Wrestling Preview

Chatfield wrestling rebounded last year.  A year after going 3-15, the Gophers went 7-6 (6-3 versus TRC foes).  Travis Bartels’ group lost to D-E in the 1A quarters.  The top returnee, in his high school swan-song, is senior Jake Mandt.  The three-time state placer was last year’s 145-pound section and state Class A champion (31-2).  Mandt is 137-19 the past four years.  The Gophers also have back high section placers; A.J. Karver (Fr., 8-8, 3rd at 195), Seth Goetzinger (Fr., 17-11, 4th at 106), Nathan Goldsmith (Jr., 22-10, 5th at 138), and Isaiah Froese (So., 11-9, 5th at 220).  Like Mandt, Goldsmith and Goetzinger were All-TRC.  Cael Bartels (So., 120, 15-15), Tate Karver (Fr., 113), Chase Ketterhagen (Jr., 126), Campbell Berge (8th, 132), Davontae Goldmith (Jr., 152), and Luke Ihrke (So., 160) are other returnees from last year’s 1A meet.  Carter Fishbaugher (Sr.), Nolan Salerno (Sr.), Tyler Sexton (Jr.), Jacob Stephas (So.), Grady Schott (8th), Cody Guenther (Fr.) are other returnees.  Chatfield has tourneys at FCLMC, the Rumble on the Red, Stewartville, Lake City, and W-E-M.  Rochester-Mayo is their one dual invite.

LARP wrestling enters the season coming off an 8-13 campaign (5-4 versus TRC foes).  PEM beat the Screamin’ Eagles in the 1AA quarters.  LARP kept one coach in Tim Tekautz but swapped in another, as Darrin Hegland will also help.  Three All-TRC picks graduated in Josh Doerr (3rd at sections, 24-4), Justin Mueller (3rd at sections, 24-8), and McCoy Tekautz (32-9, section runner-up, state third).  Xavier Riser (126 > 22-13) and Cody Rain (220 > 19-8) were other key senior departures.  LARP returns section placers in Noah Herber (Jr., 15-19, 3rd at 182), Carter Jonsgaard (Fr., 1-3, 4th at 113), and Dominic Jenkins (Jr., 20-16, 5th at 138).  Ethan Sense (Jr., 18-16, 145), Ross Herber (So., 106), and Reece Riebel (Sr., 132) are other competitors from last year’s 1AA meet.  Sam Puetz (Sr.), a Section fourth place finisher at 160 in 2016 (17-13), Gable Speltz (Fr.), Riley Koop (Jr.), Sam Schwendinger (Sr.), Jacob Meyer (8th) and Colton Mart (Jr.) are other returnees.  LARPs tourneys include Winona, FCLMC, Tri State, and PEM.   The have dual invites at Byron, Z-M, and K-M.   

FCLMC hopes to have the numbers to get off the schneid.  The short-handed Wolves haven’t won a match in a while.  Joe Cullen’s group went 0-16 last year (0-9 versus TRC foes).  They fell to D-E in a 1A wrestle-in match.  FCLMC lost its lone All-Conference pick, state qualifier, Section 1A runner-up Jacob Thomas (26-6).  Treyten Chiglo (24-8) and Walker Ward (17-13) also graduated.  Brothers Cale Anderson (Fr., 106, 19-18) and Caden Anderson (Fr., 120, 16-17) are the only other two Wolves to compete at last year’s 1A meet.  Eric Kunz (Sr.), Caleb Kunz (Fr.), Michael Barrett (So.), and Devin Troendle (Fr.) are experienced returnees.  The Wolves have tourneys at La Crosse-Logan, PEM, Pine Island, Robbinsdale-Cooper, Crestwood and their own home holiday invite.