They were one day warriors. A blizzard turned the Section 1 individual wrestling meets into a 12-hour Saturday affair. Chatfield, LARP, and FCLMC each had a guy qualify for state. Six county guys finished third. A bunch of seniors concluded excellent careers. A junior continued his prominence. Chatfield’s Jake Mandt (bye, pin, 20-9 MD) made the Class A 145-pound finals. There, he bl
dual and fourth overall state trip. Last year’s state third place finisher (138) heads to St. Paul
sporting a 27-2 record, a #1 ranking. FCLMC got its first state competitor since Niko Anderson and Monty Holm (2014). Senior heavyweight Jacob Thomas (bye, pin, and 5-4 decision over Goodhue’s 21-16 Ryan Sc
hoenfelder) made the Class A 285-pound final. Thomas sat tied 1-1 with Pine Island’s #2-ranked Alex Aarsvold (31-0) in the third, only to get toppled over for a takedown, a 3-1 decision loss. Finishing second, Thomas (26-5) e
arned his first trip to state. Heading back for a third time is LARP’s McCoy Tekautz (#2 at 152). The senior (bye, pin, 6-3 decision over K-M’s 28-13 Ethan Shea) made the Class AA 152-pound. Versus Albert Lea’s #3 Zach Glazier (38-4), Tekautz was down 3-2 in the third. He took a hard fall, which prompted an injury timeout. Glazier was awarded a takedown and near-fall, which secured him a 7-3 decision win. Last year’s Class AA fourth place finisher heads to the Xcel Energy Center with a 28-8 record. LARP had nine guys place fifth or better (four thirds). Cody Rain (220) was oh-so-close. The senior went bye, 10-6 decision win, and loss by fall in the semis (to K-M’s #1-ranked 36-1 Noah Ryan). In wrestle-backs, Rain went pin and 12-5 decision win to force a true second match. Rain led PEM’s Jacob Clark (25-8) 3-2 in the final five seconds, only to get taken down and fall 4-3. He finishes 19-8. Noah Herber (182) also got the one-match, state-trip opportunity. The sophomore went bye, 10-2 major win, and 8-7 decision loss in the semis (to PEM’s 31-4 Frank Wingert). Herber then went pi
d without a true second
Lea’s Jake Johnsrud (31-11) and Mueller 4-2 to Cannon Falls’ #6-ranked Hayden Strain (27-8). Johnsrud and Strain lost in the finals. Two of Doerr’s three wins were by pin. A six-year wrestler and five-time section-placer, Doerr (24-4) finishes his career 127-46. Mueller’s three wins were by pin. He (25-8) has gone 97-25 the last four years. Carter Jonsgaard (8th grader, 113) took fourth (of six). Xavier Riser (senior, 126 > 22-13), Dominick Jenkins (sophomore, 138 > 20-16) and Logan Schindeldecker (junior, 285) took fifth. Chatfield had five place top five. A.J. Karver (8th grader, 195 > 8-8) took third. Seth Goetzinger (8th grader, 106 > 17-11) took fourth. Nathan Goldsmith (sophomore, 138 > 22-10) and Isaiah Froese (frosh, 220 > 11-9) each took fifth. FCLMC’s Walker Ward was close to state. Ward went bye, pin, and 5-0 decision loss in the semis (to D-E’s #1-ranked 40-2 Reid Seelhammer). In wrestle-backs, Ward went pin and 9-7 decision win (overcame a 5-1 deficit) to force a true second match. Ward was tied 1-1 in the third with Z-M’s #2-ranked Jarret Haglund (33-10), only to get taken down and fall 3-1. It was a solid finish for Ward (17-13), who didn’t wrestle at sections as a junior.
anked Z-M’s Maverick Jackson (34-8) by 3-0 decision to win his second section title (132 in 2015), his third indivimatch. In the semis, Doerr lost 8-5 to Albertn and 16-5 major to force a true second. There, K-M’s Garsen Schorr (23-9) won by pin. Herber finished the tourney 4-2, the season 15-19. Accomplished LARP seniors Josh Doerr (120) and Justin Mueller (170) were hoping for state trips. Each went 3-1, and finished with a win. But each took thir