Section Individual Wrestling

Warriors Get Five to State Led by Ross’s Return

Caledonia/Houston wrestling had a solid team season.  At the 1A individual tournament, Shea Mahoney’s group did better, getting five state entrants, the second most of any team (save 1A champ D-E).  The Warriors (186) actually bested D-E (184), Goodhue (180), and Chatfield (174) for the team title.  Brandon Ross’ return highlighted the action.  The senior hadn’t wrestled the last half of the season per a knee injury.  Braced-up, Ross (17-1) racked up a pin in the semis and an 8-2 decision over D-E’s #8 Bolton Thesing (38-10) in the finals to claim the 126-pound title.  Ross (ranked #1) was last year’s 120-pound 1A and state champ.  He was one of three Warrior section champs.   Owen Denstad used a quarterfinal pin and two decision wins to claim the 132-pound title.  His toughest foe was Kenyon-Wanamingo’s Gavin Johnson (30-10) in the semis (4-3 decision win).  It was his third decision win over Johnson in about two weeks.  Denstad (42-4) then bested D-E’s Grady Eaton (11-4 decision) in the finals.  The sophomore qualified for state last season, taking fourth at “Super-Sections” (126-pounds).  At 195, #8 Ayden Goetzinger used two decision wins to claim a section title.  The junior won 7-3 in the semis over K-W’s Will Van Epps (30-11) and 8-5 in the finals over D-E’s Tyler Mix (16-6).  It is Goetzinger’s first state berth.  He improved to 31-7.   Two other 1A guys were ranked at 195 in state, but Chatfield’s Campbell Berge (#5) bowed out to injury and Goodhue’s Cody Lohman (#3) moved up to 220.  Cal/Hou also had two section runner-up’s punching trips to state.  Tucker Ginther (145) used a quarterfinal pin and a tough 2-1 decision win over GMLOS’ #4 Donavon Felten (38-6) to make the finals.  There, he fell to D-E’s #3 Brodie Kellen (33-5) by 4-2 decision.   Ginther, a junior, improved to 31-8.  He qualified for state a fourth straight year at a fourth weight.  At 106, Braxton Lange used a 12-1 major and a 2-1 decision over FCLMC’s #10 Kane Larson (33-8) to make the finals.  Lange then fell to Chatfield’s #2 Javier Berg (28-8) by 1-0 decision.  In the true second place match, Lange rode (held on to) K-W’s Masyn Hanson (32-14) the entire third period to secure a 1-0 win. 

The freshman improved to 30-15.  Four Warriors took third; junior Simon Seymour (120), sophomore Isaac Blocker (138), junior Cory Scanlan (152), and junior Eric Mauss (182).  Seymour (26-19) went 3-2 for the tourney, losing a true second place match to W-K’s Chris Cushman 6-5.  Four of Seymour’s five matches were close decisions (won 7-6, lost 4-2, won 6-5, lost 6-5).  Scanlan (26-15) went 3-2 for the tourney.  His losses were to D-E’s #4 Gavin Gust (15-0 tech fall) and St. Charles #5 Jett Thoreson (fall) in a true second match.  Mauss (27-17) went 3-2, losing to Chatfield’s #2 Grady Schott by 6-0 decision and to SC’s Tytan Small 4-0 in a true second match.  Blocker (41-7), ranked #3, went 3-1 for the tourney.  He lost to GMLOS’ #1 Cohen Wiste by 13-0 major decision in the semis.  Wiste then fell in the finals to Goodhue’s #5 at 145 Maddox O’Reilly (36-7) by 7-2 decision.  O’Reilly dropped down a weight.  Blocker didn’t get a true second match.  Tanner Ginther took fourth at 113 for the Warriors, giving them 10 top four finishers.  Only Ross is a senior.  

Schott Brothers Highlight Chatfield’s State Entrants

Chatfield wrestling took on the 1A individual tourney and got four state entrants.  Matt Mauseth’s group got three section champions including brothers Kail and Grady Schott.  Kail beat D-E’s Landon Lehnertz (26-12) in the semis by 6-1 decision and K-W’s Jaedin Johnson (38-3) by first period fall in the finals to claim 170 pounds.   Schott, ranked #7, improved to 35-4.  He owns multiple wins over Lehnertz this year.  The sophomore re-qualified for state after taking fourth at “Super Sections” last year (138 pounds).  Older brother Grady, a senior, beat Cal/Hou’s Eric Mauss (27-17) in the semis 6-0 then St. Charles’ Tytan Small (33-9) by second period fall in the finals (despite trailing in the match).  Grady (37-1) repeated as 182-pound section/super section champ.  Ranked #2 at 182, he heads to St. Paul looking to improve on last year’s state runner-up.  Javier Berg (28-8) also claimed a section title, winning 106-pounds.   Ranked

#2, the freshman won by 15-0 tech fall in the quarters, 10-2 major decision in the semis, and then 1-0 decision over Cal/Hou’s Lange in the finals to secure his crown.  Making state as a section runner-up is #6 Gage Bartels (113).  The sophomore authored two pins to make the finals.  Versus Goodhue’s Ryan Bortz (33-5), Bartels was ahead late in the third but suffered a takedown and back-points, falling by 8-4 decision.  He improved to 30-8.  Gage’s older brother Cael was multi-time state entrant.  Chatfield had three third place finishers; Ben Carrier (126), Ethan Ruskell (220), and Caden Nolte (285).  Nolte (22-9) went 3-2 overall, losing to Goodhue’s Caleb Kurtti by fall in a true second match.  Nolte fell to 285-

pound champion Christian Luthe by fall in the semis.  Carrier (28-10) went 3-1, falling to D-E’s #8 Bolton Thesing by fall in the semis.  Thesing then fell to Cal/Hou’s #1 Ross in the finals, leaving Carrier without a true second.  Ruskell (28-11) tied for the tourney lead with three pins, as he went 3-1.  He lost to Goodhue’s Cody Lohman (#3 at 195) by 4-2 decision in sudden victory in the semis.  Lohman lost to D-E’s #9 Jackson Duellman by 5-3 decision in the finals, leaving Ruskell without a true second.  Ruskell, a senior, played basketball up until this year.  Carson Rowland (132 > 26-11), Jack Dornack (138 > 20-22), and Luke Carrier (152 > 21-16) each took fourth, going 2-2, giving Chatfield 10 top four finishers.  

Bulldog Pair Earn State Trips

Randy Smith’s GMLOS group had two guys in particular stand out at the 1A individual meet.  Heading the cast was Christian Luthe.  The senior, who started the year on the Southland basketball team (though he’s been a wrestler), pinned Chatfield’s Caden Nolte in the semis and Goodhue’s Caleb Kurtti in the finals to claim the 285-pound title.  Luthe improved to 25-9.  At last year’s 1A meet, Luthe didn’t even make Day 2.  At 138, #1 Cohen Wiste used a pin and a 13-0 major decision over Cal/Hou’s #3 Isaac Blocker to make the finals.  There, the junior fell by 7-2 decision to Goodhue’s #5 at 145 Maddox O’Reilly (36-5), who dropped down a weight.  Wiste did pick up his 40th win (40-4).  He earned his fourth state trip at a fourth different weight.  From there, Donavon Felten (145) took third.  Ranked #4, the senior won by fall in the quarters but fell to Cal/Hou’s Tucker Ginther (31-8) 2-1 in the semis.  Felten won his third-place match by 14-0 major decision, but didn’t get a true second (Ginther lost to D-E’s #3 Brodie Kellen in the finals).  Felten finishes his senior year at 38-6.  Junior Aiden Quintana (30-16) went 2-2 to take fourth at 126.  Sophomore Braxten Wiste (29-15) went 3-2 to take fifth at 160.  

FCLMC and LARP Come Up State Entrant Empty

While Caledonia/Houston, Chatfield, and GMLOS each had multiple state entrants, FCLMC and LARP came up empty.  The Wolves’ best finishers, Kane Larson (106 > 33-8), Oliver Hoeltze (182 > 33-13), and Aaron Hutton (220 > 15-21) all took fourth.  Larson went 2-2, but narrowly missed the finals, falling by 2-1 decision to Cal/Hou’s Braxton Lange (30-15).  The 8th grader then fell by 3-1 decision to K-W’s Masyn Hanson (32-14) in the third-place match.  Hoeltlze went 2-2 including falling by 7-1 decision to Cal/Hou’s Eric Mauss (27-17) in a third-place match.  Hutton went 1-2, with both losses coming by fall to Chatfield’s Ethan Ruskell.   LARP had the tough task of wrestling in

the 1AA tourney, which features #2 Kasson-Mantorville and Lean and Mean teams Albert Lea and Zumbrota-Mazeppa.  The Screamin’ Eagles top finishers were Tyler Kryzer (182) and Tyler Kreidermacher (113).  Kryzer (23-11) took third, going 3-2 for the tourney.  His losses were to K-M’s #2 Kail Wynia (41-3) by fall in the semis and to Z-M’s #7 Gabe Tupper (31-8) by 9-2 decision in a true second match. In between, Kryzer won a 13-2 major, a fall, and a 6-3 decision (third place match).  Kreidermacher (31-10) went 4-2 overall, including notching three pinfall victories.  Both of his losses were K-M’s Jonah Coleman (8-0 major in quarters, 4-0 decision in third place match).   The senior finishes with over 100 career wins.  Jordan Zibrowski (30-14) went 4-2 but took fifth, winning thrice by fall.  Quintin Betthauser (132 > 32-14) and Jacob Meyer (195 > 31-12) each went 3-2 to take fifth.   Kreidermacher and Zibrowski made state last year in the “Super-Section” format.