by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
The Thief River Falls boys wrestling team faced an uphill battle Thursday night in its home triangular that included duals against fifth-ranked Grand Rapids and defending Section 8AA champion Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, who has been ranked as high as ninth this year and currently ranked as the top-lean and mean team (13th) in Class AA.
The Prowlers lost both duals, falling 49-18 to the Thunderhawks and 34-29 to the Section 8AA rival Rebels. Winning either dual was a longshot for the Prowlers, but Head Coach Kenny Geiser continued challenging his team to compete in each match.
“The boys really fought hard in both duals I thought,” Geiser said. “It wasn’t due to lack of effort. This team has made some strides and if they keep working hard, will push some of the better teams in this section at the end of the season.”
The Prowlers got wins from Lincoln Davis, Elias Motta, Landen Larson and Brennen Johnson against the Thunderhawks.
Davis pinned Benjamin Masheimer 12 seconds into the third period to briefly give the Prowlers a 6-4 lead following the 114-pound bout.
Motta, an eighth grader, pulled off what may be the biggest win of his career to date, with a 15-12 win over fifth-ranked high school junior Warren Ritter at 152 pounds. One match later, Larson, a sophomore, upset fifth-ranked senior Tanner Morlan by a score of 10-8.
“Great wins by Landen and Elias against Grand Rapids’ two ranked kids,” Geiser said. “First time either one of them has beaten someone that highly ranked.”
The Prowlers got one more win in the opening dual as Johnson pinned Jack Wolf.
The Prowlers faced the Rebels in the nightcap with the number one seed in the west half of Section 8AA on the line.
Kayleb Kosen gave the Rebels a quick 6-0 lead with a win by fall over Kaiden Nelson at 107.
The Prowlers answered with a win by fall from Davis over Jacob Schmitz at 114.
The Rebels regained the lead with wins by Sam Schmitz over Thomas Eidsmoe by 13-3 major decision, but the Prowlers again answered and took an 11-10 lead with an 18-0 technical fall win by Brian Berg over Dawson Hoban.
The Rebels won three matches in a row to take a 22-11 lead. Jacob Luebke pinned Damian Kazmierczak at 133. Zander Deutsch defeated Ian Jacobson 11-8 at 139, and Ben Thureen defeated Tristan Hruby by 7-1 decision at 145.
The Prowlers started their rally at 152 pounds, with Motta defeating Cooper Friend by 17-0 technical fall. At 160, Larson defeated Alex Anderson by 15-7) major decision. At 172, Brennen Johnson pinned Caden Larson to give the Prowlers a 26-22 lead; and at 189, Hunter Miller defeated Dawson Johnson 11-5 to give the Prowlers a 29-22 lead.
The Rebels needed to win the final two matches and get bonus points in at least one of them to win the dual. They ended up getting bonus points in both, as Caleb Johnson pinned Jaydin Lee at 215 and Roy Rude pinned Chandler Pream to close out the 34-29 win.
Grand Rapids 49,
Thief River Falls 18
107: Dalton Hutchinson (GRRA) over Kaiden Nelson (TRF) (MD 18-5); 114: Lincoln Davis (TRF) over Benjamin Masheimer (GRRA) (Fall 4:12); 121: Joey Seeley (GRRA) over Thomas Eidsmoe (TRF) (Fall 1:18); 127: Asher Brenden (GRRA) over Brian Berg (TRF) (Fall 6:48); 133: Kadin Martin (GRRA) over Damian Kazmierczak (TRF) (TF 16-0 0:00); 139: Christian Jelle (GRRA) over Ian Jacobson (TRF) (TF 20-5 0:00); 145: Jake Freed (GRRA) over Tristan Hruby (TRF) (Fall 5:43); 152: Elias Motta (TRF) over Warren Ritter (GRRA) (Dec 15-12);160: Landen Larson (TRF) over Tanner Morlan (GRRA) (Dec 10-8); 172: Brennen Johnson (TRF) over Jack Wolf (GRRA) (Fall 3:42); 189: Destan Skelly (GRRA) over Hunter Miller (TRF) (TF 21-5 0:00); 215: Jaxon Thompson (GRRA) over Chandler Pream (TRF) (Fall 1:47); 285: Clayton Danielson (GRRA) over Joey Bruggeman (TRF) (Fall 1:37).
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 34,
Thief River Falls 29
107: Kayleb Kosen (DGF) over Kaiden Nelson (TRF) (Fall 0:29); 114: Lincoln Davis (TRF) over Jacob Schmitz (DGF) (Fall 1:39); 121: Sam Schmitz (DGF) over Thomas Eidsmoe (TRF) (MD 13-3); 127: Brian Berg (TRF) over Dawson Hoban (DGF) (TF 18-0 3:19); 133: Jacob Luebke (DGF) over Damian Kazmierczak (TRF) (Fall 1:33); 139: Zander Deutsch (DGF) over Ian Jacobson (TRF) (Dec 11-8); 145: Ben Thureen (DGF) over Tristan Hruby (TRF) (Dec 7-1); 152: Elias Motta (TRF) over Cooper Friend (DGF) (TF 17-0 3:00); 160: Landen Larson (TRF) over Alex Anderson (DGF) (MD 15-7); 172: Brennen Johnson (TRF) over Caden Larson (DGF) (Fall 2:25); 189: Hunter Miller (TRF) over Dawson Johnson (DGF) (Dec 11-5); 215: Caleb Johnson (DGF) over Jaydin Lee (TRF) (Fall 0:27); 285: Roy Rude (DGF) over Chandler Pream (TRF) (Fall 0:55)