February 27, 2017 CONTACT: Craig Perry or Tim Leighton / MSHSL FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE State Individual Wrestling Tournament BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. --- The individual competition of the State Wrestling Tournament is scheduled for March 3-4 at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Here is a look at the tournament: FAST FACTS The schedule: Friday, March 3, Session 3 9 a.m. Class A Individual First Round 11 a.m. Class AA Individual First Round 1 p.m. Class AAA Individual First Round Friday, March 3, Session 4 4 p.m. Class A Individual Championship Quarterfinals 5 p.m. Class AA Individual Championship Quarterfinals 6 p.m. Class AAA Individual Championship Quarterfinals 7 p.m. All Wrestlebacks Saturday, March 4, Session 5 9 a.m. All Individual Consolation Quarterfinals 10:15 a.m. All Individual Championship Semifinals 12:15 p.m. All Individual Consolation Semifinals Saturday, March 4, Session 6 4 p.m. All Individual 3rd- and 5th-place Matches; Awards following matches 6:30 p.m. All Individual Championships, Awards following matches Tickets: $14 adults, $9 students per single session. $26 adults, $17 students per daily pass. $78 adults, $51 students per season book (includes team tournament on Thursday, March 2). Ticket Box Offices open: 8 a.m. each day. Results: Posted on www.mshsl.org. Members of the media should also note that paper copies of brackets will not be distributed this year. Social media: Follow the tournament on the League s Facebook page and on Twitter at @MSHSL and @MSHSLJohn. INDIVIDUAL PREVIEW Class A: 106 pounds Ashton Clark (36-2) of Park Rapids Area is the only returning medalist. He placed fifth in this weight class last year. There are no perfect records. 113 pounds Four medal-winners return from last year s 106-pound class: Jeron Matson (38-1) of Kenyon-Wanamingo, who won the gold; Dillon McGee (26-8) of Walker-Hackensack-Akeley/Nevis, runnerup; Dayne Morton (22-1) of Sibley East of Arlington, third; and Canon Swanson (38-3) of Belgrade-Brooten- Elrosa, sixth. No one in this class is undefeated. 120 pounds This class features four returning medalists from the 113-pound class. Hunter Burnett (35-0) of Pipestone Area was last year s champion. Jace Geving (30-4) of Deer River and Mark Buringa (34-2) of St. Charles were runner-up and third, respectively. Tanner Schermerhorn (30-5) of Frazee placed fifth last year. Burnett has the only perfect record.
126 pounds Michael Suda (39-0) of Pipestone Area, champion at 120 pounds in 2016, leads the field. The only other returning medal-winner is Jake Nohre (36-1) of West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville, who placed fifth at 120 pounds last year. Suda is the only undefeated competitor in this class. 132 pounds Three medalists return: Tanner Reetz (38-0) of Frazee, runner-up at 126 pounds; Tanner Pasvogel (36-2) of Sibley East, fourth at 120 pounds; and Eric Lisson (32-6) of Staples Motley, fifth at 126 pounds. Reetz has the only perfect record in this class. 138 pounds Two 2016 medalists return: Lane Heim (33-3) of St. Charles, fourth at 145 pounds last year; and Lincoln Arndt (33-6) of Maple River of Mapleton, sixth at 132 pounds. No one in this class is undefeated. 145 pounds Three past medal-winners move up to compete at 145 pounds. Jake Mandt (27-2) of Chatfield took third place at 138 pounds last year while Wallace Michels (33-1) of Norwood-Young America placed sixth in that weight class. Kaden Spindler (35-4) of West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville finished fourth at 126 pounds. No competitors have a perfect record. 152 pounds There are no returning medalists and no perfect records in this weight class. 160 pounds Bailee O Reilly (37-1) of Goodhue, last year s champion at 152 pounds, returns in pursuit of more gold. He is joined by Justin Dravis (36-1) of Park Rapids Area, who finished third in this weight class last year. No one in this class is undefeated. 170 pounds Alex Erpelding (37-1) of Staples Motley is the lone returning medalist; he was runner-up at 160 pounds in 2016. There are no perfect records in the field. 182 pounds Two of last year s medal-winners at 182 pounds return in search of gold. Caden Steffen (38-4) of Zumbrota-Mazeppa, runner-up; and Alec Bueltel (30-4) of Minneota, sixth. They are joined by Brett Kapsner (37-1) of Pierz, who took fifth at 170 pounds last year. No one is undefeated in this weight class. 195 pounds Matt Kummet (28-0) of Pierz and Christophor Bain (27-0) of GMLOS both enter competition undefeated. There are no returning medal-winners in this weight class. 220 pounds Trenten Rogich (25-6) of LeSueur-Henderson, third place in this class a year ago, returns in pursuit of a gold medal. The other returning medalist is Reid Seelhammer (40-2) of Dover-Eyota, who placed fourth at 195 pounds. No one in this class has a perfect record. 285 pounds Trent Esping (34-4) of Minneota looks to improve on last year s sixth-place finish at this weight in 2016. He is the only returning medalist. Alex Aarsvold (31-0) of Pine Island is the only undefeated competitor in this class. Sibley East and West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville lead the Class A field with 9 qualifiers apiece. Frazee and Minneota have eight qualifiers each. Class AA: 106 pounds Two medalists return in this class: Matthew Petersen (35-0) of Byron, fourth; and Jaxson Rohman (36-1) of Fairmont/Martin County West. Petersen boasts the only unblemished record. 113 pounds Charlie Pickell (34-4) of Mankato West, who struck gold at 106 pounds last year, is the highest returning medal-winners. Pickell will face off against four other 2016 medalists: Jake Svihel (40-3) of Totino-Grace of Fridley, runner-up at 106 pounds; Ben Naddy (35-2) of Ottertail Central, third at 106 pounds; Jared Johnson (33-8) of Kasson-Mantorville, fifth in this weight class; and Ryan Sokol (36-6) of Simley of Inver Grove Heights, fifth at 106 pounds. There are no perfect records. 120 pounds Garret Vos (34-3) of Waconia, who won at 113 pounds last year, leads a field of three returning medal-winners. Justin Sampson (26-5) of Waseca and Leighton Rach (28-11) of Perham, who placed third and sixth at 113 pounds, respectively, also return. There are no unblemished records. 126 pounds Jake Gliva (41-2) of Simley, defending champion at 120 pounds, leads a group of five returning medalists. The others are: Jackson Stauffacher (36-6) of Scott West, runner-up in this weight class; Brock Luthens (39-4) of Hutchinson, third in this weight class; Lorenzo Diaz (33-8) of South St. Paul, third at 120 pounds; and Quinn Youngs (34-7) of Annandale/Maple Lake, fourth at 120 pounds. There are no perfect records. 132 pounds Two medal-winners return in this weight class: Tucker Sjomeling (38-1) of Delano, champion at 126 pounds; and Reed DeFrang (34-1) of Plainview-Elgin-Millville, runner-up at 120 pounds. No one in this class has an unblemished record.
138 pounds Two 2016 medalists jumped weight classes to compete in this class: Morgan Fuenfinnger (29-0) of Hibbing, runner-up at 132 pounds; and Keaten Schorr (39-3) of Kasson-Mantorville, fifth at 126 pounds. Fuenfinnger boasts the only perfect record. 145 pounds Defending champion at 132 pounds, Garrett Aldrich (38-4) of Albert Lea Area, leads a group of six returning medal-winners. The others are: Peter Nelson (26-2) of St. Cloud Apollo, runner-up at 138 pounds; Tyler Wagener (28-3) of Waconia, third at 132 pounds; Isaac Herman (34-8) of Kasson-Mantorville, fourth at 138 pounds; Luis Cirilo (33-3) of St. Paul Johnson, sixth in this weight class; and Trevor Oberg (13-3) of South St. Paul, sixth at 132 pounds. There are no unblemished records. 152 pounds Anthony Jackson (17-0) of Simley, who won at 138 pounds last year, returns in search of a new title. McCoy Tekautz (28-8) of Lewiston-Altura/Rushford-Peterson is the only other returning medalist. He placed fourth is this weight class in 2016. Jackson has the only perfect record. 160 pounds Two medal-winners return in this class: Sakai Kelly (36-5) of Henry Sibley of Mendota Heights, fifth at 152 pounds; and Brady Berge (41-0) of Kasson-Mantorville, sixth in this weight class. Berge boasts the only unblemished record. 170 pounds Five medalists return in this class: Ryan Duffy (23-2) of South St. Paul, runner-up in this weight class; Solomon Nielsen (34-0) of Luverne, runner-up at 160 pounds; Patrick Kennedy (39-2) of Kasson- Mantorville, third at 145 pounds; Trae Bedford (20-1) of Annandale/Maple Lake, fourth at 160 pounds; and Mason Rutt (32-2) of Tri-City United of Montgomery, fifth in this weight class. Nielsen has the only perfect record. 182 pounds Gabe Zierden (22-0) of Albany has the only unblemished record and three medalwinners return. They are: Tyler Buesgens (25-2) of Scott West, fourth in this weight class; Jared Florell (37-2) of Totino-Grace, fourth at 170 pounds; and Bobby Striggow (39-3) of Orono, fifth in this weight class. 195 pounds Daniel Kerkvliet (41-1) of Simley returns in search of more gold; he won at 170 pounds last year. Two other medalists from this weight class also return: Saylor Schmit (38-2) of Foley, runner-up; and Travis Capelle (22-7) of Stewartville, sixth. There are no perfect records. 220 pounds Noah Ryan (36-1) of Kasson-Mantorville looks for more gold in a new weight class. He won at 195 pounds last year. Ryan will be challenged at two additional medal-winners: Zachary Jakes (38-0) of Mankato West, runner-up in this weight class; and John Allen (29-2) of Fridley, third at 195 pounds. Jakes has the only unblemished record. 285 pounds There are no returning medalists and no perfect records in this weight class. Simley and Kasson-Mantorville lead the field with 10 qualified wrestlers apiece. Perham and South St. Paul each have eight qualifiers. Class AAA: 106 pounds Reid Ballantyne (41-0) of Stillwater Area is the only undefeated competitor. There are no returning medal-winners in this weight class. 113 pounds Two 2016 medalists at 106 pounds move up to compete for the title at 113 pounds. Aaron Cashman (35-1) of Shakopee was runner-up and Trayton Anderson (27-6) of Farmington placed fourth. No wrestlers have a perfect record. 120 pounds Patrick McKee (39-1) of St. Michael-Albertville is the reigning champion at 106 pounds. He is joined by two other medalists from that weight class: Israel Navarro (31-1) of Willmar, third; and Colby Njos (40-2) of Anoka, sixth. Returning at 120 pounds in pursuit of gold are Boyd Mumbuwa (38-4) of Minnetonka, who finished fifth in this class last year, and Zach Smith (29-5) of Prior Lake, who placed sixth. There are no undefeated competitors. 126 pounds Four 2016 medal-winners compete for a title at 126 pounds: Rylee Molitor (33-1) of Sartell-St. Stephen, runner-up at 120 pounds; Cael Carlson (33-6) of Willmar, runner-up at 113 pounds; Curtis LeMair (27-8) of Prior Lake, third at 113 pounds; and Dylan Droegemueller (35-5) of Anoka, fifth at 113 pounds. No qualifiers have a perfect record. 132 pounds Brent Jones (40-2) of Shakopee, the 2016 champion at 126 pounds, leads the field of five returning medal-winners. Also from last year s 126-pound class are Adam McSorley (39-3) of Hastings, third; Ben Bogart (29-4) of Alexandria Area, fourth; and Jet Mi Ka (30-2) of St. Paul Harding, fifth. Sebas Swiggum (31-11) of Apple Valley, who finished third at 120 pounds, rounds out the medalists. No one is undefeated.
138 pounds Jakob Bergeland (40-2) of Centennial of Circle Pines, the reigning champion at 132 pounds, leads the field. Tyler Eischens (42-0) of Anoka is the lone undefeated competitor at this class; he was the 2016 runner-up at 126 pounds. Hunter Rajkowski (32-6) of Sauk Rapids-Rice, placed sixth at 126 pounds last year. 145 pounds Alex Lloyd (39-1) of Shakopee returns to defend his title in this weight class. He is joined by the reigning champion at 120 pounds, Peyton Robb (33-0) of Owatonna. Three other 2016 medalwinners move up to compete for a title at 145 pounds: Tyler Shilson (37-1) of Centennial, runner-up at 138 pounds; Austin Braun (35-6) of Woodbury, fourth at 138 pounds; and Nate Larson (17-3) of Apple Valley, fourth at 113 pounds. Robb has the only perfect record. 152 pounds Two returning qualifiers compete at this weight class. Alex Crowe (41-1) of Shakopee placed third at 132 pounds in 2016, and Austin Brenner (37-3) of St. Cloud Tech placed fourth at 145 pounds. No one is undefeated. 160 pounds Tony Struntz (29-5) of St. Francis, looks to improve on his fourth-place finish in this weight class last year. Other returning medalists are Wade Sullivan (28-4) of Lakeville North, runner-up at 145 pounds; Kenny O Neil (37-2) of Prior Lake, third at 152 pounds; and Calvin Germinaro-Nahring (34-2) of Anoka, fourth at 132 pounds. No competitors are undefeated. 170 pounds Jake Allar (38-2) of St. Michael-Albertville, the defending champion at 152 pounds, leads the field in this class. Cole Kirpach (32-6) of St. Francis, looks to improve on his sixth-place finish at 170 pounds in 2016. Other returning qualifiers are Alex Lindstrom (36-4) of Eastview of Apple Valley, who placed fifth at 160 pounds; and Jalen Thul (33-7) of Apple Valley, who placed fifth at 138 pounds. There are no perfect records. 182 pounds Brandon Moen (30-0) of Owatonna, the 2016 champion at 195 pounds, is the top returning qualifier. Trey Rogers (36-5) of Hastings is the other medal-winner, placing fourth at 182 pounds last year. Moen is the only defeated competitor. 195 pounds Two 2016 medal-winners return to this weight class to compete for a championship: Samuel Grove (38-2) of Moorhead was the runner-up; Mike Delich (32-0) Eastview placed fourth. Delich is the only competitor with a perfect record. 220 pounds Evan Foster (37-4) of St. Michael-Albertville, last year s runner up in this weight class, and Jackson Schichel (36-4) of Hastings, who placed third, are the two returning medal-winners. No one enters competition with a perfect record. 285 pounds Gable Steveson (35-0) of Apple Valley, the defending champion at 220 pounds, leads the field. Last year s runner up at this weight class, Brady Reigstad (34-2) of Willmar, returns in pursuit of a gold medal. Steveson is the only qualifier who is undefeated. St. Michael-Albertville and Apple Valley qualified 11 wrestlers apiece. Hastings followed with nine qualifiers. 2016 STATE TOURNAMENT RECAP Class A: Jackson County Central senior Keegan Moore won the Class A 182-pound crown with a 25-12 victory over Zumbrota-Mazeppa sophomore Caden Steffen. It was Moore s second consecutive championship at 182 pounds and third title overall. He finished his final three years of wrestling undefeated with a run of 129 victories. Manuel Garcia, a sophomore from BOLD of Olivia, captured his second consecutive crown at 220 pounds. He defeated senior Karter VanHeuveln of Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 8-2. Class AA: New Prague senior Griffin Parriott won his third individual championship with a 10-second pin of Mahtomedi senior Devin Fitzpatrick in the Class AA 152-pound title match. Albert Lea Area junior Garrett Aldrich also captured a championship for the third consecutive season. He won the 132-pound weight class with a 10-7 victory over Hibbing junior Morgan Fuenffinger. Class AAA: Apple Valley senior Mark Hall reached a milestone that no Minnesota high school wrestler had ever achieved at the 2016 State Wrestling Tournament. With his 15-1 technical fall victory over Hastings senior Austin Eichmann in the Class AAA 170-pound championship match, Hall became Minnesota s most decorated wrestler with six individual state championships and six team titles.
Hall finished his prep career with a 278-4 record and never lost to a Minnesota wrestler. His last loss was during his ninth-grade season and he ended his career on a 171-match winning streak. Hall said goodbye to Minnesota wrestling with a simple bow after winning his historic championship. St. Michael-Albertville had five wrestlers qualify for championship matches and three emerged with titles. Senior Mitchell McKee won his third individual championship with a 20-5 technical fall victory over Centennial of Circle Pines junior Tyler Shilson in the 138-pound championship match. The Knights Patrick McKee, a sophomore, won the 103-pound title, and junior Jake Allar won at 152. Sophomore Gable Steveson of Apple Valley was a repeat champion at 220 pounds with a 20-5 technical fall victory over St. Michael-Albertville junior Evan Foster. Owatonna sophomore Peyton Robb was also a champion for the second consecutive season. He won the crown at 120 pounds in a battle of past champions. He claimed this championship with a 3-1 victory over Sartell-St. Stephen junior Rylee Molitor. In 2015, Robb was the Class AAA champion at 106 pounds and Molitor won the title at 113 pounds. Shakopee junior Brent Jones was the final wrestler to earn a third championship this year. He won at 126 pounds with a 7-3 victory over Anoka sophomore Tyler Eischens.