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North Branch 42

Spring Lake Park 21

North Branch 46

Hinckley-Finlayson 24

No team in the area had a busier week than the North Branch wrestling team, squaring off with four teams in two days before hosting the North Branch Invite last Saturday.

The madness started last Tuesday with Spring Lake Park and Hinckley-Finlayson. The Vikings fell behind early versus the Panthers before clawing back to earn their first dual win of the season, 42-21. Boyd Suparat, Josh Schwab, and John Buchanan each scored wins while Cody Gallmeier, Sam Suparat, Cory Haley, Ed Meier, and Bill Oehlers won by forfeit.

In match two versus Hinckley-Finlayson, the Vikings extended their winning streak to two by avenging an earlier loss, taking down Hinckley 46-24. During the match, Buchanan scored another win with a pin, his 60 pin of his career and his 100 career win, only the second North Branch wresler to do so. Boyd Suparat, Schwab, Jeff Holmgren, Ryan Decorsey, Gallmeier, Sam Suparat, Oehlers, and Jeremy Bergerson also scored wins.

“These two wins were huge for us because they were the first of the year,” said Tony Aho, North Branch head wrestling coach. “We have had a lot of serious injuries and those guys are starting to come back and we are showing steady improvement. Boyd Suparat and Josh Schwab came up with very nice wins for us in the SLP duel, and we were obviously aided by the forfeits. We were excited about the Hinckley-Finlayson duel because they had beaten us soundly earlier in the year. The boys came out ready and out wrestled them in almost every match.”

North Branch 42

Spring Lake Park 21

103- Double FF

112- B. Suparat won by dec.

119- Schwab won by dec.

125- Holmgren lost by dec.

130- Sederberg lost by fall

135- Allen lost by fall

140- Decorsey lost by dec.

145- Buchanan won by fall

152- Gallmeier won by forfeit

160- S. Suparat won by forfeit

171- Haley won by forfeit

189- Meier won by forfeit

215- Oehlers won by forfeit

HWT- Bergerson lost by dec.

North Branch 46

Hinckley-Finlayson 24

103- HF won by forfeit

112- B. Suparat won by dec.

119- Schwab won by dec.

125- Holmgren won by fall

130- Sederberg lost by fall

135- Allen lost by fall

140- Decorsey won by dec.

145- Buchanan won by fall

152- Gallmeier won by dec.

160- S. Suparat won by fall

171- Haley lost by dec.

189- Meier lost by dec.

215- Oehlers won by fall

HWT- Bergerson won by fall

North Branch 51

Zimmerman 21

Princeton 32

North Branch 30

Two nights later, the Vikings carried their momentum into two more duels, facing off with Zimmerman and Princeton.

Up first was an out-matched Zimmerman team. The Vikings wasted little time, jumping out quick and never looking back, scoring a 51-21 win. The victory was the Vikings third in a row.

North Branch won every match except two, suffer proof that they are starting to turn the corner.

“Greg Sederberg got his first win of the season and Dustin Allen looked sharp in his match,” remarked Aho. “Bill Oehlers and Matt Davidson looked very solid in their wins.”

However, in their next match versus Princeton, the Vikings spirits went from soaring to subdued as the Tigers snapped the North Branch winning streak, pulling out a tough 32-30 win.

Buchanan continued to add to his win total with a decision win at 145 pounds. Schwab, Homgren, Decorsey, Gallmeier, Andrew Zitzow, and Bergerson also came out of match with wins.

“We always have tight matches with Princeton and that one was no exception,” stated Aho. “Boyd Suparat looked great for two periods but his age showed a little, giving up a late pin. He has a great attitude and he will bounce back from that loss. Sam Suparat fought hard against a very good wrestler and came close to pinning him early in the match. Jeremy (Bergerson) looked very good, and Billy (Oehlers) ended the evening with a close loss to a solid heavyweight. We just needed a couple of things to go the other way in order to gain the win.”

North Branch 51

Zimmerman 21

103- Zimmerman won by forfeit

112- B. Suparat won by fall

119- Schwab won by dec.

125- Holmgren lost by dec.

130- Sederberg won by dec.

135- Allen won by fall

140- Decorsey won by fall

145- Zimmerman won by forfeit

152- Zitzow lost by fall

160- S. Suparat won by fall

171- Haley won by fall

189- Davidson won by dec.

215- Wournos won by forfeit

HWT- Oehlers won by fall

Princeton 32

North Branch 30

103- Princeton won by forfeit

112- B. Suparat lost by fall

119- Schwab won by deec.

125- Holmgren won by fall

130- Sederberg lost by fall

135- Decorsey won by dec.

140- Allen lost by major dec.

145- Buchanan won by dec.

152- Gallmeier won by dec.

160- Zitzow won by forfeit

171- S. Suparat lost by major dec.

189- Haley lost by dec.

215- Bergerson won by fall

HWT- Oehlers lost by dec.

Vikings fifth at NB Invite

A couple of things to go the other way, that summed up last Saturday’s North Branch Invite as well. Wrestling in front of their home crowd, two Vikings took first place, helping the team take fifth out of eight teams.

At 135 pounds, John Buchanan breezed through the tournament, taking first, while right behind him at 140 pounds, Ryan Decorsey did the same. Also wrestling in the championship match, Jeremy Bergerson placed second.

“This was a pretty good tournament for our young team,” remarked Aho. “Jeremy (Bergerson) was probably the best 215 pounder at the tournament, but he was caught and pinned in the finals. Matt Krier and Hank Schulte worked hard to make weight and help out their team and looked pretty good despite not having wrestled yet this year. Ed Meier saw his first tournament action of the year and did well at 189 pounds. Zack Backus had a nice tourney at 171 pounds, and Matt Newham showed a lot of improvement, earning two wins and a fifth place finish at 112 pounds. The JV also had a very successful day with Dustin Allen, Justin Pinna, Cory Haley, Chris Newham, Nick Sokol, and Matt Davidson all earning championships.”

North Branch Invite

Team Results-

1. Willmar 178

2. Champlin Park 144.5

3. Wayzata 143

4. Boyceville (Wisc.) 136

5. North Branch 130

6. Litchfield #2 82

7. Menomonie (Wisc.) 57.5

8. Andover 42

North Branch Results-

103- Hank Schulte DNP

112- Matt Newham 5th

112- Boyd Suparat 6th

119- Josh Schwab 6th

125- Greg Sederberg DNP

135- John Buchanan 1st

140- Ryan Decorsey 1st

145- Cody Gallmeier 5th

152- Matt Krier 6th

160- Sam Suparat 3rd

171- Zack Backus 4th

189- Ed Meier 3rd

215- Jeremy Bergerson 2nd

Hwt- Jarrod Swanson 6th

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