By Colin Staab & Keith Harner
On Saturday, March 4, two Northfield female wrestlers competed at the Minnesota State High School Girls Wrestling Tournament at the Xcel Energy Center.
Top ranked 100 pounder, Caley Graber, started off Saturday by getting a pin against fifth ranked Mikailey Clark of Park Rapids Area. Next, Graber pinned number four ranked Abby Gindeles of Annandale/Maple Lake. Graber’s championship match was against third ranked Bianca Eide of Stillwater Area in which she capped off her weekend as a state champion.
Ella Pagel, number one ranked in girls 165 pounds, started the tournament by pinning eighth ranked Sarah Mann of St. Paul Harding in the 1st period! Pagel’s next match was against third ranked Esperanza Calvillo of Apple Valley. Pagel won by fall in the 1st period with less than one minute remaining. Pagel’s Championship Match was against second ranked Elizabeth Oster of Bemidji. Pagel won by fall in the 1st period winning her second consecutive Girls State Championship!
Boys State Tournament
Keith Harner, Owen Murphy and Ryan Kuyper competed at the Minnesota State High School State Boys
Wrestling Tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Friday, March 3.
Harner started off early on Friday by wrestling the sixth ranked Class AAA 126 pounder Grant Marr of
Forest Lake. Harner wrestled a tough match through the second period until he lost by fall.
Owen Murphy, the 10th ranked Class AAA 182 pounder, also wrested on Friday. Murphy wrestled eighth
ranked Class AAA 182 pounder Jake Borman from St. Thomas Academy in a hard match that resulted in
a 3-1 overtime loss.
The third Raider to wrestle on Friday was Ryan Kuyper who was defeated by Anoka’s Logan Raj-
Malikowski 5-1.
In the Minnesota State tournament, if you lose your first match, your opponent must win for you to have the opportunity to advance to wrestlebacks. Unfortunately, all of the boys’ opponents lost in the next round.
The Minnesota State High School Tournament wrapped up the wrestling season for the Raiders.
Editors’ Note:
Thank you to all our coaches this year for all their help and support: Geoff Staab, Josten Coleman, Beau
Hayes, Jules Dolescar, Jack Stanton and Jacob Ventura. Also, thank you to all the parents who have
helped and supported us throughout the year. Finally, thank you NorthfieldLive for the coverage and
support of our wrestling season.
