By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
The NRHEG wrestling team had a busy weekend, traveling to Mankato for a triangular Friday night and competing in two Saturday tournaments, the varsity at Maple River and Annabelle Petsinger at Pine Island.
The Panthers were defeated 55-24 by Mankato East in the opener Friday. Parker Bunn put NRHEG on the scoreboard with a fall at 126 pounds. After a forfeit win at 132, the Panthers dropped key falls at 138 and 145. East led 55-12 before the Panthers' Aden Berg and Makota Misgen closed it out with a fall and a forfeit at 220 and 285, respectively.
"We were outmatched in a few situations," said NRHEG coach Shaun Larson. "However, we found ways to fight for team points, and even score points that we have been missing in the past. Parker and Aden wrestled well in this dual."
The Panthers defeated Waseca 4536.
Dakota Schlaak won by forfeit at 106 and Jacob Karl won by fall at 113. Bunn pinned his opponent in 1:35 at 126, Parpart prevailed by pin at 132, Aidan Schlaak took an overtime fall at 138 and Ryan Schlaak won by fall at 145. A forfeit to Reese Routh at 152 put the Panthers up 366.
Waseca won four straight with a pin by Oliver O'Brien at 160, forfeits to Christian Rodriguez at 171 and Carter Ellis at 182 and an overtime pin by Matthew Veroeven at 220.
The meet came down to the 285
bout, where Misgen scored a 4-1 decision over Jenaro Delgado.
"We were able to find matchups that worked in our favor," said Coach Larson. "Parker had one of his better showings this year, pinning both of his opponents. Makota won a tight match in a situation where the team match was on the line, and we definitely appreciate his effort. It was a fun match, as it usually is with Waseca. I thought we competed well on Friday."
Varsity wrestlers headed to Maple River Saturday, where the Panthers finished 13th among 16 schools. Misgen was the lone NRHEG placewinner, taking the championship at 285.
"On Saturday, our team found itself in the toughest competition that we have seen so far in 2023," said Larson. "There were many good teams with very tough individuals. We did what we could at most weights, and like every tournament, we had a few individuals with bad days. Makota rebounded from his last tournament loss with three victories on his way to a championship. Makota believes in himself right now, and hopefully he can continue to show the team how they can give themselves a chance to win."
Petsinger also experienced success at Pine Island, pinning her opponents in 59, 16, 48 and 18 seconds on the way to taking the gold at 120.
"Annabelle was one of the most dominant girls in the tournament," said Larson. "Two of her falls were against state placewinners from last season. Annabelle's performance might be the most dominant performance I have seen this season. We are very happy for Annabelle and her accomplishment."
The Panthers were in Blooming Prairie Monday, where they lost 4928 to host Westfield and 65-12 to Faribault.
Aiden Schlaak, Harbor Cromwell, Wyatt Larson and Misgen wrestled their way to victory. Berg won by foreit.
Winniners against Faibault were Deven Parpart by forfeit and Misgen by fall.
"We are in a difficult place as a team right now," sad Coach Larson. "We are not going to give up on the season, we are going to keep trying to get better, but right now we are not wrestling really well. Makota had another great night. Both of these teams are tough and I feel like we had moments where we were competitive. I am hoping that these wrestlers are going to keep working at getting better, even though the season is winding down. We are planning to make the most out of the last regular season matches this week, and compete with a little more intensity."
The Panthers wrestle in a quadrangular Thursday, Feb. 9 at 5 p.m. at Waterville.