A winner on and off the mat, Carson Rowland is the 2025 All-Area Boys Wrestler of the Year

CHATFIELD — Some see high school sports and say it's just a game, or an activity.

Little do they know what makes high school sports so special is what the athletes unknowingly provide for the younger generation.

They are role models, instilling belief into the youngsters, who watch their every move and realize they too can one day don the jersey/singlet that represents their community.

For Chatfield senior Carson Rowland, Hank Friederichs was that guy.

"He was an idol to me," Rowland said. "I used to look up to him as a kid. Just the little things that he did for me that he may not have thought very much of, that meant so much to me."

Friederichs recalls fondly of a young Rowland running around at the youth wrestling camp he was coaching at. It didn't take long for Frederichs to see the potential in the young grappler.

"What stuck out about Carson was just his hunger to learn," Frederichs recalled. "You could just tell by the way he was looking at the coaches, he wanted to be good and that he was going to be good.

"He was super smooth — even then — very athletic kid."

Their relationship grew the summer after Friederichs won his second consecutive MSHSL Class 1A individual state title in 2015.

Friederichs was a teacher at the Chatfield Public Schools day care program called Valley Land. Rowland, then just an 8-year-old, was one of the kids Friederichs would keep an eye on.

It soon turned into a little brother, big brother type of relationship.

"It was just neat for him to have an older wrestler around," Friedrichs said. "We talked a lot about wrestling, but we just talked about a lot of kids stuff too. I just let him know that I was interested in what he was doing, that he was going to be good."

It meant more to Rowland than Friederichs could ever realize. Rowland never forgot it, especially now as he is the someone the next generation looks up to.

"I want to be a reason that other people are in my position come their future, because without Hank, I wouldn't be here. I promise you that." Rowland said. "He paved the way. I want to be a reason that other people can do it too."

It's safe to say Rowland has done just that — just like his idol did before him.

Rowland and Friederichs were always going to be connected for that reason, but after this year they will be forever intertwined.

With his second consecutive 152-pound, Class 1A state title this year, Rowland joined Friederichs as the only two multiple-time state champions in program history. They finished 1-2 in career wins at Chatfield — Friederichs with 200 and Rowland 189. However, Rowland does now have something on his resume Friederichs never will: A Post Bulletin Wrestler of the Year honor.

Rowland is the 2025 PB Boys Wrestler of the Year for capturing his second straight state title and helping Chatfield reach another Class 1A final. He was selected over fellow finalists Calder Sheehan (Mayo) and Kane Larson (Fillmore Central/Lanesboro/Mabel-Canton).

"It's cool to be recognized," Rowland said.

Rowland's work on and off the mat will be felt around Chatfield for years to come.

"Just a role model with the leadership, as a team captain, and just his ability to win," Chatfield coach Matt Mauseth said. "I think (at state) he wrestled basically all the other top-ranked kids in his weight class between team and individuals. He had the West Central kid who was ranked (sixth), the Lake Crystal kid who was ranked (fourth), and then two other kids on the way to the championship, and then the No. 2 kid in the championship. So he basically, we talk about going into the state tournament that there comes a point in the year when it's time to just prove it, right? You get to prove to everybody that you are the dog at your weight."

Rowland has long been a dog on the mat.

He was a frequent freestyle nationals qualifier during his youth days and made the Chatfield varsity squad as a seventh-grader.

But after that seventh-grade year, Rowland was bummed when coach Travis Bartels was let go.

"I loved Bart," Rowland said. "I wasn't on board with having him go. But it worked out. Matt's a great coach. He brings a lot to our school and our community, so it's really good."

The first year under Mauseth saw Rowland reach the state tournament and he reached state again as a sophomore. But both times saw him walk away without a state medal around his neck.

He worked tirelessly for his junior year, but it didn't initially go how he had planned.

In fact, after a tough match in a regular-season tournament against Ryan Palmer of Lake Crystal that resulted in Rowland finishing fourth, he considered giving up the sport right there. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

"I had so many matches where I've just been drained," Rowland said. "Last year I wrestled at the Lake Crystal tournament there and I lost to a guy that I didn't think I was going to lose to. I got in at least 10 shots in that match and finished the first one, and didn't finish the rest, and got exhausted. After that match, I lost, ended up losing at the very end, I lost all my confidence, everything I had, and I wanted to be done. There's been several times I've felt like that, but that one sticks out to me the most, because if that wouldn't have happened, I don't think I even would have won last year, because that drove me to be better, that pushed me, my coaches helped me, parents, my friends, and that all just drove me to be better."

Buoyed by a great support system that preached patience, Rowland used it as fuel. His tank was full by the time the state tournament rolled around.

That's where he put himself firmly on the map.

It first started at the team state championships where Rowland went 2-1, including an upset of No. 1-ranked Colbe Tappe of Staples-Motley in the Class 1A team final. That one loss came to four-time state champ Nolan Ambrose of Jackson County Central by sudden victory.

Rowland carried that momentum the next two days at the individual state tournament. He was very rarely scored upon, reaching the finals where he once again knocked off Tappe, this time by a 5-3 decision.

It opened up a lot of eyes around the wrestling community.

"What really sparked interest was last year at the team state tournament, Carson beat the No. 1 kid in the state, and we knew he was good, but we didn't think he was a title contender last year," Friederichs said. "He beat the No. 1 kid in the state for team dual and then, sure enough, the next day, he beat the same kid in the state finals."

Rowland found something that week: His joy for the sport again, as well as the appreciation of the different challenges that accompanies it.

"The most rewarding thing about wrestling I would say is overcoming mental struggles, because that's the hardest part of wrestling," Rowland said. "You could have all the technique and all the strength, all the speed in the world, and if you have a bad mindset and you have a weak mind, you are never going to win. You're not going to win the big matches, the big moments. You have to be able to strengthen your mind to an extent to the point where you're confident, you're able to go out there and be at the best you can be, not worry about what's going to happen, just go out there and control what you can control. Your mindset is the biggest thing in wrestling, and that's what people need to understand, because without that, you're not going to get anywhere in it."

Now a state-champion, Rowland entered his senior season with a target on his back.

He rose to the challenge time and time again.

He went 40-2 with his only two losses coming to athletes from out of state.

He then ran roughshod over the rest of the 152-pound, Class 1A bracket, knocking off ranked foe after ranked foe. That included No. 3-ranked Sam Drietz of Canby in the finals by a 7-3 decision. It gave him win No. 189 as well — the same number Mauseth finished with in his high school career at Mayo.

"He just has these physical skills, a level of athleticism that are really, really rare," Mauseth said. "I made the mistake — I don't wrestle as much as I used to with the guys. I used to wrestle a lot. I went live one day with him and (Ayden) Miner for 24 minutes. I'm 35 now. I mean, he snatched my feet out from under me before I even knew knew what was coming. So just that quickness and ability to score points, it's been really fun to watch him and coach him."

After Rowland captured his second title on March 1 to join the exclusive club, he received a text. It was from Friederichs. The following day, Friederichs was in Chatfield as part of the welcome home festivities.

"He texted me that night and just told me congratulations and welcomed me to the club," Rowland said. "I mean that meant a lot ... then just to see him even show up (Sunday), that was really nice to see."

"You kind of see some parallels, Hank came to the welcome home," Mauseth said. "We got some pictures of the two guys, the two-timers. There's been a lot of parallels of that. You've heard Carson talk about looking up to Hank when he was younger. Well, Carson this summer, Carson and Javi (Berg) ran our youth summer camp and ... it's just kind of history is repeating itself a little. I hear these elementary kids talking about Javier and Carson all the time, and they get to spend some time with them doing our youth camp this summer."

That's just like Friederichs once did for a young Rowland. Who knows, maybe the next two-time state champ from Chatfield will have a similar story, this time with Rowland being their idol. Rowland does his best to help make sure that is the case.

"My mom has always been super heavy on this — be a good role model to the younger kids," Rowland said. "There's always somebody watching you. Always make the right decisions. You have to do that, especially for these younger kids."

No doubt, Rowland has done just that.

2024 — Kail Schott, Chatfield

2023 — Cole Glazier, Kasson-Mantorville

2022 — Maxwell Petersen, Byron; and Bennett Berge, K-M

2021 — Bennett Berge, K-M

2020 — Patrick Kennedy, K-M

2019 — Patrick Kennedy, K-M

2018 — Patrick Kennedy, K-M

2017 — Brady Berge, K-M