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NB 37, CL 34

Fans of both teams packed the Chisago Lakes gym for the North Suburban Conference matchup between the Vikings and the Wildcats Thursday, January 24. And they got their money's worth as the match came down to the wire.

With the Vikings leading 34-31 heading into the 215-pound match, the Vikings' Justin Bergerson edged the Wildcats' Troy Montague 6-5 to increase the Viking lead to 37-31. Wildcat Tony Gall needed to pin Viking John Morrison at 285 to tie the match and have it decided by tiebreakers. Gall won, 5-2 but was not able to pin Morrison, giving the Vikings a 37-34 win.

The Vikings dominated the early weights, winning five of the first seven matches, including four pins. Viking Jake Kostik (103) got the Vikings off to a good by pinning Bobby Sontag at 29 seconds of the first period for a 6-0 lead.

Pao Thao (112) then pulled the Wildcats to within three points with a 5-1 win over Viking Tom Mork. "Pao beat a pretty good kid," said Wildcat head coach Shawn Frederixon. "He set a tone for us. That was one of the most disciplined matches he had all year. He stayed focused and controlled the match."

Then the Vikings started to pile up the wins. Jake Kalkbrenner (119) pinned Wildcat Tyler McConville at 1:24 of the second period. "Jake did an amazing job at, pinning a good Chisago Lakes wrestler," said Viking head coach Tony Aho.

Viking Erik Kostik (125) earned a major decision over Mike Michaelson. "Erik dominated one of their better kids and looks to be coming back into form," said Aho. When Boyd Suparat pinned Jake Bowersox 24 seconds into the second period, the Vikings had stretched their lead to 22-3.

Wildcat Travis Kammerer (135) pinned Daub Bartylla with nine seconds left in the first period. But, Viking Boyd Suparat (140) got all six of those points back with a pin of Ben Hinderman 52 seconds into the first period.

The Wildcats started a comeback with two straight pins. Shane Hultman (145) was behind early in his match against Luke LeVasseur. Hultman fought back to tie the score before turning LeVasseur over and pinning him midway through the second period.

Kenny LaPlante (152) also trailed early, but came back to pin Chad Anderson with 39 seconds left in the first period. "Sometimes, we're a little unsure about Kenny," said Frederixon. When he came through in this match, it really sparked us. When he catches you in his headlock, it's pretty tough to get out of it. We knew he had a chance for the pin. It was just a matter of if it would happen this time."

When Wildcat Derek Silbernagel (160) beat Andy Freel 11-3 for a major decision and four points, the Vikings lead had been cut to 28-25. But, Aho was pleased with Freel's effort. Aho said, "Once again, Andy Freel saved the day by going six minutes against an older, more experienced opponent and not giving up precious bonus points. Andy is a joy to have on the team because there is absolutely no quit in him."

The Wildcats made a strategic move at 171 pounds, forfeiting to Greg Arnt and putting the Vikings up 34-25. "We knew we were going to give up six points at 171," said Frederixon. "We moved Clay Olson and Troy Montague up one weight class each to try to get more points out of those weight classes." Olson (189) did his part by pinning Jeremy Lacina 21 seconds into the third period, cutting the Viking lead to 34-31. "Clay did a nice job for us," said Frederixon. "He didn't really get on track 'til the third period, when he got on top and turned Lacina over. For Clay to come out with a pin in the third period was really big for us."

Viking Justin Bergerson and Wildcat Troy Montague went at it in the pivotal 215-pound match. Montague was up 4-2 at the end of the first period and nearly pinned Bergerson. Bergerson fought back to tie it 4-4 after two periods. Bergerson took down Montague in the third period for two points and a 6-4 lead. Montague escaped for one point to pull within 6-5, but Bergerson held on for the one point victory.

"Justin was outstanding," said Aho, "as he outwrestled one of Chisago's better wrestlers and secured the win for our team." Frederixon was impressed with Bergerson, as well. "Bergerson is only a freshman," said Frederixon, "so he will be a thorn in our side for the next three years. Our kid, Troy Montague, has come through for us a lot of times this year. Tonight just wasn't his night. We needed to step up for him tonight, and our guys did, for the most part."

Now trailing 37-31, the Wildcat strategy was simple: Tony Gall needed to pin John Morrison to tie the score. The Viking strategy was similarly straightforward - Morrison needed to keep from getting pinned.

Gall did everything he could to pin Morrison, but Morrison was equally resilient in his quest to avoid the pin. Morrison scored his only two points when Gall, starting on top, let Morrison up. Frederixon explained Gall's move, "Tony has a better chance to pin a kid if he's on his feet."

Gall won the match 5-2, earning three points to make the final score North Branch 37, Chisago Lakes 31.

After the match, Aho praised his opponents. He said, "Chisago Lakes is young but they are always ready to wrestle, especially against us. Their coaches do a great job with their kids and we knew this was going to be a tough one."

Frederixon also complimented his opponents. "They match up well against us, especially in the lower weights. The lower weights are the toughest part of their team and gave us fits tonight. We won seven and lost seven today, but came up just a few points short. And I've never seen the gym that full before - it sure was a lot of fun."

Individual Results

103 Jacob Kostik NB fall over Bobby Sontag 0:29 6-0

112 Pao Thao CL 5-1 over Tom Mork 6-3

119 Jake Kalkbrenner NB fall over Tyler McConville 3:24 12-3

125 Erik Kostik NB 10-0 over Mike Michaelson 16-3

130 Boyd Suparat NB fall over Jake Bowersox 2:24 22-3

135 Travis Kammerer CL fall over Daub Bartylla 1:51 22-9

140 Matt Newham NB fall over Ben Hinderman 0:52 28-9

145 Shane Hultman CL fall over Luke LeVasseur 2:50 28-15

152 Kenny LaPlante CL fall over Chad Anderson 1:21 28-21

160 Derek Silbernagel CL 11-3 over Andy Freel 28-25

171 Greg Arnt NB won by forfeit 34-25

189 Clay Olson CL fall over Jeremy Lacina 4:21 34-31

215 Justin Bergerson NB 6-5 over Troy Montague 37-31

285 Tony Gall CL 5-2 over John M

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