By DALE KUGATH
Sportswriter
The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva wrestling team continued its early season success under first-year coach Shawn Larson with a two-win week.
The Panthers whipped Mankato West and Northfield in Mankato last Thursday. NRHEG faced a tough field in Saturday’s St. James Classic, but earned a third-place finish among the six teams.
The Panthers are 4-1 overall to start the year.
Mankato WestMANKATO – The Panthers opened the triangular in Mankato by defeating West 44-27.
Cole Staloch got the Panthers off to a good start when he pinned his opponent in 2:54 at 113 pounds.
At 120, Bryce Okland followed with a 12-3 major decision.
The Panthers fell behind 21-10 before starting their comeback at 145. Karter Sletten scored three takedowns and a near fall on his way to a 12-5 win.
At 152, Jet Wayne built up a 14-2 advantage before sticking his opponent in the second period.
Tyler Logan was in complete command the entire match, romping to a 13-1 verdict at 160.
Dillon Parpart had to work into the third period before registering a fall at 170.
At 182, Nick Bartness had a pair of near falls but had to settle for a 10-1 major decision.
At 195, Matt Jensen needed just 1:04 to put his opponent on his back.
Zeke Erickson made it seven consecutive Panther wins with a 37-second pin at 220.
“It is really fun to see our wrestlers mixing it up this early in the season,” said Larson. “We are wrestling with a little intensity and having a great time right now.”
Northfield
MANKATO – Six pins and a pair of forfeits helped NRHEG romp to a 52-27 triumph.
Matthew Butler started with a pair of near falls at 106 before settling for a 12-1 major decision.
The Panthers received forfeits at 120 and 132, surrounding a Palmer Peterson pin in 1:45 at 126.
After three straight falls by Northfield, NRHEG went to work.
At 160, Logan recorded a fall with 11 seconds left in the opening period.
Parpart needed only three more seconds than Logan to stick his foe at 170.
NRHEG ended the match with three consecutive falls.
Keith Maxon recorded a 30-second fall at 195-pounds. At 220, Zeke Erickson stuck his opponent in 1:04. And Todd Erickson concluded the match with a 14-second fall at heavyweight.
“We were able to use 19 different wrestlers in the two matches, giving our younger guys some valuable experience,” said Larson. “We were happy with the results, but will continue to work on improving.”
St. James Classic
ST. JAMES – Tenth-ranked Minneota and Lake Crystal-Wellcome-Memorial battled for top honors at Saturday’s St. James Classic. Minneota won the six-team meet with 194 points, with LCWM just one-half point behind.
“Minneota and LCWM have teams that are capable of winning their section and competing at state,” said Larson.
NRHEG finished third with 160.5 points, beating out St. James, Le Sueur-Henderson and De La Salle.
NRHEG finished fifth at this tournament a year ago.
“We are still showing significant improvement from last year at this time,” said Larson. “This is a group of wrestlers who are really working hard on and off the mat right now.”
Parpart was the lone individual champ for NRHEG. He remained undefeated for the season by capturing the 170-pound title.
Five Panther grapplers reached the finals, but came up short. Finishing second for NRHEG were Logan (160), Bartness (182), Maxon (195), Zeke Erickson (220) and Todd Erickson (285).
Butler (106) and Cordell Peterson (120) placed third.
Alex Merritt (132) and Sletten (138) were fourth-place finishers.
Four more NRHEG grapplers placed fifth: Lenort (113), Palmer Peterson (126), Trey Hoppe (145) and Wayne (152).
“If we could have turned around a couple of early matches, and had more success in the finals, we could have been right in the mix,” said Larson.
NRHEG wrestles at home for the first time this evening. Medford comes to town to open the Gopher Conference schedule.
The Panthers wrestle three duals at Lamberton Saturday.