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B.E. Area wrestlers pin way into 2A team semifinals

BLUE EARTH — The Class A No. 6-ranked Blue Earth Area Bucs wrestlers demonstrated perfect pinning combinations to nearly produce a perfect dual-meet shutout Thursday night.

No. 1-seeded Blue Earth Area recorded 10 falls, received two forfeits and one injury default, and netted one major decision to bury the No. 9-seeded Waterville-Elysian-Morristown/Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton Grizzlies under an 82-0 canvas landslide during the Section 2A team quarterfinals in Blue Earth.

Blue Earth Area (20-5) advances to face No. 4-seeded Medford in Saturday’s 2 p.m. sectional team semifinals in St. Clair. The Tigers clawed the No. 5-seeded New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Panthers, 53-9.

Defending sectional champion and No. 3-seeded Kenyon-Wanamingo squares off against No. 2-seeded Maple River in Saturday’s other 2 p.m. sectional semifinal team dual meet in St. Clair. Class A No. 12-ranked Kenyon-Wanamingo defeated No. 6-seeded Westfield by a 47-23 quarterfinal decision, while Maple River bested No. 7-seeded United South Central by a 58-24 score.

USC eliminated No. 10-seeded St. Clair/Mankato Loyola, 42-29, in a wrestle-in dual meet earlier Thursday, while Westfeld bested No. 11-seeded Le Sueur-Henderson, 60-15.

“Our guys came out aggressively and went after pins off the opening tie-ups,” said Blue Earth Area head coach Randy Wirtjes.

Indeed. Caleb Langager established the pinning trend for the hometown Bucs by converting a second-period reversal into a fall in 2:38 over Carson Petry during 106-pound action.

Ty Peterson then triggered a domino effect as he and his ensuing three Blue Earth Area teammates each required less than a minute to earn the slap of the canvas. In fact, seven of the Bucs’ 10 falls on the dual meet totalled only 256 seconds or 4 minutes, 16 seconds of actual action.

Peterson needed only 52 seconds to press 113-pound opponent Gavin Krause’s shoulders to the mat to double the Bucs’ team total to 12-0 before No. 4-ranked 126-pounder Davis Sunken dropped to the 120-pound bracket in the home team’s lineup.

Sunken improved on Peterson’s pinning time by 4 seconds to defeat Lucas Morsching in adding six more points to the Bucs’ team tally.

Jacob Beeler and twin brother Caleb Beeler then stepped into the circle in back-to-back fashion and combined to require less than a full minute to generate 12 more team points.

Jacob Beeler notched the quickest fall of the sectional dual meet by downing Patrick Adams in a mere 22 seconds at 126-pound action before Caleb Beeler needed only 10 more seconds than his twin to produce a pin. Caleb Beeler needed 32 seconds to down Jeramia Hale at the 132-pound spot to widen Blue Earth Area’s team lead to 30-0.

No. 6-ranked 145-pounder Jaxen Klinkner dropped to the 138-pound position in the lineup and needed only 1:14 to dispose of Tucker Rients via a fall.

Koby Nagel built a 9-1 lead over the Grizzlies’ Kurtis Crosby after one complete period at 145 before Crosby exited via an injury default. Crosby suffered the injury originally in the Grizzlies’ 36-34 wrestle-in victory over No. 8-seeded Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial Area earlier Thursday night in Blue Earth.

Adam Schavey built a 7-0 lead over Jack Cahill during 152-pound action before pinning his WEM/JWP opponent in 2:54 to extend the Bucs’ lead to 48-0.

No. 4-ranked 160-pounder Max Ehrich received a forfeit at 160 for Blue Earth Area before Kean Hicks just missed earning a technical fall at 170. Hicks posted a 19-6 major decision over Ted Carlson to add four more points to the home team’s shutout.

“We (coaching staff) talked with the guys about bonus points before the dual tonight, and I think they took it to heart,” said a grinning Wirtjes.

Nick Frank and Luke Mertens then combined to need just 52 seconds to generate a dozen team points from the 182- and 195-pound positions, respectively, in the Bucs’ lineup. Nick Frank pinned Keegan Kuball in 27 ticks at 182, while Mertens required only 25 seconds to best Sam Carlson at 195 for a 64-0 team margin.

Nick Lawrence received a forfeit at 220 pounds for the Bucs, while Ian Cornelio capped the home team’s dominating performance with a 50-second fall over Jacob Karsten during heavyweight action.

“I know it sounds cliche, but we’re taking each dual meet one at a time,” said Wirtjes. “This time of the year, you’d better be ready to go from the start.”

Section 2A Team Quarterfinal

Blue Earth Area 82, WEM/JWP 0

106 pounds: Caleb Langager (BEA) pinned Carson Petry, 2:38.

113: Ty Peterson (BEA) pinned Gavin Krause, 0:52.

120: Davis Sunken (BEA) pinned Lucas Morsching, 0:48.

126: Jacob Beeler (BEA) pinned Patrick Adams, 0:22.

132: Caleb Beeler (BEA) pinned Jeramia Hale, 0:32.

138: Jaxen Klinkner (BEA) pinned Tucker Rients, 1:14.

145: Koby Nagel (BEA) won by injury default over Kurtis Crosby.

152: Adam Schavey (BEA) pinned Jack Cahill, 2:54.

160: Max Ehrich (BEA) won by forfeit.

170: Kean Hicks (BEA) major dec. Ted Carlson, 19-6.

182: Nick Frank (BEA) pinned Keegan Kuball, 0:27.

195: Luke Mertens (BEA) pinned Sam Carlson, 0:25.

220: Nick Lawrence (BEA) won by forfeit.

285: Ian Cornelio (BEA) pinned Jacob Karsten, 0:50.

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