New Richmond wrestling team splits up for Saturday tournaments
Having to divide their team in two allowed for New Richmond wrestlers to compete at more comparable skill levels on Saturday.
- Kevin Kern
Having to divide their team in two allowed for New Richmond wrestlers to compete at more comparable skill levels on Saturday.
The Tigers were originally scheduled to compete in the Shell Lake Invitational on Saturday. But when word came that Hudson, Boyceville and Cumberland had dropped out of the tournament, the Tiger coaches recognized that this tournament wouldn’t offer much challenge for the team’s more advanced wrestlers. So the coaches signed up for a second tournament, the Eden Prairie Invitational. The more experienced Tigers travelled to Eden Prairie while the less experienced Tigers headed north to Shell Lake.
The older Tigers got the challenge they were looking for at Eden Prairie. The tournament field included several top Minnesota teams, including St. Michael-Albertville, which is ranked among the top teams nationally.
Senior Abe Anderson was the top finisher for the Tigers at Eden Prairie, placing third in the 132-pound bracket. His only loss was a 5-4 decision in the semifinals. His three wins raise his season record to 23-3.
Garret Hildebrandt took fourth place at 106 pounds, while John Greening and Derek Dowd took fifth place at 120 and 126 pounds, respectively.
“That was a butt kicker of a tournament,” said Tiger coach Mark Neumann. “From 145 pounds down, every weight class was loaded.”
Sending the younger Tigers to Shell Lake worked out well, because they all got to wrestle five matches in the tournament.
The top finisher for the Tigers was freshman John Keifer, who won his first four matches to reach the 132-pound finals, where he was defeated by a Rice Lake opponent.
Seth Leavens, Michael Steel and Skyler Luger were fourth place finishers in the tournament. Leavens and Steel won three matches during the day, while Luger won twice.
Dual win at B-W
The Tigers added to their Middle Border Conference win total last Thursday by recording a 44-25 win at Baldwin-Woodville. The Tigers are now 4-2 for the MBC season.
The Tigers used two pins, four decision victories and three forfeits to swing the decision in their favor. It was the lower weights that carried the Tigers. From 106 through 138, the Tigers won six straight classes to build an unapproachable lead.
New Richmond’s pins were earned by Leavens and Casey Schuh. Kevin Kern, Greening, Keifer and Anderson won via decisions.
Coach Neumann said one of the best efforts of the night for the Tigers came from Austin Anderson, who lost 13-3 to Tyler Weyer, who placed second at state in the 145-pound Division 2 class last year.
“Austin showed a lot of heart. I think (Weyer) is the best 145-pounder in the state,” Coach Neumann said.
The Tigers complete their dual meet schedule this Thursday with a home match against Durand. This will be the Senior Night event for the Tigers. The Tigers don’t wrestle again until Saturday, Feb. 2, when they host the 2013 Middle Border Conference Tournament.
Tags: sports, tigers, wrestling, prep
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