Kubiatowicz, Parpart win at Stewartville
By DALE KUGATH
Sportswriter
The New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva wrestling team enjoyed a good week.
Coach Shawn Larson’s Panthers captured a key Gopher Conference dual against United South Central last Thursday.
NRHEG had one of its best all-around performances of the season in finishing third among eight teams at the Stewartville Invitational Saturday.
The Panthers are 2-0 in the conference and 9-5 overall.
USC
WELLS – NRHEG won four of the final five bouts to capture a 40-30 victory over USC in Wells.
The Rebels, who lost 40-27 to the Panthers a year ago, fell to 1-1 in the conference and 1-4 overall.“Any time we can travel to Wells and come out with a win we feel good about what we have done,” said Larson. “We had some big wins late which sealed the win for us.”
Two early forfeits gave NRHEG a quick 12-0 lead.
The Rebels then rattled off five straight wins to open up a 21-12 lead. In that streak was a tough 8-6 loss by Palmer Peterson at 132-pounds.
Karter Sletten put an end to the USC streak with a 2:35 fall for the Panthers at 152.
The Rebels got another win at 160 before the Panthers took over.
At 170, Dillon Parpart recorded five takedowns to capture an 11-3 major decision.
Nick Bartness followed with a 5:14 pin at 182-pounds.
A Rebel pin at 195 gave them a 30-28 advantage with two matches remaining.
NRHEG was up to the challenge.
At 220, Zeke Erickson needed just 3:02 to put his opponent on his back.
The Rebels had to forfeit to Todd Erickson at 285 to seal the deal.
“We are happy with the outcome but will not be content,” said Larson. “We will continue to work at improving in several aspects.
Stewartville
STEWARTVILLE – NRHEG racked up 159 points to finish third in the eight-team Stewartville Invitational Saturday. The Panthers finished fifth with 124.5 points a year ago.
Stewartville won with 199 points, followed by Dover-Eyota with 176.5 points.
Dillon Kubiatowicz at 113-pounds and 170-pounder Dillon Parpart captured individual championships for the Panthers.
Kubiatowicz had a 2:02 pin and a 5-1 victory to reach the finals. He then carved out a 6-3 decision over Stewartville freshman Tanner Prohaska.
Parpart received a bye, followed by a 1:02 fall to reach the championship. He had to work hard to capture a 12-9 win over Shane Curtis of Stewartville.
Keith Maxon had a bye and a 1:02 fall to reach the finals at 195. Wyatt Richardson of Grand Meadow-LOK sent Maxon home with second place with a 5-1 victory
Tyler Logan took home the runner-up ribbon at 152-pounds. His day started with a fall and then a triple-overtime win to get to the finals.
Brady Nelson of Rochester Mayo handed Logan a 9-1 setback in the title match.
NRHEG received third-place finishes from Cordell Peterson (120), Nick Bartness (182), Matt Jensen (195), Zeke Erickson (220) and Todd Erickson (285).
Peterson recorded a first-period fall in his third-place match.
Bartness won 12-7 and Jensen 7-5 in their third-place wins.
Both Ericksons recorded falls in their third-place victories.
Matt Butler (106) and Jon Weller (182) captured fourths for the Panthers.
Jet Wayne (145) and Wyatt Fitterer (285) ended up fifth for NRHEG.
“We wrestled with intensity, and were attempting to score in situations we have been tentative in earlier this season,” said Larson. “This was one of our better performances of the season. I am noticing some improvements all the way up our lineup.”
NRHEG will wrestle at Hutchinson Saturday.