Jet Wayne started the comeback at 152-pounds by ousting Medford’s Nick Masso 4-3. The Panthers never trailed again.
At 160, Tyler Logan put Medford’s Nick Von Ruden on his back with 31 seconds remaining in their match.
Trey Hoppe and Jon Weller received forfeit wins at 170 and 182, clinching the NRHEG victory.
At 195-pounds, NRHEG’s Nick Bartness pinned Trevor Grams of the Tigers in 3:35.
Matt Jensen received a NRHEG forfeit at 220.
In the final match of the evening, Medford’s Nate Elzen blanked the Panthers’ Todd Erickson 3-0.
“This was a fun match even though there were a lot of open weights,” said NRHEG coach Shawn Larson. “Medford has wrestlers that are competitive and we always look forward to seeing them,”
Pipestone
LAMBERTON – NRHEG won four of the final five matches but that was not enough to overcome and early deficit and the Panthers lost a 39-27 verdict to the Pipestone Arrows in the opening round at Lamberton.
NRHEG received a forfeit at 106-pounds, but the Arrows captured eight straight matches to build an insurmountable lead.
Dillon Kubiatowicz suffered a 7-6 setback at 113 and Alex Merritt was defeated 8-4 at 138, but the other matches were not close.
At 170-pounds, Dillon Parpart scored all of his points in the opening period and picked up a 5-0 decision.
Keith Maxon of the Panthers stuck his opponent in 3:30 at 195-pounds.
Zeke Erickson followed with a fall at 220-pounds, needing just 1:28 to get the job done.
At 285, the Panthers ended on a successful note when Todd Erickson nailed his foe in 1:03.
“We wrestled timidly against Pipestone,” said Larson. “We didn’t capitalize on the scoring opportunities we had.”
Red Rock Central
LAMBERTON – NRHEG followed much the same script in a 42-25 setback to Red Rock Central.
Matthew Butler gave the Panthers a good start with a 1:40 fall at 106-pounds.
Kubiatowicz followed with a 6-0 win at 113 to give NRHEG an early 9-0 lead.
But, the Falcons answered with six consecutive wins to take a 30-9 advantage.
Logan stopped the RRC run with a solid 7-0 triumph at 160.
Parpart added four points to the Panther total with an 11-1 major decision at 170.
Maxon escaped with a 2-1 victory for NRHEG at 195.
Zeke Erickson’s 50-second fall at 220 was the final Panther victory of the match.
“We wrestled much better this match,” said Larson. “They are a better team than us at this point in the season.”
Ortonville
LAMBERTON – Five pins and four forfeits made things easy for the Panthers in a 58-18 victory over Ortonville to complete the day.
NRHEG jumped to a 24-0 lead and had no problems the rest of the way against a short-handed Ortonville squad.
Butler opened with a 3:57 fall, followed by a Kubiatowicz pin in 1:59.
After a forfeit, Palmer Peterson needed just 16 seconds to stick his man at 126.
At 138, Merritt rolled to a 10-0 major decision.
Hoppe (:36) and Karter Sletten (:58) both picked up first-period falls for the Panthers.
Todd Erickson’s pin in 3:09 at 285-pounds ended the day.
“We learned several things we need to work on after wrestling three matches,” said Larson.
NRHEG will return to Gopher Conference action at Maple River this evening.
The Panthers will compete at the Redwood Riot in Redwood Valley Thursday and Friday in their final action before the Christmas break.
