By Keith Harner and Colin Staab
The Northfield Raiders traveled to Buffalo on Saturday, January 8th to wrestle in the Gerry Bakke Memorial Invite and tied for sixth place. Northfield brought 11 varsity and nine junior varsity boys along with one female wrestler.
On the boys side Northfield had seven varsity place winners, one of which was a champion. The Raider’s 120 pounder, Zane Engles, came into the tournament as the third seed in his bracket, but outperformed his seed. Engels won three straight decisions including his final match where he won 4-3 over number 10 ranked Class AA sophomore Isaiah Nelson of New London Spicer.
Northfield also had three sophomores take home second place finishes. Keith Harner at 126 pounds started the day with a triple overtime win to defeat Tyson Louwagie of Marshall, followed by a 8-5 victory in the semifinals, then lost 15-0 to number nine ranked Class AA sophomore Cole Munsterteiger. Owen Murphy, at 182 pounds, won his first two matches by decision. In his second match, Murphy defeated number three ranked (Class A) senior Dylan Heiderscheidt of Medford. Murphy finished second, to ninth ranked (Class AA) Tucker Fiene from Marshall in a close 6-3 decision. Ryan Kuyper, at 195 pounds, won his first two matches by pinning his opponents using his famous cradle, before losing to fifth ranked (Class AA) Corbin Knapp by fall in the first place match.
Northfield place winners also included another eighth grader and two more sophomores. Eighth grader Caden Staab at 113 pounds placed third in a 7-1 victory over Landen Hinchcliff from Delano. Staab had a close 5-2 victory in his first match followed by a 5-0 loss to number three ranked Class A junior Luis Lopez from Medford. Jack Pribyl took home fourth at 160 pounds with a pin in his first match. He was then defeated in the semifinals by fall by fourth ranked (Class AA) Tate Condezo of Marshall and lost the third place match to fourth ranked (Class A) senior Garron Hoffman from Medford (14-1). Logan Williams took fifth at 132 pounds. Williams went 3-2 finishing with a tough 5th place overtime match against Pequot Lakes-Pine River’s junior Sean Kilpatrick.
In the girls division, sophomore Lainey Houts went 3-0 to take home first place. She won all three matches by fall in the first period. Houts defeated three girls from Centennial.
In JV results, the Raiders had two first place finishes: Charlie Johnson at 113 pounds and Noah Ackerman at 285 pounds.
The Raiders travel to Owatonna Thursday night to take on the Huskies, followed by a dual tournament in Farmington on Saturday.
Varsity Results:
106 lbs – Matthew Dettling 0-2, DNP
113 lbs – Caden Staab 2-1, 3rd place
120 lbs – Zane Engles 3-0, 1st place
126 lbs – Keith Harner 2-1, 2nd place
132 lbs – Sam Harner 1-2, DNP
132 lbs – Logan Williams 3-2, 6th place
138 lbs – Andrew Williams 1-2, DNP
160 lbs – Jack Pribyl 1-2, 4th place
170 lbs – Colin Staab 0-2, DNP
182 lbs – Owen Murphy 2-1, 2nd place
195 lbs – Ryan Kuyper 2-1, 2nd place
JV Results:
106 lbs – Drew Pribyl 5th place
120 lbs – Charlie Johnson 1st place
138 lbs – Austin Benjamin 2nd place
152 lbs – Joran Peterson 2nd place
152 lbs – Alex Salinas Santos 3rd place
152 lbs – Iah Schweich 3rd place
152 lbs – Forest Allen 4th place
170 lbs – David Orozco DNP
285 lbs – Noah Ackerman 1st place
Girls Results:
128 lbs – Lainey Houts 1st