Win at BP leaves Panthers 5-0
By JIM LUTGENS
Editor/Publisher
Thursday night’s Gopher Conference dual wrestling meet between NRHEG and Blooming Prairie started out decidedly in favor of the Blossoms.
After that it was all Panthers. Literally. And now they’re alone at the top of the standings.
After dropping the first match by fall, the Panthers won every bout for the evening while rolling to a 44-6 victory at Blooming Prairie, giving them the outright conference championship with a 5-0 dual-meet record. Maple River won it last year.
“Winning the conference is a goal that we had for the season, and I am proud that our wrestlers have been putting in the work to reach one of their goals,” said NRHEG coach Shawn Larson. “I am hoping that they are not going to be content with the conference title alone. I hope that these guys are ready to make a solid run at a section title.”
That run will have to wait, however, as the Panthers are off until Thursday, Feb. 12, when they’ll host Hayfield at 7 p.m.
One thing was clear last Thursday. The Panthers were determined to win.
Cole Lenort started it with a forfeit factory at 113 pounds. Dillon Kubiatowicz gave NRHEG the lead with a 16-0 technical fall at 120, followed by a string of three straight falls, by Cordell Peterson at 126, Cole Staloch at 132 and Bryce Okland at 138. Jet Wayne won by forfeit at 160. Keith Maxon followed with a fall at 195 and Todd Erickson finished it with a 5-3 decision at 220. The other matches were double forfeits.
“Coach Gimbel has a group of nice kids who are trying hard to bring back the fury of the teams the Blossoms had a few years ago,” said Larson. “I am hoping that they continue to improve. Our guys did wrestle well and we are happy at how we look heading into the section tournament next week.”
The Section 2A team tournament concludes Saturday at 2 and 3:45 p.m. at USC High School in Wells.
Individually vs. Blooming Prairie:
• (106 lbs.) Ethan Arett of Blooming Prairie pinned Brett Kubiatowicz of NRHEG in 1 minute and 11 seconds.
• (113 lbs.) Cole Lenort of NRHEG won by forfeit against Blooming Prairie.
• (120 lbs.) Dillon Kubiatowicz of NRHEG beat Quentin Kubista of Blooming Prairie 16-0 (Technical Fall).
• (126 lbs.) Cordell Peterson of NRHEG pinned Payton Simon of Blooming Prairie in 1 minute and 44 seconds.
• (132 lbs.) Cole Staloch of NRHEG pinned Jon Hansen of Blooming Prairie in 3 minutes and 10 seconds.
• (138 lbs.) Bryce Okland of NRHEG pinned Seth Peterson of Blooming Prairie in 3 minutes and 42 seconds.
• (160 lbs.) Jet Wayne of NRHEG won by forfeit against Blooming Prairie.
• (195 lbs.) Keith Maxon of NRHEG pinned Riley Olson of Blooming Prairie in 1 minute and 44 seconds.
• (220 lbs.) Todd Erickson of NRHEG beat Zach Nirk of Blooming Prairie 5-3 (Decision).