State Wrestling Tournament recap

By John George

sports@eot.com

Perham finished with three medals out of the six individual wrestlers they sent to State. Kenny Moenkedick won the 171-pound title (see front page story), Tyler Doll finished in fifth at 130 and Mike Guehna finished in third at 152.

The Lakes area had a couple of other wrestlers in title matches. New York Millsý Jared Hotakainen (28-4) dropped a 3-1 decision in the Class A 125-pound final.

Moments after Moenkedick finished his career with a title, Detroit Lakes senior Brent Eidenschink was on his knees on the floor, face on the ground.

He had just dropped a 3-1 decision in the Class AA 189-pound final. In a match of undefeated wrestlers, it all came down to a takedown with less than 10 seconds left in regulation.

The Lakersý all-time wins leader at 163 and ranked in the top five nationally, Eidenschink (36-1) is headed to the University of Minnesota on scholarship. Competing on a fractured right ankle, it seemed like he deserved a state title after finishing second and third the previous two years.

Kelly Januszewski of Otter Tail Central lost the third place match at 125 pounds and Detroit Lakesý Mike Griffin lost the third place match at 160 pounds in Class AA.

Frazee lost the Class A Team title in heartbreaking fashion, losing by one-point in the championship to Canby, 25-24. New York Mills went 0-2 as a team.

In Class AA, Section 7champ Little Falls finished in fourth place as St. Michael-Albertville claimed their third straight title and fifth overall.

For full tournament brackets, check online at mshsl.org.

Tyler Doll (38-5)

130 pounds / 12th grade

5th Place

Doll had high expectations entering State. He won the 7AA Individual title, was the runner-up at 125 pounds at State last year and entered State this year with the No. 1 ranking and a 35-3 record.

Doll beat Colt Bergendahl (29-14) of Windom Area, 7-2, in the opening round. The the quarterfinals, he beat Matt Pfarr (30-8) of LeSueur-Henderson, 3-1.

The semifinals brought on a familiar foe, No. 2 ranked Chris Kragt of Milaca. Doll and Kragt (35-7) split two prior matches this season.

Doll had a 3-1 lead at one point, but Kragt took over late, winning 11-4. Doll went to the wrestlebacks while Kragt went on to finish as runner-up.

ýThere were some much bigger guys in Tylerýs class,ý head coach Robb Moser said. ýTyler went up against a couple of great wrestlers and came up short.ý

After a 7-2 loss in the consolation semifinal to Jake Satzer (43-3) of Mound-Westonka, Doll finished his career with a win, taking the fifth place in a rematch over Pfarr, 13-6.

ýIým sure itýs not the way he wanted to go out,ý Moser said. ýBut it was nice to see him finish with a win.ý

Mike Guehna (37-7)

152 pounds / 11th grade

4th Place

Despite heading into State as a two-time HOL champ and a repeat Individual State participant, Guehna, ranked No. 6, knew he had a tough road ahead of him at The X.

First on the list was No. 7 Tony Klosterboer of Montevideo. Guehna moved on with a 6-4 win. Next up was No. 1 Mike Wubbena of Fairmont. Wubbena (41-1) was runner-up at 145 pounds last year. Wubbena remained undefeated, for the time being, with a 13-6 win over Guehna.

In the wrestleback round, Guehna met Dan LeDuc (30-5) of Thief River Falls, ranked No. 2. LeDuc was upset in the quarterfinals and is the one wrestler Guehna had met before. That may have helped as Guehna pulled off the upset, winning 4-2 in overtime.

Guehna went on to beat section rival Colin Cihlar (33-12) of Minnewaska in the consolation semifinals.

That set up a rematch with Wubbena in the third place match. This time, familiarity didnýt help as Wubbena won, 11-6.

ýMike had a great tournament,ý head coach Robb Moser said. ýHe went up against some studs. With his bracket, I didnýt expect him to medal, even though heýs a great wrestler. He proved he belongs.ý

Philip Moenkedick (22-4)

145 pounds / 11th grade

Moenkedickýs year didnýt go as planned, and neither did his State Tournament. Limited to 22 regular season matches because of various injuries, Moenkedick fought through knee problems recently, but said he was 100 percent at State.

He beat Torin Erickson (32-7) of Milaca, 10-0, to open the tournament, but lost to eventual champ, St. Michael-Albertvilleýs No. 2 ranked Chad Little (41-5), 3-2 in the quarterfinals.

Moenkedick won his first wrestleback match, a 3-0 decision over Tallen Wald (33-6) of Montevideo. He was eliminated in the next round in a 6-3 loss to Chad Kubash (38-3) of Watertown-Mayer. Kubash finished in fifth place.

ýPhilip is good enough of a wrestler to deserve a medal here,ý head coach Robb Moser said. ýLook at the guys who beat him. Heýs worthy of their company.ý

Moenkedick lost to the eventual champ and fifth place wrestlers at State. The 145-pound runner-up at State was No. 1 ranked Trevor Larson (39-1) of Minnewaska Area, who beat Moenkedick in the 7AA Individual Championship.

Kyle Christopherson (18-11)

215 pounds / 11th grade

Christopherson went into State knowing he probably didnýt have a long run ahead of him. Unfortunately, he was right.

Christopherson drew Kyle Schumm (37-11) of powerhouse St. Michael-Albertville in the first round. Schumm moved on with a 10-0 victory.

A loss by Schumm in the second round meant Christopherson wouldnýt get into the wrestleback round.

ýKyle had a great season,ý head coach Robb Moser said. ýWeýll be counting on him to anchor the top of our line-up next year.ý

Schumm went on to finish fifth after losing to eventual third place winner, Jake Schoenecker of New Prague.

Joe Nord, a senior from Waconia, won the 215-pound title over Cody Reverts of Adrian. Nord ended his career 44-0.

Sam Warne (36-9)

103 pounds / 8th grade

Warne had a tough go from the beginning. The eighth grader, who spent a considerable amount of time in the top-10, had to take on No. 3 ranked Luke Schlee (36-10) of Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/Kingsland (GMLOK). Schlee won a close 4-2 decision and went on to finish in fifth place.

With Schlee winning his next match, Warne was alive for the wrestlebacks (had Schlee lost his next match, he would have moved into the wrestlebacks and Warne would have been eliminated after one match).

He faced Mike Knisely (28-13) of Litchfield and moved on with a 4-0 win.

Warne then took on Josh Falk of Windom Area. Falk scored his only point of the match as time was running out in the second period as Warne was cited for a technical violation. That was the only point he needed as Warne was eliminated, 1-0.

Falk eventually lost to Schlee in the fifth place match.

ýThatýs a tough way to end,ý Moser said. ýSam wrestled real well. Hopefully heýll be back a few more times. He gained great experience here.ý