There were no singlets, headgear or takedowns involved Friday, Aug. 7, but the Hastings wrestling community still found a way to get together for a little competition.
The 30th Annual Hastings Wrestling Club Golf Tournament brought wrestlers, coaches, families, supporters and friends of the program to Gopher Hills Golf Course in Cannon Falls for a fundraiser that has grown into one of the program’s longest-running traditions.
The club later called the anniversary tournament a “HUGE success,” thanking the sponsors, golfers, volunteers, coaches, families and everyone who came out to support Hastings wrestling.
Thirty years is an impressive run for any fundraiser, and a look back through the Hastings Wrestling Club’s history shows just how long golfers have been trading wrestling mats for fairways in support of the program.
The outing was known for years as the Tom Keene Memorial Golf Tournament. A Hastings Wrestling Club newsletter from 2012 promoted that summer’s event as the 16th annual tournament, which lines up with this year being the 30th installment. The 2012 outing was held at Afton Alps and featured an 18-hole best-ball scramble.
The tournament has moved around the area over the years. In 2019, the 23rd annual Tom Keene Memorial Hastings Wrestling Golf Outing was held at Hidden Greens Golf Course. The tournament returned to Hidden Greens as recently as 2023, before moving to Emerald Greens Golf Course for the 29th annual event in 2025.
This year, golfers headed south to Gopher Hills for the milestone 30th edition.
The Keene name also has deep roots in Hastings wrestling. Tom Keene, a 1954 Hastings graduate, was a three-time state qualifier and two-time All-State wrestler. His name became closely associated with the golf fundraiser during much of its history.
While the golf course and some of the faces have changed over three decades, the support surrounding the tournament has remained strong. More than 40 businesses, families and wrestling supporters sponsored this year’s event, with sponsor signs spread throughout the course.
“This tournament has become such a special tradition, and it simply couldn’t happen without the incredible Hastings Wrestling community,” the club wrote following the event. “We’re lucky to have so many people who continue to support our wrestlers and this program year after year.”
That may be the best explanation for how a golf tournament makes it to year 30.
Generations of wrestlers have moved through the Hastings program, coaches and families have changed, and plenty of golf scorecards have probably been better left unmentioned. For one summer day each year, though, the Hastings wrestling family gets together away from the mat, enjoys some friendly competition and supports the next group of wrestlers coming through the program.
After three decades, that tradition appears to be holding its position just fine.
Thank you to the tournament sponsors:
Midwest Safety Counselors, Skips Sprinklers - Hastings, Billing Essentials LLC, Jenni Hansen Family, Backyard Party Rentals, Mitch & Darcy Shemon, Done Right Dumpsters, Aim High Construction, Chris Miller, Groundswork Landscaping and Hardscaping, Quality Landscape Curbing, WIX Plumbing, DC Well Drilling, Ken and Lin Trembath, Groundwork Inc., Great Shot Firearms, Hastings Family Dental Care, Dr. Tyler Rohr, Tires Plus - Hastings, The New Art of Dentistry, Keene Wealth Management, Luke Keene, Brendeland Transportation Services, Hastings Ford and Chrysler, Claffey Lawn, PLLC, Riverview Promotions, Dering Pierson Group, Emerge Electrical Solutions, Red Fox Firearms LLC, Beskau Trucking LLC, Merchant Bank, Craig Beissel, MN Elite Wrestling Club, GB Exterior Solutions, Jim and Shelly Rohr, Golden Key Property Management, Werner Implement, Kopp Kids Daycare, MJS Construction, Graphic Design, Inc., Bob Reudy Family, Daley Electric, Dan’s Bar and Grill, North Star Lights, Seyth and Shawna Boardman, Merit Electric, Catalyst ARP Wave, LLC.