Medford wrestlers are runners-up in Minnesota Christmas gala

CHAMPLIN PARK -- The Medford Tigers just wanted to pick up some state-tournament atmosphere competition when they entered the huge Minnesota Christmas Wrestling Tournament, and hoped to maybe finish in the top quarter of 32 teams. The Tigers surprised themselves by placing second Friday and Saturday in Champlin Park, behind only Apple Valley, a nationally-ranked Class 3A team. Runner-up finishes by Greg Brendemuehl and Mitch Kuhlman, along with a third by Nick Yule, a fourth by Dusty Kavitz and a fifth by Brent Reinhard , led the Tigers. All 11 wrestlers won at least one match and 10 won at least two. They totaled 40 wins against 23 losses. Among the teams they beat were defending state Class 2A champion Blue Earth Area, which finished eighth, and North Dakota¹s No. 1-2 ranked big schools, Bismarck and Bismarck Century, who placed ninth and 11th, respectively. Apple Valley scored 220 points, Medford was a distant second at 137, and Forest Lake and Scott West tied for third at 119. Cambridge-Isanti was fifth at 150. ³We wanted to get the state tournament atmosphere,² said coach Dennis Whitman about his decision to enter the big event for the first time. ³The first round matches here are as hard as your second and third round matches, so you have to get used to wrestling tough back-to-back matches. It¹s a perfect way to get a state atmostphere.² Medford, which has gone to state the last two years but lost in the first round of Class 1A each time, is rated No. 2 behind Goodhue this year. ³We didn¹t expect to get second,² said the coach. ³We were hoping for seventh or eighth.² Kuhlman, who picked up his 150th win Thursday at Alden-Conger, won four matches and lost in the finals 4-1 to Mark Harwood of Jackson County, a duel of two defending state champions. Brendemuehl, a two-time state runner-up, won four matches and lost 12-4 to Apple Valley¹s Mike Fesser, a Missouri state champion last year. Yule won five of six matches, losing only to two-time state champion Jeff Pfaffinger of Blue Earth. The Tigers next match will be a triangular at Faribault on Jan. 4. How Tigers fared 103: Danny Simmons 2-2 112: Dusty Kavitz 4-2, pin, techfall, 4th place 119: Matt Barta 2-2 125: Greg Brendemuehl 4-1, 3 pins, 2nd place ... lost to Mike Fessler, Apple Valley, 12-4 in finals 130: Nick Yule 5-1, 2 pins, 3rd place ... lost to champion Jeff Pfaffinger, Blue Earth, in semifinals 22-7 135: Brent Yule 4-3, 8th place 140: Brent Reinhard, 5-2, 5th place 145: Mitch Kuhlman 4-1, 2 pins, 2nd place ... lost to Mark Harwood, Jackson County Central, 5-3 in finals 152: Brent Glende 1-2 160: Scott Balzer 3-3, 1 pin, 8th place 171: Steve Maas 4-2, 7th place 189: Bob Hanson 2-2 275: no entry
---Thanks to the FARIBAULT DAILY NEWS


103 Danny Simmons(10) - DNP (unseeded)
-------lost by dec 9-2 vs Ryan Adams(?) Coon Rapids (3rd Seed)
-------won by fall 0:27 vs Josh Artman(?) Waconia
-------won by dec 6-4 vs Chad Little(?) STMA
-------lost by dec 6-3 vs J. Kolander(?) JCC

112 Dustin Kavitz(10) 4th Place (seeded 5th)
-------won by dec 6-3 vs T.J. Sailor(?) Bismarck, ND
-------won by TF 6:00 15-0 vs D. Nathan(?) Rocori
-------won by fall 3:12 vs Aaron Cook(?) Waconia
-------lost by maj dec 8-0 vs Eric Sanders(11) Wabasha Kellogg (1st Seed)
-------won by dec 3-2 vs S. Anderson(?) Simley
-------lost by dec 8-5 vs Brandon Dick(?) STMA (3rd Seed)

119 Matt Barta(12) - DNP (unseeded)
-------lost by fall 3:42 vs Joey Neigum(?) Bismarck Century (3rd Seed)
-------won by maj dec 15-6 vs Kari Bible(?) Mpls Roosevelt
-------won by dec 5-2 vs J. Lhotka(?)Dassel-Cokato
-------lost by fall 2:56 vs M. Wallraff(?) Centennial

125 Greg Brendemuehl(12) 2nd Place (seeded 1st)
-------won by fall 3:53 vs E. Lavelle(?) Hastings
-------won by fall 1:14 vs C. Anderson(?) Stillwater
-------won by dec 9-5 vs J. Jensen(?) Brooklyn Center (8th Seed)
-------won by fall 3:22 vs R. Stockert(?) Bismarck, ND (5th Seed)
-------lost by maj dec 12-4 vs Mike Fessler(10) Apple Valley (3rd Seed)

130 Nick Yule(12) 3rd Place (seeded 5th)
-------won by fall 0:42 vs K. Leifeld(?) Hastings
-------won by fall 3:42 vs Joey Lee(?) Champlin Park
-------won by dec 3-2 vs Jestin Hulegaard(?) Anoka (4th Seed)
-------lost by TF 22-7 vs Jeff Pfaffinger(12) Blue Earth Area (1st Seed)
-------won by dec 5-0 vs D. Johnson(?) Cambridge-Isanti
-------won by dec 6-4 vs Jordan Isakson(?) Dassel-Cokato (2nd Seed)

135 Brent Yule(10) 8th Place (unseeded)
-------won by dec 6-2 vs S. Salmen(?) Dassel-Cokato
-------lost by maj dec 16-5 vs Ryan King(12) GMLOK (2nd seed)
-------won by dec 5-0 vs Urik Popov(?) Stillwater
-------won by dec 6-0 vs D. Boumeester(?) Scott West
-------won by injury default vs Don DePatto(?) Monticello (5th Seed)
-------lost by dec 6-1 vs Tim Zahn(?) Mpls Roosevelt
-------lost by dec 5-0 vs Jeff Kranz(?) Hastings (6th Seed)

140 Brent Reinhard(12) 5th Place (seeded 4th)
-------won by dec 9-3 vs T. Rasmussen(?) Blue Earth Area
-------won by dec 9-2 vs R. Stavn(?) Bismarck Century
-------lost by dec 10-7 vs Randy Hardman(?) Burnsville (5th Seed)
-------won by dec 5-1 vs Kyle Arndt(?) JCC
-------won by dec 6-4 vs Aaron Matheson(?) Centennial (8th Seed)
-------lost by dec 7-3 vs Mitch Bunne(12) GMLOK (3rd Seed)
-------won by dec 7-5 vs Randy Hardman(?) Burnsville (5th Seed)

145 Mitch Kuhlman(11) 2nd Place (seeded 2nd)
-------won by fall 5:58 vs Jason Kohl(?) Elk River
-------won by fall 0:55 vs A. Borkstrand(?) Burnsville
-------won by dec 3-2 vs K. Anderson(?) Simley (7th Seed)
-------won by dec 5-3 vs Q. Mahmoud(?) Champlin Park (3rd Seed)
-------lost by dec 6-4 vs Marc Harwood(12) JCC (1st Seed)

152 Brent Glende(12) - DNP (unseeded)
-------lost by maj dec 9-0 vs N. Henderson(?) Cambridge-Isanti
-------won by maj dec 13-3 vs Kevin Ham(?) Mound-Westonka
-------lost by dec 9-3 vs Kent Scheff(?) JCC

160 Scott Balzer(10) - 8th Place (unseeded)
-------won by fall 1:05 vs A.J. Prins(?) Burnsville (4th seed)
-------won by maj dec 14-5 vs Brad Olson(?) Fargo South, ND
-------lost by dec 8-3 vs Ricky Hollenback(?) Anoka (5th Seed)
-------won by dec 8-6 vs Jake Grygelko(?) STMA
-------lost by dec 7-4 vs D. Westlund(?) Waconia (8th Seed)
-------lost by dec 9-5 vs Joe Sandkamp(?) Hastings (7th Seed)

171 Steve Maas(12) 7th Place (unseeded)
-------won by dec OT 8-6 vs Josh Passe(12) Wabasha Kellogg (7th Seed)
-------lost by dec 11-5 vs D. Bunnell(?) Cambridge-Isanti
-------won by maj dec 13-2 vs D. Hoernemann(?) Waconia
-------won by dec 6-2 vs L. Strassburg(?) Elk River
-------won by dec 6-2 vs Jon Dahl(?) Coon Rapids
-------lost by dec 2-1 vs Bill Denney(?) Forest Lake
-------won by dec 5-3 vs D. Bunnell(?) Cambridge-Isanti

189 Bob Hanson(12) - DNP (unseeded)
-------won by fall 1:34 vs E. Neilsen(?) JCC
-------lost by fall 2:27 vs M. Becker(?) Cambridge-Isanti (6th Seed)
-------won by dec 6-1 vs Josh Gorham(?) Coon Rapids
-------lost by injury default vs T. Sellden(?) Fargo South, ND

275 Open


103
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112
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119
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125
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130
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135
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140
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145
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152
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160
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171
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189
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275
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