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North Branch 32, Chisago Lakes 23

Trailing 23-22 going into the last three matches, Viking wrestlers Stuart Frink (189), Justin Bergerson (215) and John Morrison (285) each won their match over a Wildcat opponent to give the Vikings a 32-23 win over the Wildcats last Thursday, February 4 at North Branch.

Wildcat Mark Sontag (103) started off the match with a 13-2 major decision over Aaron Senne. Wildcat Quade Zupko (112) squeezed out a 2-1 win over to increase the Chisago Lakes lead to 7-0. Jake Pilz got the Vikings on the scoreboard with a 12-6 victory over Joe Virga (119) that cut the Wildcat lead to 7-3. The Vikings took a 9-7 lead as Jake Kostik won by forfeit.

Viking Jimmy Juntunen (130) came back in the last few seconds of his match to surge past Boy Sontag, picking up a 7-5 win to increase the North Branch lead to 12-7. The Vikings' Dalton Horak beat Tyler Heckel for another three points, and Horak's teammate Patrick Mork (140) won a 13-4 major decision over Brandon Oberg to increase the Viking lead to 19-7. Ben Hinderman (145) kept the Wildcats within striking distance with a pin of Sam Peltier with two seconds left in the first period.

Andy Freel's 4-1 overtime win over Riley Myers was the turning point in the dual, as it stretched the Viking lead from six points to nine points at 22-13. Freel's win looked even bigger as the Wildcats won the next two matches. Travis Kammerer's pin of Luke Levasseur at 160 with 32 seconds left in the third period and Clay Olson's 15-4 major decision over Zach Sundly at 171 put the Wildcats on top, albeit briefly, at 23-22.

Frink beat Wildcat Chase Kammerer 10-4 at 189 to put the Vikings back on top 25-23. Bergerson (215) then beat Wildcat Jake Nase 3-0 to stretch the Viking lead to 28-23. The Wildcats still had a mathematical chance to win going into the 285-pound match, but that was a tall order against Morrison. Morrison, who is highly-ranked in Class AA, dominated his match with Dylan Hoyt and won with a convincing 14-1 major decision to ice the win for the Vikings at 32-23.

"What an exciting dual," said Viking head coach Tony Aho. "Chisago came after our guys very hard and looked like they were going to take it to us. Aaron Senne and Reid Johnson got us off to a good start by staying off their backs against tough opponents. Jake Pilz used his fireman's carry to beat a tough young opponent and got us going. Jimmy Juntunen and Dalton Horak also dug very deep to pick up wins that we absolutely had to have. Andy Freel and Stuart Frink had to dig even further in their matches to earn wins. The crowd played a key role in willing those guys to victory. The big boys, Justin Bergerson and John Morrison, looked very solid in closing the dual against good Chisago wrestlers."

Wildcat head coach Shawn Frederixon was also pleased with the atmosphere surrounding the fight. "That was a fun dual," he said. "And that was a great crowd to wrestle in front of. The outcome wasn't decided till the final match. Both teams wrestled well. The dual hinged on the two very tight matches at 130 and 152, and we lost both of those very late in the match. Our guys fought hard the whole way, and I'm really proud of them."

Individual Results

103 - Mark Sontag CL 13-2 over Aaron Senne NB 0-4

112 - Quade Zupko CL 2-1 over Reid Johnson NB 0-7

119 - Jake Pilz NB 12-6 over Joe Virga CL 3-7

125 - Jake Kostik NB won by forfeit 9-7

130 - Jimmy Juntunen NB 7-5 over Bobby Sontag CL 12-7

135 - Dalton Horak NB 6-1 over Tyler Heckel CL 15-7

140 - Patrick Mork NB 13-4 over Brandon Oberg CL 19-7

145 - Ben Hinderman CL fall over Sam Peltier 1:58 NB 19-13

152 - Andy Freel NB 4-1 OT over Riley Myers CL 22-13

160 - Travis Kammerer CL fall over Luke Levasseur NB 5:28 22-19

171 - Clay Olson CL 15-4 over Zach Sundly NB 22-23

189 - Stuart Frink NB 10-4 over Chase Kammerer CL 25-23

215 - Justin Bergerson NB 3-0 over Jake Nase CL 28-23

285 John Morrison NB 14-1 over Dylan Hoyt CL 32-23

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