Sophomore wins section title as NRHEG lands nine places
ON TO STATE — NRHEG’S Ralph Roesler, left, won the Class A 171-pound Section 2A championship at St. Clair Saturday, advancing to state. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)
If you ask anyone who knows him, they’ll tell you Ralph Roesler definitely pronounces his last name the correct way.
It sound exactly like ‘wrestler,’ and the NRHEG sophomore showed how tough a wrestler he is Saturday by winning the Class A 170-pound championship and advancing to state.
Two other Panthers — sophomore Nik Petsinger at 120 and sophomore Clay Stenzel at 138 — finished third to miss the state tournament by one place.
Six other NRHEG wrestlers placed: Agro Gushwa, fourth, 145; Thor Routh, fourth, 152; Andrew Reich, fifth, 138; Max Seltun, fifth, 195; Makota Misgen, fifth, 220; and Conner Okland, sixth, 182.
“We had a great showing at the tournament this year,” said NRHEG coach Shawn Larson. “It has been several years since we have performed this way. We outplaced our seeds at six weights.”
The Panthers, according to Larson, were ready for the two-day section tournament at St. Clair.
“I felt that we were as prepared as we could be, as we wrestled with great intensity and pace,” he stated. “We were able to avenge losses we had from earlier in the year, and we gave ourselves chances to win in every match. I am very proud of every one of our wrestlers this season. We have come a long way. I am also elated for Ralph; he has worked very hard for his opportunity. His work has shown best in his match with Wyatt Simon of Maple River. Simon is currently ranked No. 4 in the state and has beaten Ralph this season. Ralph was able to wrestle his match and defeated Simon for a section championship, and we as a team could not be happier for Ralph.”
Roesler, 28-10, will face junior Rick Jones of KMS (36-11) on Friday, February 28, in the 9 a.m. session at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.