“We really stuck with it the whole match,” Marshall senior Tyson Louwagie said. “We never stopped fighting. Even the guys that lost their matches, they were fighting the whole time. The guys that did win, they got bonus points when we needed it.” 

United senior Kameron Sather also made it a memorable night by earning his 200th career win by pin in the 152 match. 

Marshall started the night with immediate momentum with back-to-back pins by Patric Thaw and No. 2 Lincoln Christenson in two of the Tigers’ first three matches, in the 121 and 127, respectively. 

Noah Frazee, Louwagie, Tyler Kraft and Felix Kelsey each won by pins as well. 

Marshall’s Tyler Kraft (top) wrestles with United’s Josh Kranz in the 215 match on Thursday.

“We say that there’s something we can take away from every single match and from every single dual. What’s something that was positive? What’s something that we can work on?,” Marshall head coach Ethan Hoppe said regarding how the team carries over momentum. “We emphasize ‘Team’ a lot. Wrestling for the team, saving points for the team, getting bonus points for the team, knowing what your role is on any given night. You try to keep that momentum going, especially at this point in the season.” 

That momentum carried on throughout the rest of the night, including a thrilling sudden victory in the 145 by Dawson DeCamp over United’s Ben Gunlogson, who ranks No. 2 in Class AA. 

Celebrating the seniors 

Marshall took time to honor its four senior wrestlers in Christenson, DeCamp, Louwagie and Eh Kwor. 

“They [the seniors] have been a group of kids who have been around for a long time, and are in a lot of youth pictures and middle school pictures. Now to see them be seniors and having fun still all this year, and that grind of a physical sport, it’s awesome,” Hoppe said. “It’s fun to watch them grow, and we’re going to miss them like crazy next year. It’s a fun group.”  

Marshall’s Felix Kelsey begins to take on United’s Gabe Lowry in the heavyweight match on Thursday.

The senior group played pivotal roles in helping lead the Tigers last year to the program’s second-ever state tournament berth as a team after winning the Section 3AA championship, as they look to do just the same again this season. The previous team prior to last year to make it to state was in 2019. 

In a prematch ceremony to recognize the seniors, all four said their favorite wrestling memory was making it to state last season as a team. 

“It’s really been just a great ending to the senior year, and to end off the season especially on a good team with a good win. Just all season, we have just been building up towards this, I feel like. It’s like a storybook ending,” Louwagie said. “I feel like we’re definitely trending in the right direction, and I think that we’re getting better each day. We have a good shot [of going on another deep postseaon run].” 

Marshall also honored its pair of seniors on the girls team in Traeh Siekmann and Madison Yang, who have also played an important leadership role. Yang serves as a team manager. 

Battling with United 

Marshall’s Tyson Louwagie (top) works to take down United’s Bentleigh Bothun in the 172-match.

DeCamp’s 8-5 overtime win was a highlight for Marshall, which got the bench and home crowd erupting in cheers as he completed the comeback. 

Gunlogson has been consistently dominant this season in the 145, ranked only behind Simley’s Jake Ko.  

The two remained scoreless after the first period before Gunlogson took a 2-1 edge in the second with a reversal. 

DeCamp had a trio of escapes throughout the entire match, two coming in the second period, and eventually sealed his win with a final takedown with 0:16 seconds remaining, which put Marshall ahead 22-8. 

“Ben is a great wrestler and a great competitor … Every time those two wrestle, there’s fireworks to some degree. We just told Dawson, ‘You know you can compete with him. You know you compete with this level of guys, [you have] done this all year long. Go out and give yourself a chance, and don’t stop attacking.’ To see him get a big win like that is super fun for Dawson. Super proud of him.” 

Marshall's Keynan Coequyt (top) wrestles Gavin Mortenson in the 133 match.

Sather got United back on the board with a pin over Cole Condezo in the first period, to cut into a 22-14 deficit and reach his milestone. 

Yet, that’s when the Tigers caught fire and pins became contagious as Frazee got Marshall’s rally started in the 160. 

Frazee pinned Christian Nohrenberg in the second period, just as Louwagie gave Marshall 6 more points directly after with a fall over Bentleigh Bothun. 

Louwagie, ranked No. 9, took a quick 5-0 lead after the first period with the help of a takedown, and kept control with another two in each the second and third before finishing with a pin with less than 30 seconds left. 

After No. 3 Brayden Chandler’s major decision win to give the Tigers a 38-14 lead, Kraft and Kelsey came in to grab two more pins back-to-back in the second period to end the night with a statement. 

Marshall's Noah Frazee (top) takes on Christian Nohrenberg Thursday night.

United’s Eli Olson gave United its first points of the night in the 114 with a technical fall over Andrew Yang, following Marshall’s McCoy Marthaler’s opening win to begin the night. 

Coming up next 

Marshall improves to 18-3 on the season, and will next return to the mat to compete in a triangular next Friday at Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted High School at 5 p.m.

BOX SCORE

107: McCoy Marthaler (MAR) def. Griffin Johnson (DBU) Dec. 5-2. 114: Eli Olson (DBU) def. Andrew Yang (MAR) TF 20-4 4:00. 121: Patric Thaw (MAR) def. Collin Rosendahl (DBU) Fall 1:07. 127: Lincoln Christenson (MAR) def. Brayden Tjaden (DBU) Fall 1:17. 133: Keynan Coequyt (MAR) def. Gavin Mortenson (DBU) MD 10-0. 139: Holland Schacherer (DBU) def. Colton Chandler (MAR) Dec. 7-0. 145: Dawson DeCamp (MAR) def. Benjamin Gunlogson (DBU) SV 8-5. 152: Kameron Sather (DBU) def. Cole Condezo (MAR) Fall 1:51. 160: Noah Frazee (MAR) def. Christian Nohrenberg (DBU) Fall 3:23. 172: Tyson Louwagie (MAR) def. Bentleigh Bothun (DBU) Fall 5:37. 189: Brayden Chandler (MAR) def. Bryan Rhode (DBU) MD 13-4. 215: Tyler Kraft (MAR) def. Josh Kranz (DBU) Fall 2:36. 285: Felix Kelsey (MAR) def. Gabe Lowry (DBU) Fall 3:03.