The Mitchell youth wrestling program has had plenty of success in recent years.
Brandon Vilhauer, a 1994 Mitchell High School graduate and a former Kernel wrestler, has been the head coach of the program for the past four years and said his program helps build wrestlers for the high school level.
"We want to set the foundation," Vilhauer said. "Long-term wrestlers is what we want to accomplish."
The youth program is put on through the Mitchell Parks and Rec Department and is still collecting registration for the upcoming season. The deadline for registration is Dec. 15 and the season continues through March.
Vilhauer doesn't have a total of participating kids, but he expects numbers to be high. The program has grown from single-digit numbers to more than 100 kids.
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"We're getting kids involved, they are wanting to wrestle, and they're having fun," Vilhauer said. "That's the main thing. It's about having fun and keeping the kids interested."
Kids from age 5 to 12 are in the youth program, which includes wrestlers from Alexandria, Parkston, Ethan and Mount Vernon.
"We make work fun," Vilhauer said. "They learn respect and discipline as well as teamwork. We get kids to make healthy choices and become good listeners."
Last year, Vilhauer had 28 kids qualify for the state tournament.
"I'm looking to give back to the role models that gave me opportunities," Vilhauer said. "I'm looking forward to having that feeling when a kid that I coached from a young age goes on and competes in the state tournament or wins the state tournament."
