Mar. 1—Three wrestlers from NRHEG and one from Maple River/United South Central took to St. Paul over the weekend, competing in the Class A and AA state wrestling tournament.
NRHEG junior Ryan Schlaak, after a loss in the 189-pound quarterfinals, rose all the way up the consolation bracket to take fourth place.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRanked No. 2 at 189 pounds, Schlaak won his opening round match against No. 9 Zack Plank of Lewiston-Altura/Rushford-Peterson in a 21-13 major decision. He hit a road bump in the quarterfinals, going up against No. 7 Randy Sorensen, losing a 5-0 decision.
However, once in the consolation bracket, Schlaak found a wave of momentum and rode it to three straight victories, earning him a spot in the third-place match. The first consolation match saw him win in a third-period pinfall over Trenton Huber and the second in a second-period pinfall over Adrian Young. In the placing rounds, Schlaak narrowly defeated No. 6 Ezekiel Sieckert in a 7-5 decision.
In his final match of the tournament Schlaak met Sorensen once again in a rematch of the quarterfinals. Schlaak kept this match closer, but again lost a decision to Sorensen, this time by a score of 8-4.
Schlaak ends his junior campaign with a 37-4 record and a fourth-place finish at the state tournament.
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Owen Schlaak and Grahm Jacobson also competed for the Panthers at the tournament. While neither placed on the podium, both won in their opening round matches and put up a good tournament showing.
Owen Schlaak, ranked No. 7 at 107 pounds, won a 19-3 tech fall in the opening round. In the quarterfinals, he met a tough opponent and lost a 10-1 major decision. He was relegated to the consolation bracket where he then lost a 12-4 major decision.
Owen Schlaak ends his season with a 34-7 record.
Jacobson, ranked No. 10 at 114 pounds, went 2-2 in the tournament,
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementwinning both his opening match and first consolation match. He won by pinfall in the first round, followed by a 17-1 tech fall against the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the weight class.
Jacobson won his first consolation match in a closely contested 4-3 decision before losing his next match in a 5-2 sudden victory. He ends his season with a 28-12 record.
Noah Gonzalez was the lone wrestler to qualify for Maple River/United South Central.
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