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    These
five Warrior wrestlers all placed fourth at the Section One AA
individual tournament last weekend in Rochester. They are from top:
Chris Myhre, Cullen Becker, Lee Burg, Tanner Benson, and Troy Frank.
By Tom Murphy
Special for the Argus
The Caledonia/Houston wrestling team didn’t advance anyone to the state
meet. Tyler Stemper, who placed the highest for the Warriors,
fell one place short of reaching the state wrestling tournament.
The 135 pound senior was third in the Section 1AA tournament on Friday
and Saturday at Rochester.
The key match for Stemper came in the semi-finals. He was ahead
by a point late in the third period and tried a takedown only to be
countered and was instead taken down. His opponent lost in the
finals and Stemper had no chance for a wrestleback match for true
second.
The Warriors had a chance to put six wrestlers in third place finishes, but only Stemper accomplished it.
Tanner Benson was fourth at 105. Willie Krage won a match, but
did not place at 112. At 119, Lyndon Becker was sixth.
Lee Burg lost a narrow 2-0 match in the semi-finals at 125. He
finished fourth. “There were four good wrestlers at that
weight. Three of them had qualified for the state tournament in
past years,” coach Jay Tolleson said.
At 130, freshman Danny Wermager finished sixth after not being
seeded. Another tough weight class was 140 pounds where eight
wrestlers were seeded. Owen Fitzgerald finished sixth in what
Tolleson called a quality field.
Connor McCormick was wrestling up two weights at 145 and had a good experience with the competition he faced.
At 152, Cullen Becker was fourth. At 160, Casey Stemper came
within one match of placing. “For an eighth grader to come in and
do that well is impressive,” Tolleson said.
The coach also praised the efforts of Troy Frank. “He had a nice tournament with a fourth place finish” at 171.
Blake Knutson also came within one place of getting a placing. It was his first year on the varsity.
Chris Myhre was fourth at 215. He had a tough draw losing twice
to the same wrestler who qualified for the state tournament last year.
Aleksander Lorentzen was sixth at heavyweight. “He really came a
long way for a guy who started the year not even knowing what a stanch
was,” Tolleson said. “It shows how determined he was.”
While the outcome of the tournament may have been disappointing, there
is promise for the coming season, Tolleson said. “Overall, we had
10 wrestlers in the top six placers. And, eight of those
wrestlers are returning next year. We will have something to
build on. They need to work hard in the off-season to get to the
next level.”
Graduating will be Lee Burg, Tyler Stemper, Joey Macezik, Blake Knutson, and Aleksander Lorentzen.
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