Photo by Jake McNeill: Minneota’s Carson Javers celebrates a heavyweight victory to clinch the Vikings’ dual win over Marshall on Tuesday in Marshall.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall’s Lincoln Christenson wrestles a Morris Area opponent during a triangular in Marshall on Tuesday.

“I thought we were aggressive and took the fight to them a little bit,” Minneota head coach Matt Myrvik said, adding that he felt that some matches didn’t go as he expected, though Marshall would probably feel the same way. “I don’t think our guys gave up, and they wrestled through a lot of things. We’re just getting back to full strength. We’ve still got a little ways to go to get the full strength coming off football, but I think we’re going in the right direction.”

Minneota’s dual against Marshall came down to the final pair of matches with the score locked at 25 points apiece.

Cael Fier gave the Vikings the edge in 215 against Tyler Kraft. With six seconds left in the first period, Fier got a takedown to get on the scoreboard. While Kraft came up with an escape to get on the scoreboard, he wasn’t able to mount a comeback as Fier walked away with a 9-1 major decision to give the Vikings a 4-point cushion heading into the heavyweight match.

The Tigers needed a technical fall or a pin heading into the final match to claim the win, but Carson Javers put a stop to that. In his first season as a wrestler for the Vikings, Javers rose up under the pressure, getting a takedown at the end of the first period, holding Felix Kelsey off in the second before ending the dual with a pin to stamp out the Minneota win.

“Carson’s done a lot of nice things for us… He doesn’t have a lot of matches under his belt, but he’s strong and he had wrestled when he was younger,” Myrvik said. “He’s quick, he’s got good shots and he’s just kind of learning the positions and different weight classes, between 215 and 285, and how to wrestle them. So he’s done a good job with how he’s handled it and we’ll continue to move our guys around a little bit and see the right lineups for each team.”

Minneota got off to a hot start against Marshall by claiming each of the first three matches of the dual. In 107, Danielson got an early takedown and a 4-point near-fall at the end of the first period against McCoy Marthaler. The two wrestlers were locked in a stalemate for the second period, but Danielson continued to bolster his lead to the tune of an 11-3 major decision.

In 114, Hunter Danielson picked up takedown after takedown against Patric Thaw before eventually getting the pin in the second period.

Nolan VanKeulen brought the Vikings’ lead up to 13-0 with a 9-6 decision over Andrew Yang in 121. Both wrestlers came out aggressive, though it wasn’t until a takedown at the buzzer that VanKeulen got a takedown to close out the first period.

Yang wasn’t ready to give up, eventually taking the lead with a takedown with 43 seconds left in the second to give Marshall its first edge of the dual. Still, a VanKeulen escape tied the match back up and a near-fall gave VanKeulen the margin he needed to claim the decision.

Trailing 22-13, Noah Frazee injected some hope for a Tiger win. Taking on Brycen Myhre in 160, Frazee took a 6-1 lead after the first and built it up to 15-4 before finishing off the win with a pin at 5:15.

Mason Javers earned an 8-6 decision over Tyson Louwagie in 172, extending the Vikings’ edge to 6 points, but Brayden Chandler again answered the call for Marshall in 189 against Sam Myhre. Chandler got an early takedown and never lost control of the match from there, eventually getting the pin to tie up the dual at 25 points apiece heading into the final two matches.

“We talk a lot about… what can you control? Obviously, you’re there for your teammates through the highs and lows, pick them up whether it’s a big win or a close loss,” Marshall head coach Ethan Hoppe said of his team escaping the early deficit. “If your teammate loses, there’s nothing you can personally do about that. Control what you can control, don’t let the situation or moment get too big for you, just focus on what you need to focus on. Don’t worry about, necessarily, the score, just worry about the competition and go out there and put your best foot forward.”

Lincoln Christenson and Keynan Coequyt gave Marshall its first points of the dual with consecutive technical falls. In 127, Christenson dominated the first period to the tune of a 10-3 score and kept rolling through the second and third, claiming the 20-4 win. In 133, Coequyt also rolled to victory by a final margin of 18-4.

Levi Kraft tied up the dual when he took on Quinton Anderson in 139. Anderson got on the scoreboard first in the second period with a reversal and maintained that lead until the final minute of the third period. Yet, Kraft came up with a takedown with 30 seconds remaining to flip the scoreboard, and held on from there for a 3-2 decision to tie up the dual at 13-13.

“Levi’s a kid that’s definitely made strides over the years, and especially this year,” Hoppe said. “At the beginning of the year, he’s a kid that used to have a job on the team as the young guy to go out there and try to save the team some points. Now we’ve got to make that transition and we’ve got to take that curve to win some matches against some top guys. When you’re wrestling a team like Minneota, you know they’ve got a good program and good individuals, so to get a win like that out of him… just shows that he’s ready to make that next step and is in the process of making that step.”

Blake Mead pinned Colton Chandler in 5:55 to give the Vikings their lead back and Adam DeVlaeminck earned an 8-4 decision over Dawson DeCamp in 152 to give Minneota a 9-point cushion.

“Good teams seek out other good competition. When you’re wrestling a competitive team like Minneota, you’ve got to be able to finish your technique,” Hoppe said. “You’re not going to get by with sloppy technique … It’s great at this time of year to get out there and see that level of competition and know that you’re right there. It’s a great dual, win or lose … Obviously, you want to come away with a win, but just to gain some confidence in yourself and your team and know that, ‘Hey, we’re there with the best of them, just need to keep competing.'”

The Tigers got a series of quick pins on the day against MAHACA. It took Marthaler just seconds to get a takedown and pin in his 107 match to open the triangular, and Keynan Coequyt kept the trend going by building a 7-0 lead in 133 before claiming a pin less than a minute into the action.

DeCamp and Brayden Chandler also earned expeditious wins by fall in 152 and 189, respectively, with Chandler showing good footwork to keep his opponent inside the circle as he won by a pin on the perimeter.

Kelsey had to work for his pin against Isaac Persing in the heavyweight division. Kelsey came up with a pin in the closing seconds of the first period and added another in the second to head into the final frame with a 10-1 lead.

Persing picked up a takedown in the third to get on the scoreboard, but Kelsey responded with a reversal and took advantage of the position with a pin with 1:20 remaining to finish off the dual.

While shy of the pin, Christenson dominated every second of his 127-pound match. He got a pair of takedowns and 4-point near-falls to build up a 14-1 lead within the first 30 seconds of the match. He didn’t remain in the match much longer, earning the 17-2 technical fall in 51 seconds.

Louwagie, Frazee and Tyler Kraft won by forfeit in 160, 172 and 215, respectively, to earn another 18 points for Marshall against MAHACA.

Morris Area earned its lone points of the dual in 121. Yang built up an early lead with a pair of takedowns and held an 11-5 advantage in the third period. Yet, Will Haugen came up with a late takedown and a near-fall at the buzzer gave Haugen the 12-11 decision.

Levi Kraft earned a 16-0 technical fall win in 139 against MAHACA while Chandler dominated his 145 match to pick up a 17-1 technical fall.

Up next

Marshall and Minneota both return to competition on Friday and Saturday at the Redwood River Riot, a tournament chock-full of top teams from the area. The tournament will start on Friday at 4 p.m., with Saturday’s matches starting at 9 a.m.

BOX SCORES

Minneota 35,

Marshall 25

107: Heydan Danielson (MIN) def. McCoy Marthaler (MAR) MD 11-3. 114: Hunter Danielson (MIN) def. Patric Thaw (MAR) Fall 3:17. 121: Nolan VanKeulen (MIN) def. Andrew Yang (MAR) Dec. 9-6. 127: Lincoln Christenson (MAR) def. Landon Pohlen (MIN) TF 20-4 4:26. 133: Keynan Coequyt (MAR) def. Eli Faris (MIN) TF 20-4 0:55. 139: Levi Kraft (MAR) def. Quinton Anderson (MIN) Dec. 3-2. 145: Blake Mead (MIN) def. Colton Chandler (MAR) Fall 5:55. 152: Adam DeVlaeminck (MIN) def. Dawson DeCamp (MAR) Dec. 8-4. 160: Noah Frazee (MAR) def. Brycen Myhre (MIN) Fall 3:13. 172: Mason Javers (MIN) def. Tyson Louwagie (MAR) Dec. 8-6. 215: Cael Fier (MIN) def. Tyler Kraft (MAR) MD 9-1. 285: Carson Javers (MIN) def. Felix Kelsey (MAR) Fall 2:43.

Marshall 66,

MAHACA 3

107: McCoy Marthaler (MAR) def. Weston Yanez (MAHA) Fall 0:19. 114: Patric Thaw (MAR) def. Jaxon Seggerman (MAHA) Dec. 17-13. 121: Will Haugen (MAHA) def. Andrew Yang (MAR) Dec. 12-11. 127: Lincoln Christenson (MAR) def. Beau Haugen (MAHA) TF 17-2 1:24. 133: Keynan Coequyt (MAR) def. Logan Harpstead (MAHA) Fall 0:39. 139: Levi Kraft (MAR) def. Brenden Hughes (MAHA) TF 16-0 7:25. 145: Colton Chandler (MAR) def. Xavier Kleindl (MAHA) TF 17-1 4:43. 152: Dawson DeCamp (MAR) def. Logan Gramith (MAHA) Fall 0:13. 160: Tyson Louwagie (MAR) win by forfeit. 172: Noah Frazee (MAR) win by forfeit. 189: Brayden Chandler (MAR) def. Connor Duncan (MAHA) Fall 0:19. 215: Tyler Kraft (MAR) win by forfeit. 285: Felix Kelsey (MAR) def. Isaac Persing (MAHA) Fall 5:36.

Minneota 60,

MAHACA 4

107: Lincoln Schuelke (MIN) def. Zachary Huebner (MAHA) Dec. 10-4. 114: Derek Fier (MIN) def. Jaxon Seggerman (MAHA) Dec. 13-6. 121: Nolan VanKeulen (MIN) def. Will Haugen (MAHA) Dec. 5-0. 127: Beau Haugen (MAHA) def. Landon Pohlen (MIN) MD 18-5. 133: Quinton Anderson (MIN) def. Logan Harpstead (MAHA) Fall 1:35. 139: Eli Faris (MIN) def. Brendan Hughes (MAHA) Fall 2:29.

145: Owen Myrvik (MIN) def. Xavier Kleindl (MAHA) MD 12-0. 152: Brycen Myhre (MIN) def. Casey Raths (MAHA) Fall 1:03. 160: Colton Bitker (MIN) def. Logan Gramith (MAHA) TF 18-0. 172: Sam Myhre (MIN) win by forfeit. 189: Randy Sorensen (MIN) def. Connor Duncan (MAHA) Fall 0:35. 215: Cael Fier (MIN) win by forfeit. 285: Carson Javers (MIN) def. Juan Cid (MAHA) Fall 0:48.