Owatonna takes second in Faribault
Owatonna 107-pounder works to put his Rochester Mayo opponent onto his back. Aase and the Huskies finished last week by taking second place in a quad in Faribault against the Falcons, Austin and Mankato East. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
Owatonna wrestling traveled to Faribault last week where it took second place in a Big Nine Conference quadrangular with Mankato East, Austin and the Falcons.
The Huskies started their day with wins over the latter two teams before losing a showdown with the Cougars for first place.
Both the Packers and Falcons proved to be little competition and were held to just 12 points.
Out of the two wins accumulated by each team, one came by pin and the other came by forfeit in each instance.
Meanwhile, Owatonna went to work winning all 10 of the remaining matches in each dual with 18 of its 20 total wins scoring bonus points.
The Huskies’ final showdown of the day came in the first-place dual against Mankato East where the team lost 45-30.
The trio of Miles Aase, Mason Sorensen and Jacob Wilson set their team up perfectly by winning the first three matches by fall to give Owatonna an early 18-0 lead.
However, Mankato East came storming back by taking the next four matches from 127-145 pounds via four bonus-point wins.
Three falls and one major decision quickly swung the score in favor of the Cougars at 22-18 before Owatonna 152-pounder Noah Calhoun took the mat.
The Huskies’ sophomore showed his skills by pinning his Mankato East opponent in the second period and earning his team some much-needed momentum.
Teammate Riley Kreeger fed off the big pin by scoring one of his own in the first period at 160 pounds to give the Huskies another six bonus points and build its lead to 34-22 heading into the heavier weights.
Matches at 172 and 189 pounds saw Mankato East gain 11 points with a fall and a technical fall, but Owatonna still held a slight 34-33 lead heading into the 215-pound match.
The Cougars prevailed again at 215 with a quick 44-second fall to take the lead at 39-34 and ultimately went on to win the dual after Owatonna was forced to forfeit at 285 pounds due to being open at the weight.
Owatonna’s next action will be a home dual against Albert Lea on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.
Seven Razorbacks place in Rochester
Westfield wrestling had a busy day at Rochester Century High School last week during an individual tournament that saw seven Razorbacks place in the top six of their weight classes.
Earning recognition for their efforts were: Easton Busho (107 pounds – fifth place), Elijah Butteris (114 - third), Bentley Miller (121 – third), Peyton Lembke (127 – fourth), Derek Miner (133 – third), Isaac Fort (139 – fifth) and Cayden Maly (145 – fourth.)
As a team, Westfield managed to score sixth place with 109.5 team points, falling just one point shy of Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial’s 110.5 points for fifth place.
NRHEG drops two duals at Waseca
NRHEG wrestling had a tough day going 0-2 at a triangular in Waseca against St. Peter and the Bluejays last week.
The Panthers were forced to stay open at three weights due to injury and illness, handing their opposition a free 18 points in every dual.
St. Peter took down the Panthers first via score of 58-11, but the team did manage three wins from wrestlers Owen Schlaak, Charlie Tufte and Dakota Schlaak to put NRHEG on the scoreboard.
Afterward, the team faced Waseca and fell 46-27 in a much more competitive matchup.
Owen Schlaak, Grahm Jacobson, Tufte and Bo Holland set the Panthers up with a strong 21-0 lead early thanks to two forfeits for Jacobson and Tufte and a pin by Holland.
NRHEG forfeited at 133 pounds but quickly earned its points back thanks to a pin by Dakota Schlaak at 139 to push the score to 27-6.
Unfortunately, Schlaak’s pin would go on to be the last win of the dual for NRHEG as the Bluejays went on to rally to a 47-26 win.
NRHEG’s Tufte and Owen and Dakota Schlaak were all undefeated on the day at 2-0.