MEET-CLINCHING FALL — Blue Earth Area heavyweight Luke Mertens (right) looks to the Buc wrestling fans after pinning Medford’s Gavin Hermes for the winning points during Wednesday night’s Section 2A Team semifinal in Blue Earth. (Photo by Greg Abel)

BLUE EARTH — “Everybody on the team has a job to do, and I just wanted to do mine tonight,” Blue Earth Area heavyweight wrestler Luke Mertens said after recording the Section 2A Team semifinal’s meet-clinching points Wednesday night.

With the No. 2-seeded Bucs and No. 3-seeded Medford Tigers knotted at 27-all, the odds were stacked against the unranked and undersized Mertens heading into the 14th and decisive match in Blue Earth.

“Luke gave away about 30 pounds to his opponent (No. 6-ranked 285-pounder Gavin Hermes), but he knew what he had to do in order for us to win and advance as a team,” said Blue Earth Area head coach Randy Wirtjes.

Mertens, who’s headed to play football for the University of Wisconsin-Stout in the upcoming fall, utilized a takedown technique similar to his blocking skills on the gridiron to power Hermes to the canvas with a minute remaining in the opening 2-minute period for a 2-0 lead.

Mertens pressed Hermes’ shoulders to the mat 55 seconds later to propel the Bucs into the Section 2A championship meet with the 33-27 team triumph.

“I just did my job, but every guy in our lineup contributed to the overall win,” said Mertens.

No. 2-seeded Blue Earth Area squares off against the Class A No. 12-ranked and No. 1-seeded Kenyon-Wanamingo Knights at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. James Area High School. The Knights eliminated No. 4-seeded Maple River in their sectional team semifinal by a 60-20 decision to advance.

In a new twist to the pandemic-modified state tournament format, the Section 2 team champion will actually face the Section 3 winner in the Class A state quarterfinals in Saturday’s second round in St. James. The Section 3A team quarterfinals and semifinals will take place tonight in Jackson.

“It was (assistant coach) Dan Eckhardt’s idea to put (Timmy) Nagel at 106 pounds and then shift the next four guys up a weight, and the strategy paid dividends,” said Wirtjes. “Some of our guys got beat, but they did their job for the team by not giving up hardly any bonus points.”

After No. 3-ranked Tommy Elwood of Medford pinned Nagel in 43 seconds at 106, Cooper Peterson and Caleb Langager delivered back-to-back wins to even the team score at 6-all for Blue Earth Area. Peterson posted a 5-1 win over Evan Schweisthal at 113 before Langager shut out Jack Meyer via a 4-0 decision at 120.

Carson Sturtz then prevented No. 2-ranked 120-pounder Alex Helgeson of the Tigers from netting more than the minimum three team points in a 5-3 loss at 126.

“It’s the little contributions as well as the big that win team meets, like Carson’s effort tonight,” said Wirtjes.

After Derek Bartosch’s 18-6 major decision over Blair Lunz swung a 13-6 lead to the Tigers, Buc 138-pounder Ty Peterson needed just 45 seconds to whittle the home team’s deficit to one with a fall over Kael Neumann.

No. 1-ranked 145-pounder Charley Elwood and Garron Hoffman then combined for eight team points on the strength of a 16-0 technical fall over Gabe Smith and a 7-1 decision over Parker Meyers, respectively, to stake Medford to a 21-12 lead.

No. 2-ranked 170-pounder Max Ehrich quickly added six points to the Bucs’ ledger with a 43-second fall over Dillon Bartosch at 160 before BEA teammate Kean Hicks tied the meet at 21-all with a 9-5 win over Tate Hermes at 170.

Medford’s No. 7-ranked 170-pounder Josiah Hedensten countered with a 9-4 decision over Adam Schavey at 182 before No. 10-ranked 195-pounder Nick Frank’s fall in 1:32 over Dylan Heiderscheidt gave BEA its first lead of the dual at 27-24.

Brennon Hoffman downed Logan Johnson, 5-1, at 220 to even the score one last time, leaving the final outcome up to Mertens and Gavin Hermes at 285.

Section 2A Team Meet

Semifinals in Blue Earth

B.E. Area 33, Medford 27

106 pounds: Tommy Elwood (MED) pinned Timmy Nagel, 0:43.

113: Cooper Peterson (BEA) dec. Evan Schweisthal, 5-1.

120: Caleb Langager (BEA) dec. Jack Meyer, 4-0.

126: Alex Helgeson (MED) dec. Carson Sturtz, 5-3.

132: Derek Bartosch (MED) major dec. Blair Lunz, 18-6.

138: Ty Peterson (BEA) pinned Kael Neumann, 0:45.

145: Charley Elwood (MED) tech. fall Gabe Smith, 16-0.

152: Garron Hoffman (MED) dec. Parker Meyers, 7-1.

160: Max Ehrich (BEA) pinned Dillon Bartosch, 0:43.

170: Kean Hicks (BEA) dec. Tate Hermes, 9-5.

182: Josiah Hedensten (MED) dec. Adam Schavey, 9-4.

195: Nick Frank (BEA) pinned Dylan Heiderscheidt, 1:32.

220: Brennon Hoffman (MED) dec. Logan Johnson, 5-1.

285: Luke Mertens (BEA) pinned Gavin Hermes, 1:55.