A big night in Blossoms town
Westfield’s Kevin Hodge lifts his opponent during a mat return attempt against WEM/JWP last week. Hodge won by fall to secure six points for the Razorbacks and push Westfield’s initial lead to 18-0. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
Blooming Prairie’s new additions to the high school campus paid big dividends for Awesome Blossoms athletics last Thursday, when the boys’ basketball team and the Westfield Razorbacks simultaneously competed at home.
Westfield started its dual at 7 p.m. in the old gym; meanwhile, Blooming Prairie basketball took the court at 7:15 p.m. in the new gym.
Making the night even sweeter for the home crowd was the fact that both programs walked away with major wins.
Westfield kicked off the night with a dual against WEM/JWP – a fierce conference rival – that remained tight into the late stages.
The Razorbacks shot out to an 18-0 lead thanks to three straight pins by Derek Miner, Kaiden Chicos, and Kevin Hodge, but WEM/JWP began to fight back with a five-point technical fall from 127-pounder Carson Petry and a three-point decision by 133-pounder Carson James.
Now leading 18-8, Westfield applied pressure to the Grizzlies with back-to-back wins by fall from Gage Mullenbach and Bo Zwiener at 133 and 139 pounds.
Westfield’s 30-8 lead had the home crowd ecstatic, but once again, the Grizzlies would not go down without a fight.
Three straight pins by WEM/JWP had the Grizzlies right back in the mix at 30-26 heading into a pivotal 189-pound matchup between Westfield’s Alex Lea and the Grizzlies’ Kavan Sheehy.
Lea proved to be the better man on the night and prevailed with bonus points, pinning Sheehy in the first period.
Now down by 10 points, WEM/JWP’s chances looked slim. They needed two bonus-point wins to take down the Razorbacks.
Those chances were erased promptly at 215 pounds, when Westfield’s Ty Bronson stuck his man in the first period to put the dual out of reach at 42-26.
Westfield heavyweight Wyatt Arndt hit the mat and almost pulled off the highlight of the night, putting WEM/JWP 2022-23 state champion Keegan Kuball on his back, but a slick reversal caught Arndt off guard and ended with a Kuball pin.
Regardless, the Westfield bench was ecstatic with the 42-32 win.
“We knew those first three weights we were favored and need to get bonus points, and we did. We weathered the storm there for a couple of weights, until we got back up top, but our guys Alex Lea and Ty Bronson stepped up huge for us tonight,” said Westfield co-head coach David Lassahn.
While Westfield was putting on a show in the old gym, Blooming Prairie boys’ basketball was putting on a show in the new gym.
The Awesome Blossoms took on 3-2 Wabasha-Kellogg and proved to be the superior team early on, accumulating a 41-23 lead at halftime.
Blooming Prairie’s starting five continued to look deadly, distributing the ball amongst one another for consistent open looks, much to the chagrin of the Falcons’ defense.
In the end, Blooming Prairie’s high-octane level of play proved too much for Wabasha-Kellog in a 78-43 win.
The 35-point win was the Awesome Blossoms’ largest margin of victory on the season and improved the team’s record to 5-0 overall.
Leading the way for Blooming Prairie were Brady Kittelson and Gabe Hein with 22 and 21 points respectively.
Up next for Blooming Prairie is a road game against LeRoy-Ostrander to be held at Grand Meadow High School on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at 5 p.m.
Westfield’s next competition will be at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire as part of a holiday tournament on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 9 a.m.