Kubiatowicz, Erickson, Peterson advance


By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

The season continues for three NRHEG High School wrestlers.

Dillon Kubiatowicz, Todd Erickson and Cordell Peterson advanced to the state tournament out of Saturday’s Section 2A individual tournament at Blue Earth. Kubiatowicz and Erickson claimed the championship at 120 and 220 pounds, respectively, while Peterson was the runner-up at 126. Trey Hoppe missed state by one place, taking third at 160.

The Panthers had a strong tournament as a team, with 13 placewinners. Taking fourth were Palmer Peterson, 145; Jet Wayne, 152; Nick Bartness, 170; Keith Maxon, 182; and Matt Jensen, 195. Placing fifth were Cole Lenort, 113; Cole Staloch, 132; Alex Merritt, 138; and Zeke Erickson, 285.

According to Panthers coach Shawn Larson, NRHEG’s three state qualifiers did a good job preparing for the section tournament.

“This time of the year, wrestlers need to be ready to compete for themselves,” said Larson. “We came off of a good weekend for the team, and we had mixed results in the individual tournament. Dillon, Todd, and Cordell used their experience to gain a berth in the state tournament again.”

Kubiatowicz, a senior, and Peterson, a junior, will be making their third appearance at state. Erickson advanced for the second time.

Kubiatowicz started his route to the 120 title with a bye, then defeated Gage Baker of St. Clair by a 16-0 technical fall before pinning United South Central’s Jesse Meyer in 2:19. In the title bout against Zach Poehler of Jackson County Central, Kubiatowicz claimed a 6-0 decision. He’ll take a record of 37-3 to the state tournament.

After byes in the opening two rounds, Erickson scored a fall over Tanner Hauser of St. Clair in 3:09 in the 220 semifinals. In the championship, he decisioned Zach Nirk of Blooming Prairie 3-1, running his season record to 34-4.

Peterson also had an opening-round bye at 120, then pinned Payton Simon of Blooming Prairie in 1:04 and scored a fall in 5:41 over Morgen Moreno of Hayfield in the semifinals. Peterson dropped a 9-4 decision to Dalton Wagner of Jackson County Central in the finals. He’ll take a record of 31-6 to state.

Hoppe, a junior, had an interesting tournament at 160. After two byes, he defeated Nick VonRuden of Medford by fall in 52 seconds in the semifinals. In the championship match, he lost by fall to Paden Moore of Jackson County Central, earning him a true second place match against Noah Decker of Maple River, where he lost a close 4-2 decision. He finished the season with a record of 20-15.

Palmer Peterson ended the season 17-16, Wayne 16-22, Bartness 27-15, Maxon 29-10, Jensen 16-13, Lenort 25-16, Staloch 16-19, Merritt 9-20 and Zeke Erickson 14-9. Freshman Brett Kubiatowicz also competed at section but did not place; he finished 7-30.

“We had some guys perform well in tough brackets, and we had a couple that may not have been ready to deal with the pressure and emotions of this tournament,” said Coach Larson. “We are glad to have three competitors going to state. We are very proud of the seniors who had good careers as Panthers, and we are hoping the returners will be using their time wisely in the offseason to be ready for this tournament next year.”

The state tournament is Feb. 26-28 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Kubiatowicz, Erickson and Peterson will wrestle in the opening round on Friday at 11 a.m.