ORONO WRESTLERS WIN 2 OF 3 DUALS AT MINNETONKA
The Spartans traveled to Minnetonka last Thursday for a quadrangular dual against South St. Paul (SSP), Minnetonka and Chaska/Chanhassen (Chaska).
In the first dual against SSP, the lighter Spartan weights were outmatched by a more experienced crew. Trailing 0-23 after the first 4 weight classes, Henry Beck (138) put on a takedown clinic earning 6 during the match to win 12-5. Jacob Schmid (145) followed with an 8-2 decision and Noah Arneson (152) picked up a 52 second pin to narrow the team score to 12-23. A major decision loss at 160 was followed with pin by John McCuskey (170). Orono lost the next two weights to put the victory out of reach. At 220, Danny Striggow accepted a forfeit while Shea Albrecht lateral dropped and pinned state ranked Gibby Brito in 1:49. Brito is currently #9 at AA 285. The final score was 30-36.
During the 2nd match against host Minnetonka, Blake Ament (113) started the Spartan scoring with a 1st period pin. Orono then gave up three quick falls. Henry Beck (138), Jacob Schmid (145), and Noah Arneson (152) all returned the favor to put the team score at 24-22. Orono encountered a couple of losses at 160 and 170 to move the team score to 24-31. A technical fall by Johnny Harstad (182) and pins by David Wilfert (195) and Danny Striggow (220) sealed the team win for Orono 41-34.
In the final dual against Chaska, the Spartans stumbled in the first three weights giving up two pins and a technical fall. Oliver Stevenson (126) put 3 points on the board with a 3-1 decision and Brady McPherson (132) earned the first varsity pin of his career with a 1st period fall to put the team score at 9-17. Orono went on to win 8 of the 9 remaining bouts with falls by Noah Arneson (152), Johnny Harstad (182), David Wilfert (195), and Danny Striggow (220). Both Nick Simafranca (160) and Luke Saunders (170) accepted forfeits while Jacob Schmid (145) and Shea Albrecht (285) each earned decisions. Albrecht, wrestling against another state ranked opponent won a thrilling match 8-7 over Ethan Jackman currently #4 in AA 285. Orono came away with a convincing 51-20 win.
The Spartans will travel to the prestigious Rumble on the Red Varsity and JV individual tournament over the holiday break.
