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B.E. Area bridges gap between state bids

The last time the Blue Earth Area wrestling program qualified for the team portion of the Minnesota State High School League’s state meet, current Bucs’ assistant coach and former prep standout Tim Blagg was not even in the gymnasium.

“Do I remember the day when we won the section championship back in 2002?” Blagg mused after Nick Frank’s 7-0 victory at 182 pounds clinched Blue Earth Area’s eventual 39-23 victory over defending Section 2 champion Kenyon- Wanamingo last Saturday in St. Clair. “I know the exact date by heart — Feb. 15, my daughter Sydney’s birthday.”

Ironically, the Bucs ended their perennial nemesis’ state-qualifying team streak at four in a row exactly 18 years to the day. Blue Earth Area then went on to capture its second consecutive Class AA state wrestling team championship in 2002 on the strength of three individual state gold medalists in Jared Evans (119), Jeff Pfaffinger (125) and Travis Krinkie (160).

“I was sitting in the Albert Lea hospital waiting for my wife to give birth to Sydney and I was getting a little anxious due to the combination of becoming a father and not knowing what was happening at the sectional (team) meet,” Blagg said with a grin. “A nurse found me an old transistor radio so I could listen to Dick Maher do play-by-play for KBEW, and it was crackling and breaking up. Even though it was only 18 years ago, we didn’t have the convenience of listening to the broadcast on your cell phone like now.”

Sydney Blagg, a current senior sports standout at BEA, arrived at 5:30 p.m. on the day the Bucs clinched the sectional team crown, and her father had reason for celebrating twice.

Fast forward to Thursday, and Tim Blagg, along with the Bucs’ current coaching staff — head coach Randy Wirtjes and assistants Dave Pfaffinger, Daniel Eckhardt and Jake Lee — will step onto the Xcel Energy Center’s mats at 9 a.m. when the No. 5-ranked and No. 4-seeded Buc grapplers lock up against the No. 5-seeded Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/ Southland Bulldogs in the Class A state team quarterfinals.

“When you draw that 4-5 seed quarterfinal, it’s a real toss-up because the two teams are usually so close record-wise,” said Wirtjes, who’s in his 19th season at BEA’s wrestling helm. “If we can get over that first hurdle against GMLOS, that means we’ve got a chance to accomplish our goal of placing at state and earning a medal.”

The senior quintet of Davis Sunken (120), Jaxen Klinkner (138), twin siblings Jacob Beeler (126) and Caleb Beeler (132) and Koby Nagel (145) had combined for 116 victories prior to the section individual meet and will look to add three more winning decisions apiece during the day-long team portion of the state meet on Thursday.

Junior Max Ehrich (No. 3 at 160) — along with Sunken (No. 7 at 120) and Klinkner (No. 7 at 145) — represent the Bucs’ three ranked grapplers, while the GMLOS Bulldogs have four wrestlers listed in the Guillotine’s ratings — No. 3-ranked 106-pounder Anthony Romero, No. 7-ranked 152-pounder Christian Jacobsen, No. 6-ranked 160-pounder Daniel Smith and No. 7-ranked 170-pounder Noah Sayles.

“It’s nice to be recognized, but in reality, the rankings help pique the fans’ interest, but they don’t help you score on the mat,” said Wirtjes. “I know some information about them (the Bulldogs), but we’re just going to stick to our philosophy of everyone doing their jobs, earning bonus points, preventing bonus points and working hard for the entire six minutes each time out.”

Eighth-grader Caleb Langager (106), freshman Carson Sturtz (113), junior Ty Peterson (113), freshman Parker Meyers (145), sophomore Adam Schavey (152), eighth-grader Kade Gaydon (160), junior Cole Warmka (170), sophomore Kean Hicks (170), junior Nick Frank (182), sophomore Kale Frank (182), junior Luke Mertens (195), sophomore Nick Lawrence (220) and junior heavyweight Ian Cornelio round out the Bucs’ versatile roster.

The Bucs are making their sixth state appearance, earning runner-up honors in 1998 to complement state championships in 2001 and 2002, while GMLOS merited its first state team bid as the Bulldogs.

The winner between the Bucs and Bulldogs advances to tie up with either the defending state champion, No. 1-ranked and No. 1-seeded Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville Wolves or Badger/Greenbush-Middle River in Thursday’s 1 p.m. championship semifinal. The Class A consolation semifinals are set for 11 a.m.

In the other half of the Class A state team bracket, No. 2-ranked and No. 2-seeded Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City locks up with No. 8-ranked Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie, while No. 5-ranked and No. 3-seeded Tracy-Milroy-Balaton/ Westbrook-Walnut Grove battles Royalton/Upsala.

Both quarterfinal matches start at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center.

“It’s been a long dry spell, so it’s a big relief to finally get back to state,” said Wirtjes. “Now we have to wrestle hard on the mat, but I really want the guys to take some time to soak in the entire atmosphere of the tournament, enjoy it and give themselves something to fondly look back on down the line.”

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