LOCKING UP — Martin County Red Bulls’ 133-pounder Torrey Paplow (left) matches up against Zumbrota-Mazeppa’s Jack Krier during the opening round of the Class AA individual state wrestling meet Friday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Paplow went on to lose a 6-3 decision to Krier, but rebounded to earn a fall in the consolation bracket on Friday night to remain alive in today’s wrestlebacks. (Photo by Ari Selvey/New Ulm Journal)

ST. PAUL — Torrey Paplow’s seemingly bottomless stamina paid dividends during the Class AA individual state wrestling consolation round at the Xcel Energy Center on Friday night.

The Martin County Red Bulls’ No. 6-ranked 133-pound sophomore sensation rallied for a second-period takedown and eventual fall in 2:16 over Totino-Grace junior Austin Herbst to gain today’s 9 a.m. wrestlebacks back in St. Paul.

Paplow (37-5) will square off against a familiar foe in No. 2-ranked and No. 2-seeded Vance Barz (41-7) of Sauk Rapids-Rice in a consolation quarterfinal. Paplow edged Barz for the bronze medal during the River Riots holiday tournament earlier this season.

“He’s got a motor that just doesn’t quit,” Red Bulls head coach Adam Williamson said in reference to the ever-ready Paplow. “Opponents can’t take for granted the match is over, even if they’re ahead of him due to the fact that he doesn’t seem to tire.”

Paplow actually trailed Herbst by a 2-1 margin during the 1-minute first consolation period before recording an escape and takedown to open the second segment with a 4-2 lead. Paplow allowed an escape before taking Herbst down again for the pin.

Paplow kicked off his state individual debut Friday morning, losing a hard-fought 6-3 decision to No. 3-ranked Jack Krier of Zumbrota-Mazeppa.

Red Bulls teammate Pierce Rohman also lost his first match of the Class AA state meet, dropping a 14-1 major decision to No. 1-seeded 121-pounder Titan Friederichs (50-0) of Watertown Mayer/Mayer Lutheran.

Rohman (39-6), however, exited the postseason tournament when Simley freshman Aiden Mincey used a late offensive attack to post a 4-1 win.

After scoreless first and second periods in their consolation clash, Rohman opened the third frame with an escape before Mincey notched a takedown with time winding down. Mincey (25-13) received two near-fall points to stay alive in the wrestlebacks.

In Class A state individual action on Friday, Blue Earth Area senior Cooper Peterson jumped out to an early 2-0 first-period lead in his 139-pound preliminary clash before Pipestone Area opponent Hudson Burnett (32-5) rallied during the second frame to gain the quarterfinals.

Burnett posted three takedowns during the second segment to pace an eventual 7-5 winning decision over Peterson (21-19).

Kimball Area’s Mark Schiefelbein (36-10) then recorded a fall in 2:26 over Peterson during the consolation round to end the Buc senior’s season.

Blue Earth Area senior Kade Gaydon and Jackson County Central senior Seth Stai went in opposite directions during the Class A 172-pound preliminaries on Friday at the Xcel Energy Center.

No. 2-ranked and second-seeded Landon Lehnertz of Dover-Eyota coasted to a 16-1 technical fall over Gaydon in 3:58, while Stai doubled his winning margin — 6-3 — over Bertha-Hewitt Area’s Brody Nachbor in first-round action.

Stai held a 2-1 first-period margin over Nachbor, clung to a 4-3 edge after two frames and netted an escape and a stalling point to cap a 6-3 win to earn a spot in the state quarterfinals.

No. 1-ranked Maximus Hanson (49-0) of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa then pinned Stai in 1:41 during their quarterfinal clash to drop the Jackson County Central senior into the wrestlebacks. Chatfield’s Ben Carrier closed out Stai’s season by earning a 5-0 decision in the consolation opener.

Gaydon (28-13) squared off against Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg junior Aaron Jones during their 172-pound consolation match, with Jones edging the Buc standout by a 5-4 decision.

Jackson County Central teammates Nolan Ambrose (145), Kyler Thier (107) and Kayden Eller (114) all earned spots in today’s Class A individual state championship semifinal matches at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Ambrose, who’s seeking his fourth Minnesota State High School League individual state championship, needed only 1:06 to pin Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial’s Talan Osborne in their 145-pound preliminary clash on Friday.

Ambrose, who improved his school records for single-season wins (55) and pins (40) on Day 1 of the state meet, pinned Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa’s Tanner Viessman in the quarterfinals in 1:06.

Ambrose, an Augustana University wrestling commit, faces unranked Alexander Schuh (48-5) of Tracy-Milroy-Balaton/Westbrook-Walnut Grove in today’s 145-pound semifinal. Schuh, whose family has academic and athletic roots in Fairmont, gained the next-to-last clash via a hard-fought 9-7 overtime decision over Holdingford’s William Pilarski.

No. 2-seeded Gavin Johnson (39-2) of Kenyon-Wanamingo edged Canby’s Sam Drietz by a 2-1 quarterfinal win to earn a spot in the other Class A state semifinal against No. 3-seeded Bailey Peichel of Frazee.

Thier and Eller rattled off consecutive wins at 107 and 114, respectively — to gain the quarterfinals.

Thier required just 1:09 to flatten Kimball Area’s Karson Schmidt in their opener, while Eller advanced to the next round by compiling a 5-2 decision over Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville’s Hunter Katterhagen.

The No. 6-ranked Thier (38-8) then pinned Kenyon-Wanamingo’s Bryan Jacobson in 5:53 in their quarterfinal. Thier will faced No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Gage Bjerga (48-1) in today’s semifinal.

Eller (45-8) will clash with No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Javier Berg of Chatfield in today’s 114-pound semifinal, while No. 2-ranked Miklo Hernandez (40-2) of Pipestone Area battles No. 6-ranked Ryan Lacanne (34-14) of Kenyon-Wanamingo.