Wrestlers’ season ends at state
By DALE KUGATH
Sportswriter
ST. PAUL – The bad news is none of the three New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva wrestlers that qualified for the Class A State Tournament in St. Paul were able to bring home a medal.
The good news is that all three of the Panthers will have a chance to do something about it next winter.
Two of the three NRHEG wrestlers were able to experience a win at state.
Junior Dillon Kubiatowicz and sophomore Cordell Peterson both won one of three matches at state.
Kubiatowicz started Friday’s action by edging Wyatt Stevens of Windom 3-2.
In his second match Friday, Kubiatowicz suffered a 7-1 setback to sophomore Esteban Teigen of Spectrum. Teigen ended up fourth in the 113-pound class.In Saturday’s wrestlebacks, Kubiatowicz was eliminated with a 7-0 loss to Osakis junior Trenton Coyer.
Coyer was the sixth-place finisher in the weight class.
Kubiatowicz finished his junior season with a 31-11 record.
Peterson had a tough draw to open the tournament. Sophomore Brendon Coyer of Osakis, who went on to finish fifth, handed Peterson a 21-5 technical fall defeat in Friday’s opening round.
Peterson got a chance in the wrestlebacks and took advantage of it. He shut out junior Wyatt Becker of Badger/GB-MR in Friday’s second match, 3-0.
Peterson’s season ended Saturday when sophomore Ryan Killen of Spectrum handed him an 8-3 defeat. Killen finished in sixth place of the 120-pound weight class.
Peterson saw his season end with a 26-19 record.
Junior Todd Erickson went two-and-out for the Panthers at 220-pounds.
Erickson suffered a heartbreaking 4-2 loss in Friday’s first round to junior Dillon Card of Bertha-Hewitt. Card ended up as the third-place finisher.
Senior Zach Kennedy of Pine Island kept Erickson from wrestling Saturday when he pinned the Panther grappler in 4:33 in the wrestlebacks.
Erickson wrapped up a 23-11 season for NRHEG.
Coach Shawn Larson’s Panthers finished 18-10 overall in his first season as the head coach.