Minnesota High School Report

By Brian Jerzak

The Minnesota High School Report is a weekly column during the high school wrestling season.

The boys’ individual section tournaments took place over the weekend, with 624 athletes earning spots at the high school season’s final weekend at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul. Across the state, I singled out finals where two ranked wrestlers faced off for a section title, or where an unranked wrestler fought through the bracket to defeat a top-ten opponent.

Looking at the team competition, where are the possible ranked matchups in the team quarter finals? Find out at the end of the story.

By Brian Jerzak

The Minnesota High School Report is a weekly column during the high school wrestling season.

Today’s Better Know A Senior – Kaisen Johnson from Chatfield, Featured Event – Foley and Becker in a thriller to decide Section 3AA

The biggest set of events last weekend was the girls’ individual section tournaments around the state. This weekend, twenty-four programs earned the right to wrestle as a team one more weekend.

By Brian Jerzak

The Minnesota High School Report is a weekly column during the high school wrestling season.

Today’s Better Know A Senior – Anna Yaeger from Hopkins, Coaches’ Corner – Todd Card from Hutchinson, Featured Event – Two Rivers and Irondale at Park

Rocori took home the Tyler Moening Invitational title, outpointing the eleven-team field. Rocori’s Trey Kraemer, Mason Moscho, Kameron Moscho, and Zander Bitker all took home titles. The finals featured several ranked contests. At 107, top-ranked Trey Kraemer (Rocori) defeated tenth-ranked Hunter Burnett (Rock Ridge), 2-0.

Twenty-one programs took part in the Osakis Silverstreaks Girls Invitational. At the end of the day, Sauk Centre-Melrose came out on top. Natalee Friedrichs, Illeana LeClaire, and Afton Vogt each won their weight classes, leading the way for Sauk Centre-Melrose.

At 112, Roselane D. Verrett (Monticello) upset fifth-ranked Shelby Helmin (Milaca-Faith Christian) with a fall. At 124, Ashlin Gibson (MAHACA) upset ninth-ranked Jaime Bayliss (Monticello) 15-6. At 170, Anika Tureson (Staples Motley) pinned seventh-ranked Anna Jaeger (Hopkins). At 190, the upsets kept coming withMorgan Skoien (Roseau) pinning fifth-ranked Folake Olusesi (Robbinsdale Cooper).

Elsewhere, Little Falls topped Delano by six points at the eight-team North Branch Invitational. Sam Strack and Ivan Petrich both stood on top of the podium for Delano. At 285, top-ranked (AA) Sawyer Schendel (Milaca-Faith Christian) defeated fourth-ranked (AAA) Peyton Allen (Sartell-Saint Stephen), 6-1.

By Brian Jerzak

The Minnesota High School Report is a weekly column during the high school wrestling season.

Today’s Better Know A Senior – Cameron Halverson from Barnesville, Coaches’ Corner – Rance Bahr from Bemidji, Featured Event – Rosemount and New Prague at Farmington

Rochester Mayo dominated the Rochester Century Girls’ Invite. The Spartans nearly doubled the points of second-place Dover-Eyota. Elsa Koepp, Violet Ettore, and Giada Barnes all took first place in the eleven-team tournament.

Similarly, New Ulm Area dominated the Highwater Ethanol Invite, with titles won by Kane Johnson, Elijah Rieser, Tegan Kral, and Braxton Kiecker.

In the 133-pound finals, ninth-ranked (AA) Kane Johnson from New Ulm Area defeated fifth-ranked (A) Travis Weiss from Adrian Area, 9-1.

By Brian Jerzak

The Minnesota High School Report is a weekly column during the high school wrestling season.

Today’s Better Know A Senior – Connor Peterson from Maple Grove, Coaches’ Corner – Clay Hoeck from Milaca, Featured Event – Hastings and Wayzata at Prior Lake

Seventeen girls’ programs took part in the St. Croix Lutheran Lady Crusader Invite. The Apple Valley Eagles took home titles en route to the team title. Madilyn Troiier, Andrea Quinones, Isabella Jensen, and Cassy Gonzales all took home individual titles to help the Eagles win the team title. The finals included one ranked matchup. At 118 pounds, number one-ranked Anica Barze (Roseville Area) pinned 8th-ranked (112 pounds) Zoe Roddis (Apple Valley).

Next, seventh-ranked (Class A) Paynesville edged Lean and Mean (Class AA) Rocori 29-27 in a dual that began with a top-three matchup: third-ranked (A) Tyson Meagher of Paynesville defeated top-ranked (AA) Trey Kraemer 10-3.

Meanwhile, three top-ten girls’ programs faced off in Mora. Seventh-ranked Mora upset second-ranked Forest Lake 48-30 and then defeated eighth-ranked Milaca-Faith Christian 60-18. At 170 pounds, Mora’s seventh-ranked Tabytha Lee moved up a weight class and upset Forest Lake’s sixth-ranked Alexis Fahey, who moved down from her usual weight.

By Brian Jerzak

The Minnesota High School Report is a weekly column during the high school wrestling season.

Today’s Better Know A Senior – Anica Barze from Roseville Area, Coaches’ Corner – Matt Buysse from Minneota, Featured Dual – St. Michael-Albertville at Stillwater

At the Terry Teiken Invitational, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton topped the seven-team field. The Rebels placed first in four weight classes – Kayleb Kosen at 121, Jacob Luebke at 139, Caden Larson at 172, and TJ Fuller at 215.

A pair of top-two teams – Stillwater in Class AAA and Chatfield in Class A – met up at the Stillwater Quads. The host Ponies dominated the matchup of top wrestling programs – winning 42-19.

However, there were fireworks right from the first whistle as ranked wrestlers met in the first two weight classes. Stillwater’s top-ranked Chase Lawrence defeated Chatfield’s number one-ranked Joey Cady 6-2. Then, Stillwater’s fifth-ranked Brodie Lawrence defeated Chatfield’s sixth-ranked Gunner Polikowsky 4-0.

By Brian Jerzak

The Minnesota High School Report is a weekly column during the high school wrestling season.

Today’s Better Know A Senior – Ivy Brandenburg from Northfield, Coaches’ Corner – Link Steffen from Zumbrota-Mazeppa

Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City started 2026 with four dual meet victories, with wins over Wadena-Deer Creek, Springfield, Martin County Red Bulls, and Windom-Mountain Lake. Nolan Bierwerth and Jaciel Cardenas both went 4-0 on the day for the Falcons.

One of the annual post-Christmas tournaments – The Rumble on the Red – featured 62 boys’ programs from five states and 60 programs from four states on the girls’ side.

The Simley boys took home the top honors, with Minnesota schools taking the top five places. The Spartans were followed by Holdingford, Moorhead, Mounds View, and Willmar to round out the top five.

Simley won the team title without an individual champion, but they placed three wrestlers in the finals – Aiden and Adrian Mincey, and Jake Kos. Three other Spartans stood on the podium to help the team to a thirty-six-point victory.

By Brian Jerzak

The Minnesota High School Report is a weekly column during the high school wrestling season.

Today’s Better Know A Senior – Matthew Veroeven from Waseca, Coaches’ Corner – Josh Joriman from St. Michael-Albertville

Three top girls’ teams met in Pine Island prior to Christmas. Chatfield won three duals. Two against fellow Lean and Mean programs – Pine Island by a score of 42-27 and Rochester Mayo by a score of 45-20. The Gophers’ 8th-ranked 155-pounder wrestler – Eve Goetzinger – went 3-0 on the day but only spent one minute and 38 seconds on the mat with three first-period falls.

Three Minnesota teams finished in the top ten of the 63-team Bi-State Classic. The tournament featured predominantly schools from Wisconsin. Chatfield finished second behind Wisconsin’s Mount Horeb/Barneveld. Zumbrota-Mazeppa finished sixth, and Hastings finished seventh.

Chatfield’s Joey Cady took home first place in the 106-pound weight class. In the finals, the top-ranked Class A 106-pounder defeated the tenth-ranked AA wrestler, Garrett Williams from Cannon Falls, 16-3. Also, for the Gophers, Logan Pearson and Kaisen Johnson both came home with second-place finishes.

By Brian Jerzak

The Minnesota High School Report is a weekly column during the high school wrestling season.

Today’s Better Know A Senior – Brock Fier from Minneota, Coaches’ Corner – Matt Mauseth from Chatfield

It is the holiday season, and that means big-time high school wrestling tournaments.

The big tournaments weren’t the only place to see good wrestling, however. The Pierz Pioneers won four duals, and Frazee went 3-1, losing only to Pierz in a seven-team dual tournament hosted by the Pioneers. Rylan Gruber, Carter Young, Jayden Zajac, and Henry Hoffman all finished 5-0 over the course of five dual meets.

Owatonna hosted a girls’ tournament that included 26 programs. Simley just edged Apple Valley by 1.5 points. Charli Raymond and Greta Gundry both won their bracket to pace the Spartans.

By Brian Jerzak

The Minnesota High School Report is a weekly column during the high school wrestling season.

Today’s Better Know A Senior – Alivia Szydel from Blackduck/Cass Lake-Bena, Coaches’ Corner – Jeff Ollestad from Mora, Match Spotlight – Eastview at Apple Valley

Ranked teams filled the mats at Andover High School on Saturday. The individual tournament featured wrestlers from Shakopee, Mounds View, St. Francis, and St. Michael-Albertville. Shakopee dominated the event. The Sabers claimed gold at 107 – Patrick Heim, 114 – Ethan Phanmanivong, 121 – Damien Daudt, 139 – Noah Wegner, 145 – Anthony Heim, 152 – Calvin Miller, 160 – Jackson Barron, 172 – Kyler Walters, and 189 – Joseph Heim.

At the Delano Invitational, three ranked teams claimed the top three spots out of ten. Minneota, ranked 6th in Class A, finished with the highest team points. Watertown-Mayer (9th in Class AA) and Forest Lake (10th in Class AAA) followed. Minneota relied on a true team effort, picking up titles at 172 (Mason Javers) and 285 (Cael Fier).