Action began in Barrett last Tuesday with the preliminary round. Border West knocked off Breckenridge with a sound score of 66-15. WCA/A/B-E took on the victorious Buccaneers in the quarterfinal round. The Knights had their way with the Bucs, gathering 12 of the 14 possible wins with 10 of those providing bonus points. The home team beat the Bucs by way of 60-9.

Head wrestling coach for the Knights Brandon Gruchow felt good about his teams performance that night stating,”This was a step in the right direction. We asked the boys to bring the intensity and I believe they did. The guys seem like they are in a good place and seem eager for the challenge that Friday is going to bring. “

#10 WCA/A/B-E 60, Border West (BW) 9
106: Cole Sykora (BW) over Adam Lohse per fall 1:17.

113: Hunter Gruchow (WCAABE) over Jude Olson per fall 1:47.

120: Eli Larson (BW) over Solomon Wales per decision 5-0.

126: Ashton Danner (WCAABE) over Patrick Forcier per major decision 9-1.

132: Dierk Goeden (WCAABE) over Logan Bock per fall 1:22.

138: #9 Anthony Sykora (WCAABE) over Jace Olson per major decision 14-5.

145: Kaleb Getz (WCAABE) over Jacob Adelman per fall 3:40.

152: Kade Olson (WCAABE) won per forfeit.

160: #8 Jordan Lohse (WCAABE) over Sam Stafford per major decision 13-1.

170: #5 Nathaniel Kisgen (WCAABE) over Andrew Hennessy per fall 2:25.

182: Colton Lindquist (WCAABE) over #9 Micheal Dennis per overtime decision 4-2.

195: Deklin Goeden (WCAABE) over Connor Zych per fall 1:27.

220: Devin Stone (WCAABE) won per forfeit.

285: Justin Blascyk (WCAABE) over Issac Ebnet per decision 10-4.

Underwood, MN

Friday brought the final four left in the section to Underwood. The teams facing each other were appropriately seeded as the #1 BH/V/PP Raiders squared off with the #4 seeded New York Mills Eagles. The other semifinal match of the night pitted the #2 seed WCA/A/B-E Knights vs. the hometown #3 seed Ottertail Central Bulldogs.

While the Raiders dispatched the Eagles quite handily 51-24 the Knights found themselves in a knock down drag out situation with the Bulldogs. WCA/A/B-E jumped out to a fast 12-0 lead as both Adam Lohse and Hunter Gruchow provided early pins. OTC wrestler Laredo Bugbee regained half of the deficit as he provided a pin at 120 lbs. Two falls were traded by both teams as Ashton Danner gained a fall for the Knights at 126 and Hayden Hart did the same for the Bulldogs at 132 keeping the Knights still out ahead by way of 18-12. Anthony Sykora gained a decision for the Knights at 138 however celebrating was short lived as OTC marched back with a pin-fall at 145 and a decision at 152 knotting the score up at 21 each.

WCA/A/B-E went on a three in a row decision rant as Jordan Lohse, Nathaniel Kisgen and Colton Lindquist regained and extended the lead to 30-21. There were just three matches left in the dual however OTC had two studs left waiting with serious pinning capability. Should a tie occur from a pair of OTC pins then criteria would fall to way of the Bulldogs as they would have gathered more of the first criteria...pin-falls. Knights 195 lber Deklin Goeden took the mat with OTC’s Chase Janu. Goeden methodically gained control of the match and near the end of the first period gained two points when he forced a take-down. Goeden stretched the score a bit further in the 2nd period but was still many points away from a four point major decision, which would put the dual away. As the 3rd period ticked away it was apparent Coach Gruchow recognized the fact that Goeden may be able to stretch the score if he cut Janu and went after take-downs. It happened once with less than a minute left and the seconds kept on ticking, Goeden once again cut loose his opponent and with his entire Knight cheering section screaming took down his opponent in the final 20 seconds. On the final buzzer Deklin had a score of 10-2 giving the Knights a major decision and put the dual out of reach 34-21. As the situation unraveled it was fortunate that final take-down occurred as OTC fashioned two pins in the final two matches. Final score….34-33.

The final contest was set and the entire gym knew that the Knights had pushed the Raiders earlier in the season, coming very close to unseating them at the time. Unfortunately, Gruchow and his grapplers could not repeat the magic that they had in Barrett a month ago. The Raiders earned a major decision in the first match and never looked back. The Knights did not go down without a fight and in fact did win five of the matches, three of them with bonus points but there were several more in which WCA/A/B-E had a lead and simply could not hang on. The Knights scored 21 points but never really put a threat to the Raiders during the dual. On Friday night the BH/V/PP Raiders proved that at least on that day they were the superior team. A final score of 39-21 unhinged the Knights dreams of representing Section 6A at the state tournament.

The Knights took sectional hardware back to Barrett in the form of the runner-up trophy. They fought hard throughout the year and gained the respect of many by earning a top ten ranking. On one hand the team that started the year as an after-thought to challenge for a championship beat many odds by wrestling their way to a second place finish but…..it is an almost sure bet that they had their sights on something bigger. Like other teams this one will lose its seniors whom have contributed for many years but there is a deep and talented core returning next year. Time will tell how this collection of young men treat their off-season, if getting this close to another berth at state provides the motivation to out work other squads. Next Saturday in Wadena is the individual section tournament. 14 wrestlers from each team have an opportunity to reach the state tournament by themselves. With saying that there will surely be a few, and hopefully many Knights who reach St. Paul and even though the team portion of the year for WCA/A/B-E is over there are those around the state who are already in action preparing for the future.

#10 WCA/A/B-E 34, #18 Ottertail Central (OC) 33
106: Adam Lohse (WCAABE) over Kolby Peters per fall 0:00.

113: Hunter Gruchow (WCAABE) over Cody Jacobs per fall 2:40.

120: Laredo Bugbee (OC) over Solomon Wales per fall 1:09.

126: Ashton Danner (WCAABE) over Brien Poser per fall 3:31.

132: Hayden Hart (OC) over Dierk Goeden per fall 0:28.

138: #9Anthony Sykora (WCAABE) over Reed Leabo per decision 10-3.

145: Logan Schleske (OC) over Kaleb Getz per fall 5:09.

152: Matt Hendricks (OC) over Kade Olson per decision 9-3.

160: #8 Jordan Lohse (WCAABE) over Nik Gardin per decision 5-0.

170: #5 Nathaniel Kisgen (WCAABE) over Noah Schleske per decision 4-2.

182: Colton Lindquist (WCAABE) over Tristan Evavold per decision 6-3.

195: Deklin Goeden (WCAABE) over Chase Janu per major decision 10-2.

220: #5 Zane Swanson (OC) over Justin Blascyk per fall 0:24.

285: #8 Cian Buehler (OC) over Devin Stone per fall 5:30.

#8 Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie (BHVP) 39, #10 WCAA) 21
106: David Revering (BHVP) over Adam Lohse per major decision 13-5.

113: Deagen Captain (BHVP) over Hunter Gruchow per major decision 12-4.

120: Solomon Wales (WCAABE) over Aiden Larson per decision 5-3.

126: Reese Thompson (BHVP) over Ashton Danner per decision 7-4.

132: #9 Justin Koehn (BHVP) over Dierk Goeden per fall 2:50.

138: Jason Koehn (BHVP) over #9 Anthony Sykora per decision 9-2.

145: Kade Olson (WCAABE) over Abby Ervasti per fall 0:58.

152: Brock Peterson (BHVP) over Kaleb Getz per fall 1:07.

160: #8 Jordan Lohse (WCAABE) over Mason Schroeder per technical fall 16-1 5:19.

170: #5 Nathaniel Kisgen (WCAABE) over Carter Rokes per major decision 11-0.

182: Colton Lindquist (WCAABE) over Hunter Dean per decision 7-4.

195: #9 Gideon Ervasti (BHVP) over Deklin Goeden per major decision 16-7.

220: Jaden Finck (BHVP) over Devin Stone per decision 5-1.

285: #1 Craig Orlando (BHVP) won per forfeit.