Led by five finalists and two individual champions, in Carter Scheeler (160) and Mitchell Lipinski (215), the Eagle wrestling team finished second with 149.5 at the Paynesville Invitational on Jan. 10. The Eagles trailed just the host team, in Class A seventh-ranked Paynesville, with 193.5.
The top seed in his bracket, Scheeler earned a couple of bonus-point victories to secure his title. In the semifinals, he pinned Rocori’s Sawyer Minnerath at the 4:40 mark to advance to the finals versus Sauk Centre-Melrose’s Dan Frericks. There, he capped his day with a 21-6 technical fall as time expired in the match to secure his title win.
As for Lipinski, he came into the tournament as a three seed and earned a couple of tight wins en route to his title. He secured a 1-0 quarterfinal victory over Paynesville’s Zach Weis to advance to the semifinals. There, he pinned Rocori’s Cooper Notch – the two seed in the tournament – at the 3:10 mark. In the finals, he capped his day with another tight win, this one by a 5-3 decision over top-seeded Peyton Allen of Sartell-Saint Stephen to secure his title.
The Eagles also had three other finalists who fell short of individual titles: Brody Sieben (114), Ryder Schmidt (152), and Treyce Ludwig (189). All three wrestlers fell to Paynesville wrestlers, two of whom came in ranked.
In his finals match, Sieben fell by a 21-4 technical to Jamison Meagher – ranked seventh at Class A 114 pounds. As for Schmidt, he fell by pin at the 5:18 mark to Mitchel Blonigen in the title match. Ludwig fell by a 17-0 technical fall to Peyton Hemmesch – ranked third at Class A 189 pounds – in the championship match.
Three Eagles earned third-place finishes: John Weiss (121), Brayden Kramer (139), and Nick Becker (285).
Cason Demarais (107), Ricky Vaquera Valencia(133), and Eli Hernandez (172) also competed for the Eagles, but came up short of placing.
Other post-New year results:
BBE Invite
At the Jan. 3 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Invite, the Eagle wrestling team finished fourth in the eight-team tournament with 137 points.
The Eagles had seven wrestlers place in the top four. Treyce Ludwig (189) and Nick Becker (285), currently ranked tenth in the state at Class A 285 pounds, led the way with their runner-up finishes.
In the finals, Ludwig fell by an 8-4 decision to Milaca-Faith Christian’s Carson Ash. Becker fell by a 8-1 decision to Medford’s Mason Degrood, ranked third at Class A 285 pounds, in the title match.
As for other top-four finishers, Cason DeMarais (107) and Mitchell Lipinski (215) placed third, and Ricky Vaquera Valencia (133), Brayden Kramer (139), and Eli Hernandez (172) finished fourth.
Rounding out the Eagle place winners, Brody Sieben (114), Ryder Schmidt (152), Carter Scheeler (160) and, wrestling unattached, Thomas Thompson (172) finished fifth, and John Weiss (121) placed sixth.
Home Triangular
At a home triangular dual event on Jan. 7, the Eagles earned a pair of victories: 36-34 over Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, and 40-25 over Dassel-Cokato-Litchfield.
In the win over ACGC, the Eagles won seven of the 13 matches, earning the dual victory in the final match. Cason Demarais (107), Torii Berg (127), and Treyce Ludwig (189) earned pins, Nick Becker (285) the dual-clinching medical forfeit, Carter Scheeler (160) a 19-4 technical fall, Mitchell Lipinski (215) a 10-2 major decision, and Brody Sieben (114) a 5-2 decision.
In the victory over Dassel-Cokato-Litchfield, the Eagles won eight of the 13 matches. Demarais (107), John Weiss (121), Brayden Kramer (139), and Becker (285) earned pins, Sieben (114) a 17-2 technical fall, Ryder Schmidt (152) a 10-0 major decision, and Ludwig (189) a 13-2 major decision, and Scheeler (160) a 9-4 decision.