Vikings secure two wins at home
After defeating Morris Area 42-29, Minneota upended Marshall/Lakeview/Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, the No. 7 team in Class AA, 41-31 in a home triangular on Thursday.
Still, coach Matt Myrvik pointed out some areas of concern in that opening match.
"We have started pretty sluggish on all three events we have wrestled so far this season and we really need to figure that out," he said. "We need to be ready to compete in that first dual. Against Morris, we dropped some matches in the lower weights that we did not expect to, and our upper weights really pulled through with some big matches."
In a match between two state qualifiers from a year ago, Kade Lozinski of Minneota was beaten by Davin Rose, rated No. 3 this season, 8-0 at 138 pounds.
The Vikings regrouped and performed much better against a solid Marshall/Lakeview/RTR team.
"We were able to get bonus points in six of the matches and wrestled some of their state-ranked wrestlers really well and gave us a chance to win those matches," said Myrvik.
Jackson Esping lost 2-1 in overtime to No. 3-rated Spencer Wambeke at 220 pounds. Jayden Gamrak at 285 wrestled No. 5-rated Grant Louwagie evenly for most of his match before being caught and pinned in the final seconds.
"Both those matches are great tests in the early season to see where we need to improve," Myrvik noted.
Eric Carrasco had a pin in each of his 126-pound matches for Minneota, as did 160-pounder Jonah Gruenes. Destin Fier notched a pin and a decision at 113 pounds, while Zack Fier won by decision and technical fall at 152. and Alex DePestel won a pair of decisions at 172.
Minneota 42, Morris Area 29
106 - Tyce Anderson, MA, pin Adam DeVlaeminck 3:32
113 - Destin Fier, Min, pin Andrew Marty 5:50
120 - Dallas Walton, MA, dec Peyton Gillund 7-5
126 - Eric Carrasco, Min, pin Casey Nelson :34
132 - Ethan Lebrija, MA, pin Brock Fier 1:14
138 - Davin Rose, MA, majdec Kade Lozinski 8-0
145 - Eli Gruenes, Min, pin Breighton Logan 1:50
152 - Zack Fier, Min, dec Caden Rose 6-3
160 - Jonah Gruenes, Min, pin Dain Schroeder 4:49
170 - Alex DePestel, Min, dec Hunter Massner 10-6
182 - Toby Messner, MA, majdec Branden Johnson 9-1
195 - Hunter Gibson, MA, pin Hudson Scholten 5:57
220 - Jackson Esping, Min, pin Sawyer Knoblach :25
295 - Jayden Gamrak, Min, pin Carter Gibson 3:50
Minneota 41, Marshall 31
106 - Landon Marthaler, Mar, pin Adam DeVlaeminck 3:01
113 - Destin Fier, Min, dec Drew Chandler 6-1
120 - Peyton Gillund, Min, pin Aidan Mattison 1:04
126 - Eric Carrasco, Min, pin Brett Regnier 3:13
132 - Dylan Louwagie, Mar, pin Brock Fier 2:45
138 - Kade Lozinski, Min, pin Christian Vlaminck 3:41
145 - Tate Condezo, Mar, pin Eli Gruenes 1:16
152 - Zack Fier, Min, techfall Josh Kraft 15-0
160 - Jonah Gruenes, Min, pin Lukas Stelter 1:29
170 - Alex Depestel, Min, dec Tucker Fiene 14-11
182 - Mitchell Bouwman, Mar, majdec Branden Johnson 8-0
195 - Hudson Scholten, Min, pin Kaidin Otto 1:50
220 - Spencer Wambeke, Mar, dec Jackson Esping 2-1, ot
285 - Grant Louwagie, Mar, pin Jayden Gamrak 5:48