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North Branch 54 St. Paul Washington Technology Magnet 21

The Vikings fielded wrestlers at all 13 weights in their home match against St. Paul Washington Technology Magnet School on January 11, and Washington sent 12 wrestlers out to the mat.  Washington had the only forfeit.  The Vikings scored the rest of their points on eight pins, averaging less than a period to crush each of their opponents.

Individual Results

107: Las Way Wan (SPWT) over Joseph Graupman (NOBR) (Fall 3:22)

114: Jack Baker (NOBR) over Mong Zong Yang (SPWT) (Fall 1:05)

121: Moua Mong Yang (SPWT) over Mason Henry (NOBR) (Dec 10-4)

127: Theodore Yang (SPWT) over Isaiah Bodsberg (NOBR) (Fall 1:15)

133: Colin Duvall (NOBR) over Jeffry Lopez Ortega (SPWT) (Fall 1:50)

139: Aiden Schwartz (NOBR) over Ezra Engeldinger (SPWT) (Fall 2:35)

145: Ethan Kester (NOBR) over Hsa Mue Lay (SPWT) (Fall 1:46)

152: Evan Pommier (NOBR) over Andy Tao (SPWT) (Fall 3:11)

160: Emmit Hansen (NOBR) over Hsa Thaw (SPWT) (Fall 1:45)

172: Trysten Treager (SPWT) over Parker Deniger (NOBR) (Fall 1:10)

189: Leonardo Santos (NOBR) over Lafette Simmons (SPWT) (Fall 1:32)

215: Aayden Anderson (NOBR) over Nathan Vang (SPWT) (Fall 0:58)

285: Karson Gariepy (NOBR) over (SPWT) (For.)

St. Croix Lutheran Crusader Invitational

After spending the last two years out with injuries, Viking wrestler Evan Pommier (5-0) is making up for lost time  He dominated the field at 145 pounds at last Saturday’s St. Croix Lutheran Invitational, winning all four of his matches and the championship with a 15-0 technical fall over Hayden Bolling of Ogilvie.  The Vikings had seven of their ten wrestlers place at the 15-team tournament.  Jack Baker took second at 114; Karson Gariepy (285), third; Joseph Graupman (107), fourth; Aiden Schwart (133), 4th; Ethan Kester (139), fourth; Parker Deniger (172), sixth; and Aayden Anderson (215), sixth.  As a team, the Vikings finished fifth out of 15 teams.

Pommier, whose first match was two days earlier in a hoe dual, wasted no time in asserting his dominance by pinning Joseph Sidlyarevich of Hopkins 40 seconds into their match.  In the quarterfinals, Pommier dispatched his opponent Nathan Nikoley of St. Croix Lutheran even more quickly, needing just 12 seconds for the pin that moved him onto the semifinals.  Pommier won by a 15-0 technical foul over Lucas Mosching of WEJW at 5:15 to advance to the championship match.  Pommier nearly ended the championship match in the first period.  He took down Bolling 36 seconds into the first period and had three near-falls before time ran out and he led 9-0. After adding three points in the second period, Pommier escaped at 4:34 in the third period and completed a takedown at 4:56 to make the score 15-0, ending the match and claiming the crown.

Jack Baker made mincemeat out of his first two opponents.  In the quarterfinals, he needed just 17 seconds to pin Trinity Lorenz of St. Croix Lutheran.  Baker took 38 seconds to pin his semifinal opponent, Jason Olson of St. Crois Lutheran.  In the championship match, Baker and Beau Hudoba of Ogilvie wrestled a scoreless first period.  Baker, starting on the bottom, escaped midway through the second period to take a 1-0 lead.  Olson responded with an escape just 21 seconds into the third period to tie the match at 1-1.  Baker received a caution at 5:16, but no points were forthcoming, and the match was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation.  Olson took down Baker 24 seconds into overtime to win the match 3-1, and Baker had to settle for second place.

Individual Results

107  Joseph Graupman   

2-2         4th

114  Jack Baker                 

2-1         2nd

121  Mason Henry            

1-2         DNP

127  Isaiah Bodsberg       

0-2         DNP

133  Aiden Schwartz        

1-2         4th

139  Ethan Kester           

  2-2         4th

145  Evan Pommier         

 4-0         Champ

172  Parker Deniger        

 3-2         6th

189  Leonardo Santos     

0-2         DNP

215  Aayden Anderson    

2-2         6th

285  Karson Gariepy        

2-1         3rd

Team Results

1 Ogilvie 192.5

2 Chisago Lakes 153.0

3 WEM-JWP 140.0

4 Hopkins 127.5

5 North Branch 116.5

6 Roseville Area 116.0

7 Humboldt-OWL 87.5

8 Benilde St. Margarets 85.0

9 BC-Concordia Acad 72.0

10 St. Paul Highland Park 66.0

11 Cretin-Derham Hall 65.5

12 St. Paul Johnson 52.0

13 St. Croix Lutheran 51.0

14 Columbia Heights 10.0

15 St. Paul Como Park 8.0

Wrestling Whangdoodles

The Vikings will wrestle at a conference triangular tomorrow night at Zimmerman High School, taking on the hosts and Cambridge-Isanti.  On Saturday, they will head over to Wisconsin to take part in the 22-team tournament St. Croix Falls Tournament, with the festivities getting underway at 10 a.m.

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