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North Branch 51

Ogilivie 24

Last Tuesday, the North Branch wrestling team added two more wins to their season total, defeating Ogilivie and Braham on the mat.

Versus Ogilivie, after dropping their opening match, the Vikings rattled off three straight wins to jump in front.

Then North Branch finished the match by winning six of the last seven matches, all six wins coming by forfeit, securing a 51-24 win.

North Branch 51

Ogilivie 24

103- Crowell lost by dec.

112- M. Newham won by dec.

119- Schwab won by dec.

125- C. Newham won by fall

130- Sederberg lost by fall

135- Sokol lost by fall

140- Zaffke lost by fall

145- Decorsey won by forfeit

152- Lofboom won by forfeit

160- Suparat won by forfeit

171- Backus lost by dec.

189- Meier won by forfeit

215- Bergerson won by forfeit

HWT- Swanson won by forfeit

North Branch 36

Braham 27

In round two versus Braham, the Vikings again started strong and finished even faster. Cory Crowell and Matt Newham each started with pins followed by a wins by Ryan Decorsey, Joe Lofboom, and Zach Backus. Ed Meier, Jeremy Bergerson, and Jarrod Swanson finished the match with forfeit wins, giving the Vikings their second victory of the night, 36-27.

“Just when we thought we had some of our guys healthy again, more are getting injured,” commented Tony Aho, North Branch head wrestling coach. “That has forced some very inexperienced guys to go out there and try to learn on the fly. Obviously we were aided by forfeits by both of those teams, but Cory Crowell, Matt Newham, Joe Lofboom, Zach Backus, and Jarrod Swanson all fought very hard for their team and came out with nice victories.”

North Branch 36

Braham 27

103- Crowell won by fall

112- M. Newham won by fall

119- C. Newham lost by fall

125- Schwab lost by dec.

130- Sederberg lost by fall

135- Zaffke lost by fall

140- Decorsey won by dec.

145- Gallmeier lost by dec.

152- Lofboom won by dec.

160- Suparat lost by dec.

171- Backus won by dec.

189- Meier won by forfeit

215- Bergerson won by forfeit

HWT- Swanson won by dec.

Milaca 72

North Branch 6

The Vikings tried to keep their winning streak in tact last Thursday versus Milaca and Big Lake. However, the Wolves and Hornets had other plans.

Against Milaca, the Vikings were out-gunned from the start. With the exception of Cory Crowell’s win by forfeit at 103 pounds, the Wolves took the rest, defeating North Branch 72-6.

“That was probably the most disappointing night of our season,” said Aho. “Joe Lofboom wrestled well against a real tough kid and continues to improve. Justin Pinna also looked good for awhile, he just needed to wrestle hard until the end of each period and he probably could have pulled off the upset. Other than that, we seemed to be very intimidated by Milaca and did not put up the kind of fight we are used to seeing from North Branch wrestler’s the last few years.”

Milaca 72

North Branch 6

103- Crowell won by forfeit

112- B. Suparat lost by fall

119- Schwab lost by tech. fall

125- C. Newham lost by fall

130- Sederberg lost by fall

135- Zaffke lost by fall

140- Gallmeier lost by fall

145- Lofboom lost by dec.

152- Pinna lost by fall

160- S. Suparat lost by major dec.

171- Backus lost by fall

189- Meier lost by default

215- Bergerson lost by fall

HWT- Swanson lost by fall

Big Lake 44

North Branch 27

Aho wishes he could say that his feelings about his teams performance got better in match two versus Big Lake. They didn’t as the Hornets pinned the Vikings 44-27.

After falling behind early, Boyd Suparat and Josh Schwab put together back-to-back wins, jumping North Branch in front. Unfortunately, Big Lake took the next seven matches, three by fall, taking control of the match. Even though the Vikings responded by winning three of the next four matches, Big Lake still won 44-27.

“The second match was even more disappointing because Big Lake was a team we should have been able to hang close with,” replied Aho. “Nonetheless, we have good kids with pride and I know they’ll work hard to improve their effort.”

The Vikings next chance to prove their coach right is Thursday when they host Mora and Chisago Lakes.

Big Lake 44

North Branch 27

103- Crowell lost by fall

112- B. Suparat won by fall

119- Schwab won by dec.

125- C. Newham lost by fall

130- Sederberg lost by fall

135- Zaffke lost by fall

140- Gallmeier lost by major dec.

145- Lofboom lost by major dec.

152- Pinna lost by dec.

160- S. Suparat lost by dec.

171- Haley won by fall

189- Backus won by fall

215- Bergerson won by fall

HWT- Swanson lost by fall

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