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Kegan Fingalsen’s career high school record at Central Springs is 106-44. He went 30-18 as a freshman, 32-19 as a sophomore and 44-3 as a junior. He is a two time state qualifier. His sophomore year he was a 2A state qualifier and last year he finished third in 1A at 160 pounds. Fingalsen is currently ranked first at 160 pounds in our preseason rankings. Kegan signed his national letter of intent on Tuesday and we were able to catch up with him for a few questions.
Congratulations to @keegs_160 on his LOI to wrestle at Southwest Minnesota State (NCAA D2) next year! pic.twitter.com/zB6Zb2DCYh
— Central Springs CSD (@CS_Panthers) November 18, 2014
Q: What age were you when you started wrestling and how did you get into the sport?
A: I started going to the local mat club at my school in 2nd grade, but I didn’t get serious about wrestling until 6th grade.
Q: Who are you looking forward to working out with in college?
A: No one in particular, just teammates who have the same goals as I do.
Q: Did you take any other official visits?
A: I took one other official visit to the University of Minnesota. I was in the process of scheduling visits to Upper Iowa, Campbell University, and Gardner-Webb.
Q: Talk a little bit about your wrestling team? What are your team goals and personal goals?
A: We were 14-3 last year as a team and have the potential to continue our team success as well as repeat our conference title. An obvious individual goal is to win that state title.
Q: Is there a certain matchup you are looking forward to this year?
A: No matchups in particular, I don’t like to get caught up on a single opponent.
Q: You have gone from a 30-18 as a freshman, 32-19 as a sophomore and 44-3 as a junior. What changed last season?
A: A lot of my problems were in my head those first two seasons, I would get caught up on certain opponents and couldn’t figure out how to control the match. This past season I finally matured enough and got my mind right, and it helped immensely.
Q: Can you attribute some of your recent success to training in freestyle in the off season?
A: I think freestyle really helped me out this past off season. You really have to learn to stay in good position and create movement for shots. Learning to be not as sloppy, or timid on your feet will really transfer over to folkstyle.
Q: Do you feel as a state we give wrestlers enough opportunities to wrestle freestyle and greco in the summer?
A: For me this was my first summer of freestyle, so I thought of everything as a learning experience. It’s hard for me to say if Iowa has enough opportunities or not. Although I was able to be apart of the Junior Dual Team and also a Fargo Qualifier.
Q: What weight do you plan on wrestling this year and in college?
A: I am going to wrestle at 160 lbs this season, and plan on wrestling at 165/174 in college.
Q: Is there anyone you would like to thank?
I would like to thank my family for all of their sacrifices they’ve made for me over the years and my high school coach. I attribute a lot of my success to him, for he has driven me and built me on and off the mat.
Q: Is there anything else you would like fans to know about you?
A: I’m looking forward to begin creating a new legacy with my new team and community in the future.