Vikings finish in second at Mustang Duals

North Branch 50, Irondale 19 The Viking wrestling team won ten of 14 individual matches, including five by pin, as they stomped visiting Irondale last Thursday, January 10 at North Branch High School. Kody Strohmayer (106) got things off to a good start with a 15-1 major decision over Irondale’s Luke Janacek. James Weigel (113) then decisioned Sawyer Johnson 7-5 before Thomas Steele (120) pinned Jake Brown just over a minute into the third period, and the Vikings led 13-0. Reid Johnson (126) lost 1-0 to Ryan Weinmann, who is ranked sixth at 120 in AAA. At 132, Aaron Senne then had to face Dustin Weinmann, who is ranked second at 126 in AAA, and Weinmann major decisioned Senne, cutting the Viking lead to 13-7. Pins by Jake Pilz (138) and Cameron Sampson (145) expanded the Viking lead to 25-7. After Arik Steele was pinned at 152, the Vikings put away the Knights with five wins in a row, including pins by Sam Peltier at 160 and Tristan LaBelle at 170. Individual Results vs. Irondale 106 - Kody Strohmayer won by maj. dec. 113 - James Weigel won by dec. 120 - Thomas Steele won by fall 126 - Reid Johnson lost by dec. 132 - Aaron Senne lost by dec. 138 - Jake Pilz won by fall 145 - Cameron Sampson won by fall 152 - Arik Steele lost by fall 160 - Sam Peltier won by fall 170 - Tristan Labelle won by fall 182 - Levi Eastwood won by dec. 195 - Zack Sundly won by forfeit 220 - Eric Bergstrom won by dec. 285 - Seamus Hunter lost by fall Mounds View Mustang Duals The Vikings finished second at the Mounds View Mustang Duals last Saturday, January 12, losing 50-18 to Owatonna 50-18 in the championship match. Earlier in the day, the Vikings had blitzed Tartan 71-6 in the quarterfinals. The Vikings won ten of the 11 contested individual matches against Tartan. In the semifinals, they blasted Park Center 71-6 to set up the match with Owatonna. Park Center was undermanned, fielding wrestlers in just seven of the 14 weight classes. Three Vikings – Reid Johnson (126), Aaron Senne (132) and Eric Bergstrom (220) – won all three of their matches on the day. In the rankings released January 11 by theguillotine.com, two Vikings are ranked in the top ten in Class AA in their respective weight classes: Aaron Senne is ranked tenth at 126 and Zack Sundly is ranked tenth at 195. The Vikings (9-5 overall in dual meets and in second place at 4-1 in the conference), have a very busy schedule over the next three days. Tonight, they will travel to Fridley to take on the Fridley Tigers at 7 p.m. Tomorrow at 6 p.m., the Vikings will host a quadrangular, welcoming Centennial, Grand Rapids and Nashwauk-Keewatin to the North Branch High School gym. And on Saturday, the Vikings will head to Cambridge-Isanti High School for a tournament that begins at 9 a.m.