No Xavier Saint wrestler has ever won the Mississippi Valley Conference tournament twice in their career at Xavier. Well, this fact was true until senior Josh Gerke had something to say about it. The 145-pound wrestler put forth some of his best work on his way to accomplishing this daunting goal.
On Saturday, January 28, Gerke consecutively pinned three straight opponents to become Xavier’s first two-time MVC tournament champion. After receiving a first-round bye, Gerke pinned each of his next two opponents in under a minute. In the championship, Gerke pinned Chase St. John of Prairie to win the 145-pound title.

“Accomplishing this means a lot to me,” Gerke said. “We’ve only had one two-time state champion, Mike Shedek, awhile back, and even he was only a one-time MVC champion.”

Although Gerke won the MVC tournament last year, winning it this year was much more meaningful. Gerke was not one to take this extraordinary moment in Xavier history for granted.

“Winning the second time meant a lot more to me,” Gerke said. “It was a really cool moment getting to share that with my coaches, who have invested so much time in me over the past four years.”

Head Coach Ryan Chambers recognized the significance of this accomplishment but was not too astonished that it was Gerke who attained it.

“Being the first MVC champion is very special,” Chambers said. “Winning every tournament he enters is his goal. It didn’t surprise me because he works hard everyday and gets what he earns.”

The Xavier team as a whole placed fifth out of 14 teams at the MVC tournament in Waterloo. Junior Keegan Schultschik (120), sophomore Patrick Chambers (126), and senior Tommy Pudil (285) all finished third in their respective weight classes. The Saints also had four other wrestlers finish in the top ten in their weight class; Erik Rodriguez (195) finished fifth, Drury Clayton (138) and Garrett Ries (152) both finished seventh and Alex Francois (220) placed eighth.

However, winning two MVC tournaments was not enough for Gerke. In the meet against Waterloo East and Waterloo West, he reached another personal record by obtaining 150 wins. This accomplishment has been four years in the making, and was achieved through hard work on behalf of Gerke and the team that has helped him to develop and refine his skills.

Gerke and the Saints can be seen in the 3A District Tournament held at Jefferson High School on February 11.

Caitlin Kramer

Sports Co-Editor