By JIM LUTGENS
Sports Editor
Two upsets in a row was not in the cards for the NRHEG High School wrestling team.
The dual-meet season is finished.
The sixth-seeded Panthers, 38-33 victors over No. 3 seed Maple River/USC earlier in the week, were eliminated from the Section 2A tournament 64-18 by No. 2 seed LCWM Saturday at Lake Crystal. It was a bittersweet defeat for the Panthers, who had perhaps their best showing of the season while knock- ing off Maple River/USC Thursday, Feb. 16 in Wells.
"It was one of those nights where things lined up well for us," said NRHEG coach Shawn Larson. "Our guys did this all on their own."
The first match of the night was also one of the most pivotal, and got the Panthers started on a positive note as Jacob Karl outlasted his opponent 4-2 in overtime at 106 pounds. Mason Reeder was pinned in 6:08 at 113, but Annabelle Petsinger answered with an 8-0 major decision at 120. The Longhorns regained the lead with a fall over Brodie Flatland at 126, but Deven Parpart cut it to 12-11 with a 12-4 major decision at 132 and start- ed a run of five straight NRHEG
wins. Aiden Schlaak took a 6-0 deci- sion at 138, followed by falls from Ryan Schlaak at 145, Reese Routh at 152 and Harbor Cromwell at 160.
The home team answered with pins over Wyatt Larson at 170, Zander Flatness at 182 and Cole Hutchens at 195. Aden Berg dropped a 6-0 decision at 220, giv- ing the Longhorns a 33-32 lead, but the finish was anticlimactic as they forfeited to Makota Misgen at 285.
Larson said the win was a redemption of sorts for the Panthers. "We have been working hard all season, and we have been going through some tough setbacks," he said. "Tonight was fun to be a part of. We were fighting to earn team points, and protect our team points, and that paid off in the end of a very close match. I just hope our team knows that we as coaches believe in their abilities, and cannot wait to
compete this weekend.
Larson said the Panthers had huge
falls tonight from Ryan Schlaak, Routh and Cromwell.
"Along with those falls we had two matches where we scored late to earn major decisions," said Larson. "Those winners were Annabelle and Devon. We had a very nice win from Aidan Schlaak, who was in control the entire match, and a very nice
overtime win to start the dual from Jacob. Our other points came from Makota, who won by forfeit, but I would want Makota going out with the match on the line if needed. It was a great night and we are happy to be moving on."
The Panthers' hopes of a second straight upset were dashed by LCWM, which went on to give top- seeded Medford a 33-30 battle in the championship.
"We went into this match Saturday with a bit of hope that we
would be competitive," said Larson. "We have been wrestling very well, but today LCWM was still a bit too much for us to handle. They have really come a long way in the last two years. Our athletes have a choice now, work as a group to get better in the offseason, or stay where we are and hope we can make it back to the semifinals next year."
Panther points against LCWM came on pins by Ryan Schlaak, Cromwell and Misgen.
"Ryan has been wrestling really
well lately, and he is looking like he can be competitive in the section individual tournament," said Larson. "Harbor is capable of good things, when he decides to be aggressive, and wrestled well today. Makota is also looking to make a big run indi- vidually. Hopefully, our team is ready to compete at the highest level at the individual section tourna- ment."
That's set for Saturday, Feb. 25 in Mapleton. The top two finishers at each weight advance to state.