James Jackson/MDN Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers senior state champion Emma Buee officially claimed her title as the newest member of the Augsburg University Auggies women’s wrestling team on Wednesday afternoon.

DES LACS — Already staking claim to one of the most prestigious girls’ wrestling resumes in the Minot area, Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers senior Emma Buee added another accolade to her running list of accomplishments on Wednesday after officially signing to continue her wrestling career at Augsburg University.

Despite having limited wrestling experience under her belt, Buee put together a stellar 13-3 record in her 2021-2022 campaign that culminated with her taking home North Dakota state championship gold in the girls’ 170-lbs weight class.

Now, with this season’s state tournament rapidly approaching, Buee once again has her eyes set on the top prize as she looks to defend her spot at the pinnacle of her weight class before heading off to Minneapolis to continue her career as one of the newest members of the acclaimed Augsburg University Auggies women’s wrestling program.

Just last year, the Auggies blazed a trail of victories en route to finishing sixth overall in the nation as a team, along with finishing their third season as a varsity program in the top-10 of the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships and having four wrestlers earn All-America honors.

Speaking about what it took to get to this point of success in her wrestling journey, Buee explained, “I’ve put a lot of work in to learning. I’ve trained really hard over the past two summers and throughout the school year to keep improving.”

Correlating her relentless work ethic to her right to lay claim as the first member of the Lakers girls’ wrestling team to win a state title, have a chance to repeat as state champion, and sign with a college, Buee stated, “I’m willing to do the things to get better that many wrestlers aren’t motivated to do, and I’m super driven to get what I want.”

With graduation quickly approaching and the sun setting on her last days of high school, Buee expressed her hopes of leaving a lasting legacy in the Lakers girls’ wrestling program by saying, “I put a lot of work into getting more girls to join the team, and I hope that what we’ve begun building continues to get stronger and grow more and more every year.”