All sports are generational. If Mom and Dad or other relatives had a rewarding experience in a sport, athletic-minded kids are likely to pursue that sport.
Swenson family ties shine at Minnesota Class 3A wrestling tournament
Many young wrestlers were born into a sport that "takes a different breed."
March 1, 2023 at 2:08AM
The opinion here is that the generational hook is more powerful in wrestling than any sport.
There are "wrestling towns'' dotted across the state, because Great Grandpa Pete and his seven brothers from the farm in southern Minnesota started wrestling before World War II, and there have been Heimendingers grappling for the local high school since then.
(Note: That school's now merged with the archrival and there are only three kids total on the farm, not 12.)
I was in a conversation this week with Jeff Swenson, Augsburg's legendary wrestling coach before becoming the athletic director in 2007, and offered this opinion on wrestling:
"It's the hardest sport in interscholastic athletics. It's harder than football because it's one-on-one. You don't have 10 other people trying to help you out.
"You're in a steamy wrestling room three hours a day; spitting is your life because you're cutting weight; and, if the guy across the mat is better than you, there's no place to hide.
"Bottom line: You have to be indoctrinated into wrestling as a 6-year-old, because no 9-year-old is going to walk by a wrestling room, peek in and say, 'I want to do that.'"
Swenson laughed slightly and said: "You are probably correct. Wrestling takes a different breed.''
The generational angle is in force with Mounds View High School's nine individual qualifiers for the Class 3A state tournament that starts Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.
There are three Swensons: junior Brady (145 pounds) and sophomores Brett (106) and Ethan (170). It should be noted that Brett and Ethan are twins — similar in looks, although not close in size.
Another qualifier for the Mustangs is 195-pounder Quin Morgan. He's the son of Marty and Tracy, who have sent two other sons — Rowan (now a Gopher) and Mannix (North Dakota State) — through the Mustangs program.
The Morgan collection from Bloomington is my favorite Irish clan over the decades in Minnesota sports:
Jim and Olive and 12 kids, including three pro boxers (Glenn, Mike and Danny) and three wrestlers with international credentials in Greco-Roman (John, Marty and Gordy).
Olive's brother was Red Bastien, who was also husband Jim's pro wrestling partner as an undersized, popular tag team. Jim died in 2018 and Olive died last May at 92.
"Mom was getting around OK until the last year,'' Marty said. "She was still going to the kids' sports events.''
Did Olive get worked up watching her grandkids wrestle?
"With what she saw in her lifetime, with her three boxers and three wrestlers, and six daughters, and all the other grandkids …" Marty said. "I'd say Olive was pretty calm about it.''
Marty was an assistant coach with the Gophers for 16 years. He resigned in 2008. He's in the real estate business and the family lives in the Mounds View school district.
He helped push a youth wrestling program. The Swensons also lived in the district. Marty signed up Jeff to put in numerous hours.
The head coach in Mounds View for two decades has been Dan Engebretson, who wrestled for Swenson at Augsburg. Jeff now assists Engebretson with the Mustangs.
Swenson was a national NAIA champion for John Grygelko at Augsburg in 1979. He replaced Grygelko as the head coach in 1981. He left for a high school job for two years, came back in 1986 and then his Auggies won 10 national NCAA Division III team titles from 1991 through 2007. Augsburg has added three more since.
Swenson was in Key West on a scuba diving vacation when he met Melissa Geiger from Georgia. She knew nothing of wrestling but married him anyway.
Melissa would have three future wrestlers in diapers — Brady, and 17 months later, twins Brett and Ethan.
"Brett's 12 minutes older, but Ethan was bigger right away,'' Melissa said. "Having three of them through the weight classes … 106, 145, 170, my heart can hardly take it.''
There's also sister Amy — around the sport so much that she's a student manager as a sixth grader.
As for Quin Morgan, same age as Brady, he's in the toughest weight class in the tournament: Class 3A 195 pounds with Max McEnelly from Waconia and Morgan's section rival, Ryder Rogotzke from Stillwater.
"They aren't just the Nos. 1- and 2-rated 195-pounders in Minnesota,'' Marty Morgan said. "They are rated 1 and 2 in the country.
"This state is still loaded with tremendous wrestlers.''
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
