Somerset's Flandrick, LeRoy win titles at New Richmond Wrestling Invitational

• Cole Martinsen

Sophomore Cole Martinsen (top) is making rapid progress for the Spartans, winning four matches last week.

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Seniors Gabe Flandrick and Bobby LeRoy continued their career success in the New Richmond Invitational, winning titles in the 44th annual NRI wrestled on Saturday.

Flandrick won the championship in the 160-pound class, earning him Outstanding Wrestler honors for the tournament. LeRoy battled back from a five-point deficit in the finals to win the championship in the 138-pound bracket.

Somerset placed seventh in the team rankings, but the Spartans were seven points out of fourth place in the team scoring.

In addition to the two individual championships, the Spartans had two other wrestlers reach the finals. Freshman Logan Peterson took second place in the 132-pound class, as did junior Bailey White in the 145-pound bracket.

Flandrick used three first period pins and a semifinal forfeit to reach the 160-pound finals against St. Croix Central senior Carl Moll. Both wrestlers are ranked in the top three in Division 2 weight classes in the state, so this was a clash of well-established talents. The turning point came late in the first period, when Flandrick was able to get a takedown. Flandrick is nearly impossible to beat when he gets a lead. He rode Moll throughout the second period. Moll was unable to turn Flandrick in the third period, deciding to release him. Flandrick was able to get a late takedown to make the final score 5-0. Flandrick’s record stands at 23-1 for the season.

LeRoy had no trouble reaching the 138-pound finals, but New Richmond’s Austin Anderson nearly pulled off the upset in the championship match. LeRoy beat Anderson in the pool round, 10-2, but in the finals Anderson was able to lock LeRoy into a cradle for a five-point move.

“Bobby said he didn’t see the cradle coming, that’s a credit to Austin,” said Somerset coach Mitch Flandrick.

Anderson was able to get more back points, putting LeRoy in a substantial hole. LeRoy’s experience showed as he patiently battled back for an 11-10 win that raised his season record to 23-2.

Peterson’s second place finish at 132 pounds including a 2-0 win over Clear Lake’s Andrew Colbeth in the semifinals. Colbeth has a 19-5 record this season. Peterson’s two losses in the tournament both came against Barron’s Tyler Guski. The first of them was in overtime.

The Spartan coaches rave about how good White wrestles in the practice room. On Saturday, he carried that level of wrestling to the mat. He defeated two wrestlers who had beaten him earlier in the season, placing him in the finals against Clear Lake standout Erik Ulrich. White wrestled an excellent strategic match, staying within striking distance until the final seconds. Ulrich got a takedown in the closing moments to win 6-2, but the Spartan coaches were saying they hoped this match was a turning point for White.

There were other highlights for the Spartans. Sophomore Cole Martinsen won three matches, all on pins, to take fifth place at 195 pounds. Sophomore Freddy Mangine stepped in for an ill teammate at 152 pounds and earned two wins, both on pins. Senior Zane Von Holtum scored two wins in the 285-pound bracket, both on pins, to capture fifth place.

B-W dual

Things didn’t go exactly as the Spartans had hoped when they hosted Baldwin-Woodville in a Middle Border Conference dual match last Thursday. B-W was able to roll past the Spartans 52-24.

Somerset was without injured varsity wrestlers Mitch McConaughey and Max Praschak. Coach Flandrick said he thought having those two wrestlers healthy would have been a 24-point swing in the match, saying he expected that they both would have pinned their B-W opponents.

The Spartans were able to earn three wins on the mat, with Peterson, Flandrick and Martinsen all earning pin falls. LeRoy received a forfeit.

Schedule

The Spartans will try for their first MBC dual win of the season on Thursday when they wrestle at Durand. The Spartans will take part in another large tournament this weekend, as part of the Stillwater Stampede.