NRHEG wrestlers place 7, make impression in major showing
THE PLACERS – Members of the NRHEG wrestling team who placed at Redwood Falls. From left, front: Wyatt Fitterer, Dillon Kubiatowicz, Cordell Peterson, Matt Jensen. Back: Nick Bartness, Todd Erickson, Keith Maxon. Star Eagle photo by Nikki Erickson
Friday and Saturday, December 19 and 20, the NRHEG Panthers wrestled at the Redwood Riot. The Panthers finished in second place out of a field of 31 teams.
The only team placing ahead of NRHEG was Kerkoven-Murdock-Sunberg.
The Panthers had seven place winners. These placewinners are:
Dillon Kubiatowicz 120 - Champion
Cordell Peterson 126 - Champion
Nick Bartness 170 - 4th Place
Keith Maxon 182 - 6th Place
Matt Jensen 195 - 6th Place
Todd Erickson 220 - 2nd Place
Wyatt Fitterer 285 - 5th Place
“This was a good showing from our athletes,” said coach Shawn Larson. “Our wrestlers have grown accustomed to experienced competetion, and this time they were prepared to compete.
“I am very proud of a second place finish at a tournament like this, our boys deserved this finish after the work they have put in so far.”
From Coach Shawn Larson:
“Taking second place at the Redwood Riot is something that we are happy with, as our best finish at this tournament was eighth last season. It is a fairly difficult tournament to get wrestlers into the top eaight.
“The reason we did so well comes from having seven wrestlers finish in the top six. On top of the points we gained from these wrestlers advancing, we were able to get bonus points in several of our wins throughout the tournament.
“All the way up and down our line-up we were ready to compete. In the matches we lost we wrestled competitively, and in the matches we won we took charge and were in control.
“We are excited about our performance here, especially getting Dillon Kubiatowicz, Cordell Peterson, and Todd Erickson into the finals. This is the first time in the five-year existance of this tournament that we were able to have three finalists. It was also the second time we had two champions dating back to 2010 when Dustin Esplan and David Lassahn both won the tournament.
“Although we are elated with how we finished at this tournament, we cannot stop in our efforts to get better. This is a long season and we have some very tough competition ahead of us, including a tournament involving Kerkoven-Murdock-Sundburg, which is the team we were runner up to at the Redwood Riot.”