Spartans go 2-1 in Duals at Wayzata
The Orono wrestling team wrestled in a quadrangular dual meet this past Thursday at Wayzata. In the 1st dual against conference rival Benilde=St. Margaret (BSM), the Spartans easily handled a more inexperienced crew. 7th graders Mason Pankonin (103) and Brady McPherson (126) helped set the pace in the first four weight classes with pins. 8th grader Oliver Stevenson followed with one as well at 132 to put the team score to 18-12. After losing at 138, Orono ran the table with either pins or forfeits in the remaining 6 weight classes to win the dual 66-15.
The 2nd dual pitted the Spartans against Edina.Coach McPherson had to juggle the lineup due to injuries. Dominic Karaniemi accepted a forfeit at 106 in his varsity debut. Wrestling up a weight class, Mason Pankonin (113) earned a 2nd period fall. Orono lost the next 4 weight classes to allow Edina to gain the team scoring lead 12-22. Orono’s upper weights saved the day as they won the remaining 8 weight class bouts. Earning falls were Noah Arneson (152), Luke Saunders (170), Johnny Harstad (182), and Danny Striggow (220). Jacob Schmid (145), David Wilfert (195), and Shea Albrecht (285) also accepted forfeits to win the dual for the Spartans 60-12.
In the final dual against the host team, Orono’s lower weights were no match for a much more seasoned Wayzata squad. Wayzata led the dual 0-39 after7 bouts. Noah Arneson (152) finally got the Spartans on the board with a hard fought 4-3 decision. Nick Simafranca also accepted a forfeit at 160. An Orono loss in the next weight class put the dual out of reach for the Spartans even though they recorded pins in the remaining 4 bouts. Johnny Harstad (182), David Wilfert (195) , Danny Striggow (220), and Shea Albrecht (285) closed the scoring gap to 33-45 in favor of Wayzata.
On Saturday, Orono traveled to Buffalo for a 10-team Varsity/JV Invitational tournament. Seven wrestlers entered the Varsity division, while 9 other Spartans gained experience in the JV tourney. Leading the way for the Spartans was Danny Striggow (220) who started the day with an opening round fall. He was tripped up however in the semifinal round losing to Centennianal’s John Noll 1-0. Striggow wrestled back in the consolation rounds earning two pins to finish 3rd.
Nick Simafranca (160) and David Wilfert (195) both won their opening round matches only to lose in the semifinal round. Jacob Schmid (145) and Shea Albrecht (220) dropped their opening round matches but wrestled back in the consolation rounds. Schmid, Simafranca, and Wilfert ended up in 4th place for the day while Albrecht took home 5th place honors.
In JV action, freshman Eli McKown was on fire earning 3 pins. Other wrestlers recording wins were Mason Pankonin, Blake Ament, Matt Jandl, and Nick Yockey.
In a message to the boys on Sunday, Coach McPherson stated “I continue to see great strides from the boys and look forward to seeing more over the next few weeks. Congratulations to all the boys for wrestling hard on Saturday.”
The team will travel to Hutchinson on Thursday for a dual that also includes Sibley East.
