2015 Minnesota State Wrestling Tournament Preview
ST. PAUL -- The Minnesota State High School wrestling tournament will kick off tomorrow at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, and we’re going to take a look at some area wrestlers who will be looking to accomplish the ultimate goal for a high school athlete… the goal of a state championship.
Three area schools will be represented in the team portion of the event tomorrow; here is a look at how they got there, and what lies ahead.
Foley- Class AA
Foley qualified for the state tournament by beating Annandale/ Maple Lake in the section
6AA finals by a score of 26-25. The Falcons were down 25-0 halfway through the dual, but that didn’t faze them. All of Foley’s final 7 wrestlers won their matches, and that scored the team 26 points, propelling them to victory in what was arguably one of the greatest comebacks this wrestling fan has ever seen!
The unseeded Falcons will square off in the first round of Class AA team competition tomorrow at 9am against second seeded Albert Lea Area. Albert Lee comes in with a record of 33-1, and they are loaded with a total of 7 state entrants on their squad. This match just might come down to the 182- pound weight class as 6th ranked Spencer Elwell is scheduled to take on Albert Lea senior, Tim Christianson, who is rated 4th in the state in AA.
Pierz- Class A
The Pioneers punched their ticket to state when they beat Aitkin 33-26. They got big pins from Reese Kapsner, Brandon Ortman, and Kolten Eischens in the section finals giving Pierz 18 of their eventual 33 points. At 11am tomorrow they will step on a state tournament mat for an impressive 5th consecutive season.
Standing in Pierz’s way is the Class A 2nd seed, Frazee. The Hornets are also a frequent competitor at state, and will likely have an individual state entrant at 8 of their 14 weights. Pierz will need a jolt right away if they want to pull the upset, and that responsibility will be given to 8th grader Reese Kapsner. He is slated to wrestle freshman Tanner Schermerhorn, which would give us a matchup between two of the top 10 wrestlers in the single A 106 pound weight class.
Milaca
For the third time in four years the Milaca Wolves won section 7AA. They did so by defeating Mora 37 to 28 in the section finals. Senior 160 pounder Jack Barsody gave the Wolves the lead for good when he pinned his opponent in an impressive 36 seconds. His win started a run for Milaca as they won 4 of the final 6 matches. The wolves will move their den to the Xcel Energy Center at 9am tomorrow for the first round of team competition.
Class AA 3 seed Scott West will be the first opponent for Milaca. They have a state entrant at each of the first 5 weight classes, so the wolves will have to weather the storm early if they want to move on to the championship semi finals. Milaca does have some hammers of their own up top in Josh Otten and Austin Weidner, and they should get big points from both of them. The two seniors have a combined record this year of 71 and 7.
On Friday the individual portion of the state tournament will kick off. Let’s take a look at some local kids who will be competing.
St. Cloud Tech- Class AAA
Cole Schreder- Junior/ 170 pound weight class/ 33-5 record: Cole will be competing in the state tournament for the 2nd consecutive year. He won a section 8AAA title by defeating Bemidji’s Gannon Strain 6-4 in the finals. He will draw White Bear Lake Area’s Joe Dittel in the first round
Austin Brenner- Freshman/ 132 pound weight class/ 30-6 record/ 2nd state tournament appearance
Jacob Johnson- Senior/ 182 pound weight class/ 28-7 record
Tyler Hugg- Sophomore/ 195 pound weight class/ 30-5 record
Alex Kern- Freshman/ 113 pound weight class/ 15-8 record
St. Cloud Apollo- Class AAA
Nick Graham- Senior/ 195 pound weight class/ 18-6 record: This will be Nick’s first state tournament appearance. He punched his ticket to state be defeating his opponent 5-1 in a true second match. Graham will compete against Tyler Berdahl of Coon Rapids in the first round.
Sartell- Class AAA
Rylee Molitor- Sophomore/ 113 pound weight class/ 34-1 record: Rylee is currently the #1 ranked wrestler at 113 pounds in 3A. He placed 2nd last year in his first state tournament appearance, and he is certainly a favorite to reach the finals again this year. Molitor will look to defeat Rosemount’s Jacob Bottem in the first round
Noah Peichel- Freshman/ 145 pound weight class/ 24-10 record
Sauk Rapids- Rice- Class AAA
Korey Keske- Junior/ 138 pound weight class/ 33-4 record: By way of an 8-3 victory over Alexandria’s Blake Olhausen, Korey captured his first section 8AAA title, and qualified for his second state tournament. Keske draws Alex Green of Owatonna in round 1 of competition.
Zac Spohn- Freshman/ 106 pound weight class/ 23-4 record
Tony Bemboom- Sophomore/ 126 pound weight class/ 27-7 record
Kolton Farnick- Junior/ Heavyweight/ 19-10 record
Foley- Class AA
Carter Nielsen- Senior/ 170 pound weight class/ 41-0 record: Nielsen will be wrestling at the state tournament for the third time in his career. Carter lost in the state finals last year by way of a 7-3 decision. Now this year, he will go back and look to capture the elusive state championship that slipped through his fingers last year.
Spencer Elwell- Junior/ 182 pound weight class/ 37-3 record
Brandon Jackson- Senior/ 160 pound weight class/ 35-6 record
Nathan Goulet- Senior/ 152 weight class/ 29-12 record
Saylor Schmit- Freshman/ 220 pound weight class/ 28-10 record
Milaca- Class AA
Austin Weidner- Senior/ 182 pound weight class/ 35-4 record: Austin qualified for his 3rd consecutive state tournament by winning his true second match with a pin in the second period. He will look to place at state for the first time in his career, but he must first get through William Parks of Perham in round one.
Jon Hall- Freshman/ 106 pound weight class/ 30-8 record
Dru Kuchenbacker- Junior/ 138 pound weight class/ 35-3 record/ 2nd state tournament appearance
Jack Barsody- Senior/ 152 pound weight class/ 30-8 record
Aaron Moscho- Senior/ 160 pound weight class/ 29-9 record/ 2nd state tournament appearance
Josh Otten- Senior/ 170 pound weight class/ 36-3 record
Colton Sailor- Senior/ 220 pound weight class/ 27-10 record
Becker- Class AA
Cody Ferris- Senior/ 145 pound weight class/ 32-8 record: This will be Cody’s second trip to the state tournament in as many years. He won his section 6AA title by a 1 point decision over his opponent in the championship. Ferris will compete against Chaska’s Isaac Loosbrock in his first match on Friday.
Josh Lumley- Sophomore/ 113 pound weight class/ 25-9 record/ 2nd state tournament appearance
Caleb Vekved- Senior/ 138 pound weight class/ 33-7 record
Jaylin Hildebrant- Sophomore/ 170 pound weight class/ 20-10 record
Pierz- Class A
Kolton Eischens- Junior/ 152 pound weight class/ 39-0 record: Eischen’s will look to improve on his 2nd place finish from last year’s state tournament. He qualified for state this year for the 3rd time in his career. Kolton is one of the favorites in the Class A 152- pound weight class and his quest for a state title will start by having to get through Barnesville’s Conner Meyer.
Reese Kapsner- 8th grader/ 106 pound weight class/ 30-9 record
Jake Andres- 8th grader/ 113 pound weight class/ 26-12 record
Brandon Ortman- Sophomore/ 120 pound weight class/ 34-2 record
Andrew Tomala- Sophomore/ 132 pound weight class/ 18-14 record
Brett Kapsner- Sophomore/ 170 pound weight class/ 28-3 record/ 2nd state tournament apperance
Austin Gall- Senior/ Heavyweight/ 26-14 record
Kimball- Class A
Quinten Berres- Senior/ 138 pound weight class/ 40-0 record: This 2-time state champion is back at the state tournament for an incredible 5th time, and he will look to capture another title before graduating this spring. Quinten’s quest for a 3rd title will start in the first round on Friday when he’ll square off against Tony Lynn of Adrian.
Blaine Tschida- Senior/ 132 pound weight class/ 41-0 record/ 4th state tournament appearance
Brady Mehr- Junior/ 145 pound weight class/ 32-8 record/ 2nd state tournament appearance
Tanner Schreifels- Senior/ 160 pound weight class/ 28-6 record
Troy Filzen- Senior/ 195 pound weight class/ 22-4 record
Royalton-Class A
Brad Kroll- Junior/ 160 pound weight class/ 27-10 record: Brad qualified for state by winning his section true second match in impressive fashion. He is making his 2nd career state tournament trip, and he’ll look to get to the podium for the first time this year. His first opponent will be Frazee junior, Tanner Bachmann
Kyle Lange- Junior/ 182 pound weight class/ 17-0 record/ 2nd state tournament appearance
Jackson Held- 8th grader/ 126 pound weight class/ 24-12 record
Clint Gadacz- Junior/ Heavyweight/ 18-7 record
Check out the full Minnesota State Wrestling Tournament schedule here: http://theguillotine.com/wp/2015-state-wrestling-tournament-schedule/