Southeast Polk leads way with record
five Academic All-State selections  

BY MATT PFIFFNER
Publisher, The Predicament

Southeast Polk head coach Jason Christenson couldn't be more proud.

The Rams had a record five team members named to The Predicament's 2009 Academic All-State Wrestling Teams. A few teams have had four wrestlers named Academic All-State, most recently Belle Plaine in 2007, but Southeast Polk is the first in the history of the award to take up five spots on the squads.

The teams are selected based on the wrestler's grade point average, 2008-09 record, State Tournament placing and grade in school.

Southeast Polk not only had the most academic honorees, they also boasted the wrestler with the highest point total, senior Bill Borseth, who carries a stellar 4.393 GPA.

"He's taken a lot of college classes throughout his career. The academics come first with him and it definitely shows," Christenson said of Borseth.

Also named to the First Team was SE Polk teammate Ethan Bass. Ram Jacob Crawford was tabbed to the Second Team, while Brian Johnson and A.J. McBroom were Honorable Mention selections.

"I'm pretty pleased. They're a great group of kids and the type of kids that make you proud on the wrestling mat and obviously off too. They work hard in the classroom and in the wrestling room," Christenson said. "Anybody would be glad to have them as their own sons. That's the way I feel about those guys."

Christenson said not only do the five honoree excel on the mat and in academics, they also make the school a better place.

"They're all great leaders in our school. They're all involved in different things. Different activities and multi-sports. Involved in a lot of things and really good leaders at our school," he said.

The SE Polk head coach said wrestling holds aren't the only lessons they try to teach the athletes.

"We talk about being a student first and an athlete second. Some guys take that to heart and some guys maybe don't as much. We talk about it a lot," he said. "We have team goals of having everybody on the team at least as a 3.0. We don't always get that, but it's a goal."

And while many of the 44 members of the Academic All-State Teams are just naturally gifted in the classroom, several no doubt have to work extra hard to get their outstanding grades. Christenson said one of his athletes stands out in that area.

"Jake Crawford has probably had to work the hardest of any of those kids to get the GPA that he's got. Nothing came easy for him, but he was probably the hardest worker of the group to get good grades," he said.

Wrestlers are often seen as the most dedicated athletes because of the tough workouts, weight cutting and one-on-one competition. When they can also balance their school work and earn high GPAs, that makes for a special student-athlete. Christenson said everyone who made this year's Academic All-State Team has reason to be proud.

"It shows that's they're very disciplined. Any kid who makes that team, they're disciplined enough to go home after a hard practice or after a long Saturday tournament, hunker down and get their work done," he said. "That's probably the biggest feather in their caps that they can take away from it. They've got the discipline maybe more than any other athlete and maybe any other student."

Southeast Polk's five team members weren't the only ones who made history this year. Seniors Bret Baumbach of Council Bluffs Lewis Central and twin brothers Colton and Cameron Wagner joined a select group of three-time First Team members.

Click here for a complete list of The Predicament's 2009 Academic All-State Wrestling Teams.