SIX-POINT SHUFFLE — NRHEG senior Wyatt Fitterer reacts after pinning an opponent during last weekend’s Redwood Riot. Fitterer scored three straight falls before coming up short against a ranked opponent in the finals at 285 pounds. (Star Eagle photo by Nikki Erickson)
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
The NRHEG wrestling team wrapped up its pre-Christmas schedule with a Gopher Conference dual meet against United South Central at Wells last Thursday and an appearance in Friday and Saturday’s Redwood Riot at Redwood Falls.
The Panthers suffered a tough 36-33 loss at USC.
The Rebels led from start to finish, taking falls over Andrew Reich at 106 pounds and Andrew Bailey at 113. Brent Kubiatowicz got three points back with a 6-4 decision at 120, but Ross Lenort fell 14-9 at 126 before USC forfeited to Cordell Peterson at 132. Tyler Jacobson was pinned in 3:06 at 138. Cole Staloch scored a 6-2 decision at 145 and Bryce Okland won by fall at 152, but the Rebels wrapped it up in the next three bouts as Lucas Hermann was pinned in 1:08, Chad Erickson lost by fall in 47 seconds and Karter Sletten was outpointed 5-3. Trey Hoppe won 7-1, Zeke Erickson got a pin and Wyatt Fitterer won by forfeit, but it was too little too late for the Panthers.
“We had three matches that could have gone either way, and we ended up only winning one,” said NRHEG coach Shawn Larson. “We look forward to a time we can wrestle them again this season.”
As usual, the prestigious two-day Redwood Riot was tough. NRHEG finished 17th among 32 teams. The Panthers had six of 11 entrants advance to day two but only two placed, Fitterer second at 285 and Peterson fifth at 126.
“This tournament is very competitive and you have to be at your best at all times,” said Larson. “Just a few mistakes in tough situations stopped us from being in the top 10. Many of our wrestlers are still learning how to compete at the varsity level and maintaining focus at all times. We will continue to work on this as we head into a short break. Cordell had a good tournament and Wyatt had an outstanding tournament with three falls on his way to a very well-contested finals match in which he fell short to a ranked opponent. This experience will be one that we can hold our heads high about as we continue to learn how to strengthen our areas of weakness in all of our competitors.”
The Panthers will compete next in a Gopher Conference matchup against Waterville-Elysian/Janesvillle-Waldorf-Pemberton in New Richland on Thursday, Jan. 7.
