Wrestling: Twenty-Two Area Guys Qualify for State Meet

It was a busy couple section tourneys for the wrestling teams from Chatfield, LARP, GMLOS, Cale-donia/Houston, and FCLMC with all getting multiple qualifiers for the state wrestling meet.   The 1A finals featured seven matches between said teams.  Each team has at least one section champ.   

In Section 1A, team champion Chatfield heads the cast.  Matt Mauseth’s Gophers got seven qualifiers, upping their tally to 25 the past three years.  Section champs Joey Cady (107), Kaisen Johnson (133), and Hunter Polikowsky (145) all breezed to titles.  Jameson Priebe (121), Logan Pearson (127), Layne Root (139), and Will Boelter (215) advance from a second-place position.  Cady, ranked #3, won a 21-6 tech fall, a fall, and another 21-6 tech fall of Cal/Hou’s Kiptyn Meiners (28-13) in the finals to earn his berth.   Both techs were in the first period.  The freshman (37-1) earned his first state trip.   Johnson (31-6) grabbed his team-best fourth state qualification, his third section title.  Ranked #2, the senior also breezed with two first period falls, then a 15-0 tech fall of LARP 8th grader Michael Alexander (31-4).  Johnson’s other section titles were at 113 (as a frosh) and 121 (as a sophomore).  H-Polikowsky (145) ripped his way through with a fall, a 20-5 tech fall, then a first period fall of upstart frosh Grant Daniels (22-13) of FCLMC in the finals.  Ranked #6, the sophomore (35-7) grabbed his first state berth.  Jameson Priebe, ranked #2 at 121, won just one match by fall to make the finals, but then was knocked off by St. Charles’ #9 Miles Barclay (42-3) by fall.  Priebe (37-5) then beat Goodhue’s Jay Ryan (31-13) by fall in a true second match.   Logan Pearson, #1 at 127, also had a hiccup.  He won two falls to make the finals only to lose to LARP’s unranked (but former state qualifier) Christian Zibrowski (42-6) by narrow 4-3 decision.  Zibrowski scored four second period points to lead 4-0.  It was at least their fourth meeting on the year, Pearson winning two.  The sophomore (37-3) rallied with a 22-5 tech fall of D-E’s Max Loftus in the true second match.  Layne Root (139), ranked #9, notched 19-3, 15-0, and 19-3 tech falls to make the finals only to fall to LARP’s #6 Owen Lange (38-8) by 13-7 decision.  Will Boelter (215), ranked #7, just had to notch a pin to make the finals.  He then fell to Caledonia/Houston’s #4 Cooper Alen (29-11) by 3-1 decision.  Neither Root (33-10) or Boelter (29-8) needed to wrestle a true second.  Priebe, Pearson, and Boelter all requalified for state. Taking third for the Gophers was #5 at 114 Gunner Polikowsky.  He won a fall before losing to Goodhue’s #10 Arlyn Von Knobelsdorff (22-4) by 4-0 decision in the semis.  G-Polikowsky (29-11) then notched two falls to make a true second, but the frosh then lost to Cal/Hou’s Aiden Burns (30-9) by 7-2 decision.  Cody Ramaker (152), Eli Manahan (172), and Andrew Boelter (189) added fourth place finishes.  

LARP continued its recent ascent by improving upon last year’s state qualifier effort by one man.  Darrin Hegland’s S-Eagles got five state entrants including section champs Christian Zibrowski (127) and Owen Lange (139). Michael Alexander (133), Zach Plank (189), and Chace Drazkowski (285) go as second place finishers.   Zibrowski requalified for state after going in 2024.  The junior (42-6) notched a fall, a 9-0 major, and then a 4-3 decision of Chatfield’s #1 Logan Pearson (37-3) to grab his title.  Zibrowski jumped out 4-0 in the match.   He opened the season with a win over Pearson but had lost to him twice since.  Lange (38-8), ranked #6, won via a fall, 21-5 tech fall, and 13-7 decision over Chatfield’s #9 Layne Root (33-10) in the finals for his title.  Zibrowski took third and Lange fourth last year.  Zach Plank, ranked #6, just needed a 16-0 tech fall to make the finals.  But the senior then again ran into FCLMC’s #1 Kane Larson (39-1).  In at least their third meeting this year, Larson won a third tech fall, 17-1.  Plank (40-8) rallied by beating D-E’s Trevin Ludescher by fall in a true second match.   Chace Drazkowski (285), ranked #7, notched a fall and a 11-1 major decision to make the finals before falling to Goodhue’s #3 at 215 Jack Carlson (33-3) by 8-1 decision.  Michael Alexander, just an 8th grader, made the finals via a 9-2 decision and a 24-9 tech fall.  But he fell by fall to four-time state qualifier #2 Kaisen Johnson (31-6) from Chatfield.  Neither Alexander (31-4) nor Drazkowski (30-8) needed to wrestle true second matches.  Plank and Drazkowski requalified for state.   Carter Bronk (145) and Jaxon Johnson (160) each took third.  Bronk (29-16), a junior, fell by to FLCMC’s Grant Daniels (22-13) in his first match but finished with three straight wins, by fall, 11-7 decision, and 6-3 decision.  Johnson (29-9), a sophomore, took a similar route, losing a 4-3 decision via very late takedown in the quarters.  He then won by 20-11 major and an 8-2 decision.  Neither Bronk nor Johnson got a true second match.  

Caledonia/Houston doubled its state cast from last year.  Back in section 1A after competing in 1AA previously, Shay Mahoney and Justin Conway’s Warriors got section titles from brothers Will Allen (172) and Cooper Allen (215). Kiptyn Meiners (107) and Aiden Burns (121) made state from the second-place positions.   W-Allen, a senior (unranked at 172) notched a pin, a 16-1 tech fall, and a controlling 7-1 decision over Goodhue’s Jackson O’Reilly (34-10) in the finals for his title.  Sophomore C-Allen, ranked #4, notched a fall and a 16-0 tech fall to make the finals before topping Chatfield’s #6 Will Boelter (29-8) by 3-1 decision courtesy of a third period takedown.  Both gained from Goodhue’s #3-ranked Jack Carlson moving up to 285 pounds.  Will (39-2) took third at 152 last year, Cooper (29-11) fourth at 189.  Both thus earned their first state trips.  Aiden Burns (114) requalified for state.  The senior (30-9) used a 15-0 tech fall and a fall to make the finals before falling to Goodhue’s #10 Arlyn Von Knobelsdorff (22-4) by 4-1 decision in sudden victory.  Burns then beat Chatfield’s #5 Gunner Polikowsky (29-11) by 7-2 decision in a true second to make St. Paul.   Finally, 8th grader Kiptyn Meiners (28-13) used a pin and a 15-5 major decision to make the finals before falling to Chatfield’ #3 Joey Cady (37-1) by 21-6 tech fall.  Meiners did not need to wrestle a true second match. Cal/Hou did not have any third-place finishers. Jace Conway (121), Nolan Conway (127), Hunter Frank (133), Aaren Kulas (139), and Rae’Shaun Smith (285) all took fourth.  

FCLMC’s best exploits were by their returning state champion senior Kane Larson (189).  But frosh Grant Daniels offered up a surprise and qualified for the state tourney also.  Larson, ranked #1, easily claimed his weight class with 17-2 and 17-1 tech falls, the later a third tech fall of the year over LARP’s #6 Zach Plank (40-8).  It is Larson’s third state qualification.  He made it at 160 as a sophomore and at 172 last year.  Daniels (22-13) beat LARP’s Carter Bronk (29-16) by fall in the quarters and St. Charles’ Cam Haley (29-17) by 10-4 major in the semis.  In the finals, he fell to Chatfield’s #6 Hunter Polikowsky (35-7) by fall.  Daniels did not need to wrestle a true second to make state.  Larson and Daniels were the only Wolves to finish top four.  

In Section 2A were the GMLOS Bulldogs.  Randy Smith’s group got four state entrants.  Drake Payne (215) heads the cast, going as section champion.  Parker Armagost (127), Cael Smith (145), and Wyatt Krull (285) go in the second-place spots. Payne, a senior (41-7), posted two falls to win his weight, topping WEM-JWP’s Kavan Sheehy (28-14) in the finals.  Smith is the sole Bulldog to requalify for state.  The sophomore (37-10) notched a fall and a 7-1 decision to make the finals before losing to St. Clair/Loyola’s unranked Blake Sheppard (41-3) by fall.   Smith made state last year as 1A 139-pound runner-up.  Parker Armagost notched two first period falls to make the finals before falling to Kenyon-Wanamingos’ #5 Bryan Jacobson (32-9) by fall.  Neither Smith nor Armagost needed to wrestle a true second match.  Wyatt Krull (23-16), a senior, won a 10-0 major and an 8-4 decision to make the finals before falling to Blue Earth Area’s Chase Gambell (36-7).  Krull then won a 4-2 decision over K-W’s Brahyden Wetzstein in a true second to make state, posting a match rescuing late third period takedown.  Payne took fifth, Krull fourth, and Armagost did not place last year. Additionally, Chase Van Hill (121) and Calum Sween (160) each took third.  Sween (30-20), a freshman, won his opener by fall, lost in the semis by 8-4 decision, then notched back-to-back falls in the consolations.  He then faced K-W’s Brennan Flotterud (17-9) and fell by 10-8 decision in a true second match.  Flotterud jumped out 9-1.  Van Hill, just a 7th grader (29-14), won a fall, lost a 11-0 major in the semis, then won a 9-1 major and a fall in the wrestlebacks.  He did not get a true second match. Jaydence Ward (152) took fourth.