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North Branch 49, Irondale 21

Senior John Morrison pinned his opponent for the one-hundredth win of his career as the Viking wrestling team crushed conference foe Irondale 49-21 last Friday, January 22 at Irondale. Morrison needs only four more wins to move into a tie with John Buchanan for second place on North Branch's all-time career wins list.

"Our guys seem to be improving the way we would like to see as the season is nearing its end," said Viking head coach Tony Aho. "Jimmy Juntunen and Dalton Horak each had hard-earned victories and learned a lot about their conditioning in this one. Patrick Mork avenged last year's loss to his Irondale opponent and is showing rapid progress and leadership. Luke Levasseur has made the weight drop to 160 and looks pretty comfortable there and Stuart Frink looked awfully tough at 171. Evan Silver worked very hard but came up just short, losing by a fall in overtime. And special congratulations to John Morrison for earning a big milestone victory in his great career."

Individual Results vs. Irondale

103 - Arik Steele lost by fall

112 - Reid Johnson lost by fall

119 - Jake Pilz won 3-0

125 - Jake Kostik won by FF

130 - Jimmy Juntunen won 5-1

135 - Dalton Horak won 12-4

140 - Patrick Mork won 9-7

145 - Mitch Anderson lost 10-4

152 - Andy Freel won by fall

160 - Luke Levasseur won by fall

171 - Stuart Frink won by fall

189 - Evan Silver lost by fall

215 - Justin Bergerson won by fall

285 - John Morrison won by fall

Cambridge Duals

The Vikings lost all three of their dual meets at the Cambridge Duals last Saturday. They led off the day by tying Delano 39-39, only to lose on the ninth tiebreaker criteria 40-39. They lost 50-30 to Cambridge Isanti, and wrestled well against a tough Mora squad before losing 36-27. John Morrison (285) joined Jake Kostik (125) as the only two Viking wrestlers to go undefeated (3-0) on the day.

Aho said "This tournament always contains tough teams and individuals and we were excited to get a chance to see how far we have come. Though we lost to three tough teams in Delano, Cambridge and Mora, we were very encouraged by the effort by our kids. Reid Johnson came out with a 2-1 record for the day which was outstanding considering the competition he faced. Jake Pilz also showed a lot of guts today and continues to impress. Jake Kostik is continuing to be a force at 125 pounds. Teams are now forfeiting to him because he is so physically and mentally tough. Andy Freel is showing why we think he has a chance to make a run at the state tournament this year. "

Individual Results vs. Delano

103 - Forfeit

112 - Reid Johnson won by fall

119 - Jake Pilz won 4-1

125 - Jake Kostik won by FF

130 - Jimmy Juntunen won by fall

135 - Dalton Horak lost 11-4

140 - Patrick Mork lost by fall

145 - Mitch Anderson lost by fall

152 - Andy Freel won by fall

160 - Luke Levasseur won by fall

171 - Stuart Frink lost by fall

189 - Evan Silver lost by fall

215 - Justin Bergerson lost by fall

285 - John Morrison won by fall

Individual Results vs. Cambridge

103 - FF

112 - Reid Johnson won by fall

119 - Jake Pilz lost by fall

125 - Jake Kostik won by fall

130 - Jimmy Juntunen lost by fall

135 - Dalton Horak lost by fall

140 - Patrick Mork lost 7-2

145 - Mitch Anderson lost by fall

152 - Andy Freel lost by fall

160 - Luke Levasseur won by fall

171 - Stuart Frink lost by fall

189 - Evan Silver lost by fall

215 - Justin Bergerson won by fall

285 - John Morrison won by fall

Individual Results vs. Mora

103 - FF

112 - Reid Johnson lost 7-4

119 - Jake Pilz lost 5-4

125 - Jake Kostik won by FF

130 - Jimmy Juntunen won by FF

135 - Dalton Horak lost by TF

140 - Patrick Mork lost 11-1

145 - Mitch Anderson lost by fall

152 - Andy Freel won 6-5

160 - Luke Levasseur lost by fall

171 - Stuart Frink won 14-7

189 - Evan Silver won 4-2

215 - Justin Bergerson lost 6-1 on OT

285 - John Morrison won by FF

The Vikings (9-7 overall, 3-2 conference) head to Columbia Heights to take on the Hylanders at 6 p.m. tonight. This weekend, the Vikings will head to Grand Rapids for a tournament. Matches begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

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