Elwood: Two Warriors, One Champion

Cameron Skyora shoots on Austin Anderly in the state finals (Photo/The Guillotine)

State wrestling tournaments are personal. No accomplished wrestler wants to finish a career without winning at least one. Winning a national tournament like the Ironman or Fargo is much more prestigious. After all, the college recruiters and rankers are all over these events. State titles are nice, but those national titles are what puts a wrestler on the map. But to the wrestler, he has to win a state championship. It's the one event that's guaranteed every passionate fan in his state will be planted in the seat. All his peers are in the tunnel. His family and most of the town takes up a section of the arena. It's a must-win event.

Sadly we have entered an era where wrestlers are able to dodge one another. With the three classes in Minnesota, it makes it unusual to have a big showdown. Usually during the finals, one can hear the fans wonder out loud how the champion from Class A would do against the champion from Class AAA. Furthermore, with 14 weight classes it's somewhat easy to either move up or down to avoid an opponent. This year Minnesota had only one weight class in the entire individual tournament that featured returning state champions. Here's where the road takes a different twist. These two guys wanted to wrestle one another!

Austin Anderly vs. Cameron Sykora

Anderly entered the 2014-15 season as a two-time defending champion in class A. He has won every match he has wrestled at the Xcel Center in St. Paul. The first time he arrived as a sophomore, his head coach Scott Wilson would not let him even look at the eight mats on the floor before he wrestled that weekend. He was a nervous young kid at the time and Wilson didn't want to take any chances. Later, after cruising to his first title, Austin had some trouble wondering what would motivate him. Winning a state title at an early age can do funny things to an athlete. We've seen plenty walk away from the sport. Anderly was inspired to get better and worked with the long tradition of wrestlers from LeSueur-Henderson.

The Pfarr family is the most well-known wrestling family from the area and there have been seven state titles awarded in the last seven years from this tiny school. A funny thing happened during that first championship. Mr. Pfarr somehow misplaced a pair of jeans the morning he was to watch his son wrestle in the finals. Without giving it much thought, he reached into his wife's belongings and slipped on a pair of her jeans. His son won and for the next six years, some father from LH has worn those same lucky pants. Mr. Anderly would wear those pants on championship Saturday. Some stories are just fun to tell.

Cameron Sykora (Photo/The Guillotine)

Cameron Sykora seems to have been around for a decade. His first state title came as an eighth-grader and to this day, many people think it's his biggest win. It prevented Mitch McKee from winning as an eighth-grader at 106 pounds. Since then, Cameron has cruised to an additional three state titles. This year he is entering some rarefied air. He is going after title number five. The only person who realistically could stop Sykora is Anderly. Fortunately with a bit of luck, they were placed on opposite sides of the 16-man brackets. It would turn out to be the most anticipated and best match of the finals.

Both of these guys love the same things. Like most kids in rural Minnesota, they can't get enough time in a boat or the woods with a rifle. Sykora loves walleye fishing, while Anderly loves hooking bass. They are both good students and both have wrestling aspirations beyond high school. Sykora is staying close to home and will wrestle for Coach Bono at South Dakota State. This caused quite a bit of noise late last summer as he changed his mind from North Dakota State. Anderly had several good looks but decided to settle at Division III wrestling power UW-La Crosse. After talking to several alumni, including national champion Matt Mauseth, Austin knew it would be a good place get a degree and become the college wrestler he thinks he can be.

Here's the part no one really wants me to write. These two guys are far from friends and one of the reasons they are at the same weight class is both want to end the streak of the other. They want to beat the other ... and badly. Anderly or Sykora could have easily moved to another weight and likely breezed to another trip to the top of the podium. It's great they chose to get it on.

Sykora kicked off his first match with a 15-0 technical fall and the next two matches weren't much closer. He would put up an additional 22 points and was full of confidence. Anderly didn't have as easy a time, but still won three matches (pin, 9-4, 9-2) to reach the finals.

The showdown was set. The first three weight classes were over and it was time for the 126-pound weight class. In AA, Paul Fitterer of Cannon Falls, was finally able to secure his first state championship as a senior finishing 39-2. In AAA, Mitch McKee was finishing off a difficult, but rewarding season with his second state title. As the big match was about to kick off in class A, the announcer screamed into his microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen, it doesn't get any better than this!" Every once in a while, the wrestling lives up to the hype. It would tonight.

Austin Anderly used an ankle pick to get the first takedown of the match (Photo/The Guillotine)

Period 1: Both guys meet in the center and immediately start hand fighting. In the first full minute, both wrestlers take a few leg shots but they are only moves to keep the opponent honest. At the :50 mark, Anderly reaches down with his hand and catches Sykora leaning. Anderly picks us the first takedown on an ankle pick he never uses. The look on his face is a combination of surprise and deep satisfaction. The crowd gasps at this. Ten seconds later, Sykora is out. The last half a minute of the first period is a fun barrage of takedown attempts with neither able to score.

Period 2: Austin Anderly wins the coin toss and defers. Sykora chooses bottom needing points. 20 seconds into the period Sykora manages to escape and we are all tied at 2-2. By now these guys are warmed up and can hardly wait to get at the other. Sykora is done being tentative and knows he has to get this takedown. He figures Anderly will choose bottom for the third period and he has to score points in this period. He comes at Anderly with a front headlock and leans to his left, then to his right. Cameron throws Anderly aside and manages to sneak around the back. Just like that it's 4-2 Sykora. Anderly wastes no time and gets to his feet and slips away for the escape. The period comes to a close with Sykora leading 4-3.

Cameron Sykora (Photo/The Guillotine)

Period 3: Anderly has the choice here. Every casual wrestling mind is thinking "down" ... and when he picks neutral, the crowd gasps. Anderly knows he needs a point to tie and a takedown to win. Earlier he mentioned he has no intention of getting under Sykora's famous tilts. He will take his chances on his feet. Anderly comes at Sykora without fear. It's clear by now there is little separation in talent between these guys. Sykora is able to fight off every charge and tries another front headlock. The ref breaks the action after a minute and Anderly comes in on a leg attack with nothing but air. Sykora is backing up with 40 seconds to go and the ref calls out his only stalling warning. Anderly keeps coming and Cameron does a beautiful job of blocking. The whistle blows and it's over. Sykora will win and join Mark Hall as a five-time state champion. (Hall has one more season remaining.) Anderly is not angry or upset and he meets Sykora in the middle. They exchange a courtesy hug and both run off the mat. The crowd cheers for the great effort.

Later, both wrestlers will pay respect to the other, each stating it was the best opponent they saw this year. I argue it's the best they ran into in several years. If you're wondering if these two young men are going to be friends, forget it. They likely will never hook up again, but we were there to see two of the best choose to risk everything. Both needed to know if they had what it takes.

Every once in a while something happens in wrestling that makes us proud to be a fan. Austin Anderly and Cameron Sykora made that happen for us.

This story was originally published by The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.

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Elwood: Two Warriors, One Champion

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