of 122-19 entering his final prep season with three state tournament appearances.
He was an All-American in 2023 at 16U, placing fourth at the USA Wrestling Freestyle Nationals. He's currently listed as the top 127-pounder in Class 3A by The Guillotine and recently signed to join the University of Minnesota next season. The 127 class might be the most competitive weight at this year's Minnesota Christmas Tournament, with five of the top six ranked in Class 3A set to compete.
Like Swenson, Vanier is set to join the Gophers wrestling room. The senior is a two-time top-three finisher at state, placing second at 139 last year. He won a 16U USA Wrestling State Freestyle title in 2022 at 113 and recently reached the Round of 16 at the prestigious Super 32 in Greensboro, N.
C. He's currently ranked as the No. 162 overall recruit by MatScouts and the top-ranked wrestler at 145 in Minnesota Class 3A by the The Guillotine.
Another future Gopher, McGuire is a three-time state-qualifier and two-time state medalist. He finished runner-up last year to Proctor's Zak McPhee, who finished the year a perfect 53-0. McGuire was a member of the USA U17 Greco-Roman team that competed at the World Wrestling Championships this past August in Amman, Jordan.
MatScouts ranks him as the No. 99 overall recruit in the 2025 class. The four-time state medalist and reigning 172, Class 2A state champion just signed with the University of Oklahoma.
He committed to the Sooners the October before his junior season and followed it with an undefeated 54-0 campaign, setting school records in pins (38) and takedowns (184). Ranked as the No. 197 overall prospect by MatScouts.
Eller is a three-time state finalist, capturing a state title in 2023 at 106 in Class 2A. He placed second last year at 121 in Class 3A. The senior is also a two-time USA Wrestling Junior Greco-Roman All-American.
He is committed to wrestle at North Dakota State University. After a pair of runner-up finishes at state, Nicolas got the monkey off his back with a 139, Class 2A state title last year. He will get to 200 career victories and already holds the program mark for career wins.
He is set to wrestle for Division II Augustana University. ADVERTISEMENT Now a senior Bragg, made history along with Northield's Caley Graber last year when she and Graber became the first females to win a boys section title. She is once again wrestling the boys and recently placed second at the Larry Severson Invite in Northfield.
Turzinski finished fourth at 127 in the Class 3A state tournament last year, but appears to be one of the favorites to win it all this year at 139. The senior impressed with a title at the prestigious Donnybrook down in Iowa City and is ranked No. 1 at 139 by The Guillotine.
A three-time state medalist, Parrow won a Santa Hat last year at 139, before capturing the Class 3A state title in the same weight. The junior is 9-0 this season with seven wins coming via pin. Like 127, the 152 weight will be ultra competitive at this year's Christmas Tournament with eight of the top 10 in Class 3A alone ecurrently ranked slated to compete.
That includes Mayo senior Calder Sheehan. Kasson-Mantorville's Owen Friedrich is the top 152-pounder in Class 2A. The defending Section 1 champ, Jacobson placed fourth at the Class 1A state tournament a year ago.
The junior enters Friday as the top ranked 107-pounder in Class 1A..
