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As soon as Travis Kammerer (171) finished off his opponent with a technical fall in the third period, Wildcats fans in attendance at the Elk River Tournament erupted in celebration. The victory was Kammerer's second of the day and gave him 155 career wins, passing Dan Dellwo as the all-time leader in varsity wrestling wins in Chisago Lakes High School history.

Kammerer started last week just two wins behind Dellwo. At St. Francis on Thursday, January 20, he pinned Sam Gerlach with four seconds left in the second period to pull within one and set the stage for a chance at the record at the Saturday, January 22 Elk River Invitational.

In his opening round match, Kammerer pinned Jon Zdenek of Zimmerman with 30 seconds left in the second period to tie the school record and share (at least for a couple of hours) the wins record with the legendary Dellwo (who graduated in 1996) at 154.

Kammerer faced Jamie Wright of Brainerd with a chance to set the record. Kammerer's takedown with 1:05 left in the first period gave him a 2-0 lead after one. Kammerer started on the bottom in the second period and began to dominate the match, quickly building his lead to 7-0. With 6.4 seconds left in the period, Kammerer nearly pinned Wright. Kammerer was awarded a near fall and led 10-0 after two.

Wright started on the bottom in the third period, and Kammerer rode him relentlessly, picking up another three-point near fall 57 seconds into the period to build his lead to 13-0. The anticipation was building among Chisago Lakes fans and Kammerer's teammates. Wright managed a reversal a few seconds later, but Kammerer returned the favor and still led 15-2. Kammerer kept working for the pin. With 36.5 seconds left in the match, he was awarded another three-point near fall, giving him an 18-2 lead and the win by technical fall. As the referee raised Kammerer's hand in triumph, Chisago Lakes teammates mobbed Kammerer, congratulating him on his incredible accomplishment.

"I'm really excited," said a grinning Kammerer after the match. "I am super happy. When I was in seventh grade, I set a goal to beat Dan Dellwo's record and I planned to do whatever it took to get there. When I got my one-hundredth win my sophomore year, I knew I had the record in the bag. All I had to do was get about 25 wins each of the next two years."

Later in the afternoon, Kammerer finished off his big day by pinning Andrew Madson of Dassel-Cokato with 12 seconds left in the first period to win the 171-pound weight class at the Elk River Tournament.

Frederixon said "The chance that Travis could break the record is just one of those things we all knew was possible at the beginning of the season. We didn't want to talk so we wouldn't jinx him. I told him it was just a step along the way to even higher goals, but it sure is a nice part of it. This is the kind of thing wears on a kid. He had some minor setbacks along the way, such as when he had to sit out with a minor illness one weekend and when he dislocated a finger at practice. It's probably a relief more than anything to get it done. He has been here since seventh grade. The teams around here know who he is and know he is one of our tough ones."

Kammerer met Dellwo for the only time shortly before Christmas in 2009. Dellwo, who lives in the western United States, was in town visiting relatives and stopped by a Wildcat wrestling practice. "It was cool to actually meet him," said Kammerer. "He showed us a couple of moves while he was there."

During his quest for the record, Kammerer has remained virtually injury-free. His last major injury was when he broke his wrist snowboarding in sixth grade. In seventh grade, he went into Wildcat head coach Shawn Frederixon's classroom and asked Frederixon if he could wrestle varsity. Frederixon told Kammerer he would come to watch him wrestle. Kammerer wrestled and beat a very good wrestler. Kammerer said "The next day, in homeroom, I got a message to see Coach Frederixon. When I got there, he invited me to come to varsity practice. And I have been on the varsity ever since." Kammerer picked up 17 wins as a 103-pounder during his seventh grade season.

While Kammerer is excited about breaking the record, he has even loftier goals for his senior season. Kammerer, ranked fourth in the state at 171 pounds in Class AA, beat third-ranked Patrick Faber of Fridley two weeks ago. "My goal is to beat the other kids ahead of me, too. Also, I made it to the state tournament last year. It has been my lifetime goal to win the state tournament. This year is my best shot to make it to the finals and win."

When asked about who helped him achieve his goals, Kammerer was effusive with his praise. "I want to thank my mom and dad, Coach Frederixon and Coach Zupko for believing in me, pushing me to achieve my goals and having my back. I remember the guys who were seniors when I was just a seventh grader helping me out. Chad Stenson wrestled with me all the time this summer. And Clay Olson really pushed me the whole year. I was glad I was able to help him last year. And I want to thank everyone on the team for all the fun times we have had. They make it a joy to come to meets and practice."

Kammerer plans to wrestle at North Dakota State University next year. He is interested in a career in marketing or public speaking.

Here's a comparison of Kammerer and Dellwo's career highlights:

Kammerer Dellwo

Year Wt. Wins Finish at Wt. Wins Finish at

State State

7th Grade 103 17 --- 103 22 ---

8th Grade 112 18 --- 119 29 6th

Freshman 130 31 --- 130 36 3rd

Sophomore 145 34 --- 140 26 4th

Junior 160 31 Participant 140 38 Champion

Senior 171 25* --- 3** ---



Total Wins 156 154

*Kammerer's win total will likely go up as he finishes out the regular season and competes in team and individual postseason events.

**Dellwo was injured most of his senior season, which accounts for his low win total that year.

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