Wrestling Teams Go Big For Holidays

Two county wrestling squads competed in very large multi-day tournaments between Christmas and New Year’s.  LARP took on the all classes Minnesota/Wisconsin Bi-State Invite at the La Crosse Center.  Tim Tekautz and Dave Riebel’s guys finished 17th of 60 teams.  They took 7th among the 20 Division II schools.  Eleven of 12 guys to compete notched at least two wins.  Four seniors placed.  McCoy Tekautz (#1 in Class A at 152) was the lead dog.   Tekautz won his first three matches (fall, fall, 22-4 tech fall) to make the 152-pound quarters.   There he was stopped (8-4 decision) by Pulaski’s 18-1 Jake Gille, Wisconsin’s #4 ranked D-I (highest level) wrestler at 160.   Tekautz then ran off three more wins (17-5 MD, 15-6 MD, 11-9 D) over wrestlers with a combined 38-14 record.  Two are ranked top ten in Wisconsin.  It put him in the third place match.  Gille loomed again, and again won by decision (4-2).  Tekautz finished fourth (of 53), going 6-2.  He is now 12-3 on the year.   At 126, Xavier Riser started with a win (15-1 MD), then fell (by fall) to the eventual champion (River Valley’s #2 in D-II at 132 Dustin Hatfield).  A couple decision wins (8-1 and 8-2) got Riser into position to place.  Loss (pinned), win (by DQ), and loss (7-4 decision) put Riser at 4-3 for the tourney.  He took 10th (of 52) at 126.  Riser is now 14-5.  At 220, Cody Rain mimicked Riser; won (pin), lost (pinned), won (4-3 decision), won (10-4 decision), lost (pinned), won (pin), and lost (pinned).  He also went 4-3 to also finish 10th (of 48) at 220.  Rain is 15-5 on the year.  Riser and Rain’s six losses were all to guys ranked in state.  Justin Mueller (160) made the quarters with three pins out of the gate.  He was bumped into the consolation bracket courtesy of D-II #4 Anders Lantz of Ellsworth (18-4 TF).  An ensuing loss by fall and then an injury (two losses) resulted in a tough 0-4 end to the tourney.  Going 3-4, Mueller placed 12th of 52.  He is 13-6 on the year.  Ross Herber (106), Gable Speltz (113), Sam Schwendinger (120), Dominick Jenkins (138), and Ethan Sense (145) each went 3-2 (did not place).  A year ago, LARP finished 16th among D-II schools.  No Screamin’ Eagles placed.  Meanwhile, Chatfield took on the all classes 72-team Rumble on the Red at Fargo Dome.  The Gophers finished 37th.  Jake Mandt was the Chatfield headliner.  He won his first three matches (pin, 7-4 D, 9-7 D) to make the 145-pound semis.  There he fell (9-4 D) to Shakopee’s Alex Crowe, the eventual champ and top ranked guy in AAA at 145.  Mandt then lost (3-1 D) to JCC’s Jacob Tvinnereim (#5 in Class A).  Mandt ended with a win (8-1 D) for fifth place, going 4-2.  He was the only Gopher to place.  Jake is 11-2 on the year.  Seth Goetzinger (106) and Nathan Goldsmith (138) each went 3-2.  Goetzinger in 9-3 on the year.  Goldsmith is 8-4.