Wrestling roundup: Paynesville carried by their middleweights to beat Benson

PAYNESVILLE — Paynesville’s middleweights pushed the Bulldogs’ wrestling team to a win on the mat Friday.

Hosting Section 5A rival Benson, Paynesville got six straight wins from 132 to 170 pounds en route to a 47-19 victory at Paynesville High School.

The Bulldogs held a 9-7 lead after two matches. Roman Roberg won a 9-2 decision at 106, and Mason McNabb pinned Ed Wah in 1 minute, 44 seconds to take the 120 match.

Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

Benson got an 8-0 major decision from Max Nygaard over Devon Schmidt at 113. At 126, Darin Hippe helped the Braves with a 4-1 decision over Preston Welling.

Then, the Bulldogs snatched the momentum.

Eighth-grader Braydon Kierstead Hahn started the run with a second-period fall on Mu Tah Wah at 132. Mason Hansen followed up with a tech fall over Rafael Mejia at 138. Mitchel Blonigen (145), Jose Anaya (152) and Grant Wendlandt (160) followed that up with three straight decisions.

Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

The match came to a stop at 170 when Benson’s Preston McGee suffered a leg injury, awarding the win to Paynesville’s Aaron Mages by default. When action resumed, the Braves’ AJ Klassen pinned Colin Wendlandt in 15 seconds to take the match at 182.

Both teams will compete in the Section 5A tournament. The team tournament begins at high seeds on Feb. 16 and will conclude on Feb. 18 at Benson. The individual tournament is on Feb. 25 at Minnewaska High School in Glenwood.

Paynesville goes to a quadrangular Tuesday at Alexandria. Albany and Sauk Centre/Melrose are also scheduled to compete. Benson is at the Kimball invitational on Saturday.

Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

106: Roman Roberg, P, dec Gavin Olson, 9-2
113: Max Nygaard, B, maj dec Devon Schmidt, 8-0
120: Mason McNab, P, pinned Ed Wah, 1:44
126: Darin Hippe, B, dec Preston Welling, 4-1
132: Braydon Kierstead Hahn, P, pinned Mu Tah Wah, 3:45
138: Mason Hansen, P, tech fall Rafael Mejia, 15-0
145: Mitchel Blonigen, P, dec Derek Johnson, 6-0
152: Jose Anaya, P, dec Nick Bolduc, 12-6
160: Grant Wendlandt, P, dec Alex Whitcup, 8-1
170: Aaron Mages, P, inj def Preston McGee
182: AJ Klassen, B, pinned Colin Wendlandt, 0:15
195: Thomas Dineen, B, won by forfeit
220: Seth Vearrier, P, won by forfeit
285: Spencer Eisenbraun, P, won by forfeit

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa nabbed a quality win over Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie at Bertha.

The Jaguars are ranked eighth in Class A. B-H/V/PP is in the lean and mean rankings in Class A.

Down 18-0 after four matches, the Jaguars won the remaining 10 matches. Ryan Jensen (132), Wyatt Engen (145), Maximus Hanson (170), Ethan Spanier (220) and Harley Weber (285) all won by fall for BBE. The Jaguars’ Tanner Viessman added a 5-3 decision in overtime over David Veronen at 152.

106: Hudson Traux, BH, dec Aiden Mueller, 5-0
113: Orran Hart, BH, pinned Noah Welte, 5:40
120: Justin Olson, BH, dec Louie Tensen, 7-0
126: Evan Jares, BH, pinned Elliot Spanier, 0:40
132: Ryan Jensen, BBE, pinned Bennet Arceneau, 1:50
138: Brett DeRoo, BBE, dec Deagen Captain, 2-1
145: Wyatt Engen, BBE, pinned Tanner Schulke, 1:50
152: Tanner Viessman, BBE, dec David Veronen, 5-3 (OT)
160: Hunter Laage, BBE, dec Holden Truax, 5-4
170: Maximus Hanson, BBE, pinned Justin Koehn, 2:45
182: Carson Gilbert, BBE, won by forfeit
195: Talen Kampsen, BBE, won by forfeit
220: Ethan Spanier, BBE, pinned Braden Shamp, 5:50
285: Harley Weber, BBE, pinned Hunter Strom, 5:00

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa opened with a win over Quad County — MACCRAY, Renville County West and Yellow Medicine East — at Bertha.

The Jaguars got consecutive falls from Elliot Spanier (120), Louie Tensen (126) and Ryan Jensen (132). Ethan Mueller (160) and Ethan Spanier (220) also won by fall for BBE.

The Cobras’ Austin Sweep closed out the dual with a fall at 285.

106: Aiden Mueller, BBE, dec Mario Gradillas, 11-8
113: Colton Baumgartner, QC, dec Noah Welte, 6-3
120: Elliot Spanier, BBE, pinned Dane Hildahl, 5:00
126: Louie Tensen, BBE, pinned Blaine Carroll, 3:15
132: Ryan Jensen, BBE, pinned Tarrick Rupp, 1:08
138: Gage Wilke, QC, dec Andrew Spanier, 10-7
145: Brett DeRoo, BBE, won by forfeit
152: Wyatt Engen, BBE, won by forfeit
160: Ethan Mueller, BBE, pinned Owen Cherveny, 3:15
170: Nolan Hildahl, QC, won by forfeit
182: Maximus Hanson, BBE, won by forfeit
195: Talen Kampsen, BBE, won by forfeit
220: Ethan Spanier, BBE, pinned Jasen Jansen, 1:30
285: Austin Sweep, QC, pinned Harley Weber, 5:10

Dassel-Cokato/Litchfield finished seventh in the 10-team Maple Grove Invitational.

The Charging Dragons finished with 66.5 points. Glencoe-Silver Lake/Lester Prairie won with 144, beating Chaska/Chanhassen’s 137.

Victor Franco and Gabe Nelson both finished in first for D-C/Litchfield. Franco won the 120 bracket with a 19-3 tech fall over White Bear Lake’s Isaac Kolstad. At 126, Nelson took first with a 14-12 decision against Lakeville North’s Hunter Flen.

Team scoring
(1) Glencoe-Silver Lake/Lester Prairie 144 … (2) Chaska/Chanhassen 137 … (3) White Bear Lake 132.5 … (4) Maple Grove 108.5 … (5) Woodbury 104.5 … (6) Lakeville North 100 … (7) Dassel-Cokato/Litchfield 66.5 … (8) Andover 66 … (9) Lakeville South 57 … (10) Minnetonka 52
How D-C/Litchfield fared
Key: (Weight, name, won-loss, place)
120: Victor Franco, 3-0, first … 126: Gabe Nelson, 2-0, first … 160: Chase Housman, 0-2, fourth … 220: Spencer Henke, 1-1