Minnesota High School Report

By Brian Jerzak

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

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.

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Officially Speaking

By Rod Frost

As we near the end of the regular season and start to gear up for the postseason, we need to continue to read the rule book and ask the tough questions, so we are ready to give the student-athletes our very best. Now is the part of the season that gets to be really fun, but also very stressful, so make sure you are taking care of your bodies.

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View From The Matbird Seat

By Bruce Bartels

Good January Day, Matbird readers. Wow, it is cold outside today. My pickup truck measured a -14 around 6:00 am when I trekked the four miles to town for a quick workout. Gotta remember the sage advice, “this too shall pass!” It has taken a long time to climb back up into my perch on the Matbird Seat. Purchase a new MacBook, and all the apps I used on the old one seem to have changed. It is cold, but the days are finally growing noticeably longer.

Didn’t know if I would put out a column this season. The demand for one has been underwhelming. But with the new calendar, I started thinking about New Year’s resolutions. I really have not made many for myself, but I have been thinking of some for some members of the wrestling community.

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Minnesota High School Report

By Brian Jerzak

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

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.

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Wrestling in the Blood: The Nelson Family Legacy Behind Elk River’s Turnaround

By Brian Jerzak

When the Elk River Elks’ 106-pounder Aiden Tribon toed the line in the state team quarterfinals last season, it was the first time the program wrestled in the team portion of the tournament in over twenty years. Building the program back up to that level took community members at all program levels.

The short trip south to St. Paul was especially sweet for head coach Paul Nelson.

“It was the first year I ever brought a team to State,” Nelson said. “I have been coaching for over thirty years. I coached some great teams but could never get down there. Hopefully, that sparks wrestling in the community.”

The future Elk’s wrestling coach’s wrestling career was practically pre-ordained for Nelson.

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Minnesota High School Report

By Brian Jerzak

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

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.

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Minnesota High School Report

By Brian Jerzak

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

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.

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Minnesota High School Report

By Brian Jerzak

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

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.

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Minnesota High School Report

By Brian Jerzak

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

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.

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Minnesota High School Report

By Brian Jerzak

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

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).

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