Following Kasson-Mantorville's Section One, Class AA championship dual against Albert Lea on Saturday, KoMets sophomore standout Robby Horsman was distraught.
To the untrained eye, a glance at Horsman's demeanor would indicate the KoMets missed out on a return trip to the Class AA state tournament.
But that wasn't the case. Far from it, actually. But Horsman's competitiveness is a great indicator of the K-M wrestling program's stature. The KoMets are never satisfied.
K-M rode that competitiveness to the dominant victory most expected, blasting No. 6-ranked Albert Lea 56-7 in the Section 1AA finals Saturday at Mayo Civic Center.
The defending state champion KoMets return to state for the second consecutive season and for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. In those seven state trips, the KoMets have advanced to the semifinals seven times, securing two state titles. They'll aim for their third state title Thursday, March 2 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
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"I'm very proud of these guys," K-M coach Jamie Heidt said. "We want to win them all, so we are always looking back at every match. But Albert Lea is a tough team. They come out and fight. That is a lopsided score, but there were a lot of close matches in there, so I'm proud of the way the guys fought."
There was little drama for the KoMets on Saturday. They dispatched Byron 66-3 in the semifinals. In three Section 1AA duals, K-M outscored foes 203-10.
In the finals, seventh-grader Bennett Berge started things off right with a hard-fought decision win over Nick Cantu at 106 pounds.
Albert Lea forfeited at 113, and Jared Johnson's win over Jacob Johnsrud at 120 put the Tigers in a massive hole.
Horsman bumped up a weight to take on Gavin Ignaszewski at 126. He wrestled an incredible match, pushing the pace throughout and forcing overtime at 6-all. Horsman didn't back off in the extra session, nearly finishing a single-leg takedown just seconds in. But Ignaszewski is fantastic in scramble situations; he forced a scramble and scored, winning 8-6 in OT.
"Robby is an unbelievably hard worker; he might be the hardest-working kid on the team," Heidt said. "This team means a lot to him, he'd do anything for the team. He bumped up and wrestled a tough opponent very well. He's always stepped up for this team. So he's frustrated right now, because we want to win every match. But Robby will learn from that one, and he went after it from start to finish, so I'm proud of him."
After wins by Brady Laumb and Keaten Schorr, the KoMets sent out Isaac Haman to wrestle three-time state champion Garrett Aldrich. And for the second time this season, Haman got the better of Aldrich.
Haman stayed in great position throughout. He led 4-3 heading into the third and locked up the
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"upset" with another takedown for a 6-3 victory.
"Guys like Haman and really everyone in our room, we benefit from pushing each other every single day," K-M senior Noah Ryan said. "Sometimes we hate that, it's tough getting pushed every day. But it makes us all better, and it makes us closer. We're a family. From a seventh-grader like Bennett (Berge) all the way up through the seniors, we're all tight."
Brady Berge (152), Dalton Andrist (170), Patrick Kennedy (182), Jim Paulson (195), Brett Paulson (220) and Ryan (285) all won and scored bonus points to put an exclamation point on K-M's blowout win.
"Jamie has done a great job all year of keeping us focused and making sure we're still having fun," Ryan said. "He never really allows us to lose focus, no matter who we're wrestling."
Now, K-M shifts its focus to next weekend's Section 1AA individual tournament.
"We'll try to get as many through to state and then focus on team state after that," Heidt said.
K-M opens the Class AA state meet at 9 a.m. Thursday, March 2 against a to-be-determined opponent.
Albert Lea earned its spot in Saturday's finals with a tight 31-27 win over Plainview-Elgin-Millville.
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The Bulldogs put up a great fight, forcing the dual to come down to heavyweight. But Matt Palmer held on for a 6-4 win over Logan Wingert, locking up the Tigers' place in the finals.
Austin Rother (170), Frank Wingert (182), Riley Wingert (195) and Jacob Clark (220) won four consecutive matches for the Bulldogs to force the dual to come down to heavyweight.
Spartans bounced
Rochester Mayo pulled off a major upset in the quarterfinals last Thursday, meaning the No. 6-seeded Spartans were the lowest seed in the building Saturday at Mayo Civic Center.
The Spartans' Section 1AAA run ended in the semifinals, though, falling 51-10 to No. 2-seeded Faribault.
Marshall Peters started the dual off on the right foot for the Spartans, winning a major decision at 106. But Mayo's next win didn't come until 152 pounds, with Brendan Hanson taking a 3-1 decision. By the time Cyrus Scott secured Mayo's third and final win at 182, the dual was already out of reach.
Mayo ended its season 12-10.
Top-seeded Owatonna knocked off Faribault 37-22 in the 1AAA finals to secure its place at state.
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SECTION 1AA
Albert Lea 31, Plainview-E-M 27
106 — Nic Cantu (AL) dec. Cael Marx 13-6. 113 — Garrett Olson (PEM) won by forfeit. 120 — Jake Johnsrud (AL) maj. dec. Nick Miller 11-3. 126 — Gavin Ignaszewski (AL) maj. dec. Joe Stucky 10-0. 132 — Reed DeFrang (PEM) pinned Tyler Harms 1:55. 138 — Brody Nielsen (AL) pinned Grant Rubin :19. 145 — Garrett Aldrich (AL) maj. dec. Carter Marx 10-2. 152 — Logan Donavan (AL) maj. dec. Connor Jones 12-2. 160 — Zach Glazier (AL) dec. Dustin Dittrich 9-3. 170 — Austin Rother (PEM) dec. Jesse Hernandez 11-7. 182 — Frank Wingert (PEM) pinned Brady Nielsen 2:46. 195 — Riley Wingert (PEM) dec. Reit Lony 7-2. 220 — Jacob Clark (PEM) Tanner Palmer. 285 — Matthew Palmer (AL) dec. Logan Wingert 6-4.
K-M 66, Byron 3
106 — Maxwell Petersen (B) dec. Jace Minelli 7-3. 113 — Jared Johnson (KM) dec. Mitchel Petersen 6-4. 120 — Matthew Harfmann (KM) tech. fall Taytan Tierney 16-0. 126 — Robby Horsman (KM) tech. fall Connor Stringer 23-8. 132 — Brady Laumb (KM) maj. dec. Perrin Barber 11-2. 138 — Keaten Schorr (KM) maj. dec. Austin Freerkson 19-6. 145 — Isaac Haman (KM) dec. Ben Adamson 5-3 OT. 152 — Brady Berge (KM) pinned Trent Nelson 1:19. 160 — Dalton Andrist (KM) pinned Kyle Stahler 1:07. 170 — Patrick Kennedy (KM) pinned Reece Ferguson 1:01. 182 — Garsen Schorr (KM) pinned Luke Lampat 1:30. 195 — Jim Paulson (KM) pinned Wesley Birch :38. 220 — Brett Paulson (KM) pinned Ben Majewski 1:46. 285 — Noah Ryan (KM) pinned Cal Prigge 2:41.
Finals
K-M 56, Albert Lea 7
106 — Bennett Berge (KM) dec. Nic Cantu 2-1. 113 — Matthew Harfmann (KM) won by forfeit. 120 — Jared Johnson (KM) dec. Jake Johnsrud 7-4. 126 — Gavin Ignaszewski (AL) dec. Robby Horsman 8-6 OT. 132 — Brady Laumb (KM) dec. Tyler Harms 2-0. 138 — Keaten Schorr (KM) tech. fall Brody Nielsen 17-2. 145 — Isaac Haman (KM) dec. Garrett Aldrich 6-3. 152 — Brady Berge (KM) pinned Logan Donovan 1:06. 160 — Zach Glazier (AL) maj. dec. Ethan Shea 12-4. 170 — Dalton Andrist (KM) maj. dec. Jesse Hernandez 10-2. 182 — Patrick Kennedy (KM) tech. fall Brady Nielsen 19-4. 195 — Jim Paulson (KM) pinned Trent Johnston :35. 220 — Brett Paulson (KM) pinned Reit Lony 3:16. 285 — Noah Ryan (KM) pinned Christian Garcia :49.
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SECTION 1A
Z-M 35, Dover-Eyota 27
106 — Taylor DeFrang (DE) dec. Michael Majerus 6-3. 113 — Teigan Miller (DE) dec. John Poulin 4-3. 120 — Blake Lehnertz (DE) dec. Mike Vath 10-6 OT. 126 — Connor Heitman (ZM) maj. dec. Spencer Honsey 14-5. 132 — Colin Jorde (DE) won by inj. def. over Hayden Stensland. 138 — Spencer Defrang (ZM) won by forfeit. 145 — Michael Nelson (DE) dec. Luke Tupper 5-1. 152 — Maverick Jackson (ZM) dec. Marcus Otomo 5-1. 160 — Sam Nordquist (ZM) maj. dec. Kane Lemke 16-2. 170 — Keaton Schaefer (DE) pinned Tyler Soltau 2:00. 182 — Hayden Voxland (ZM) pinned Isaac Bushman :43. 195 — Caden Steffen (ZM) pinned Reece Lemke :13. 220 — Reid Seelhammer (DE) dec. Jacob Bennett 2-0. 285 — Jarret Haglund (ZM) pinned Alex Bushman :49.
Goodhue 52, W-K 13
106 — Klayton Hawkins (WK) maj. dec. Maddox O'Reilly 10-2. 113 — John Altendorf (G) pinned Mason Huth 3:32. 120 — Bjorn Otterness (G) dec. Tanner Sanderson 8-3. 126 — Tagen Miller (WK) dec. Baxter O'Reilly 6-2. 132 — Travis Gadient (G) dec. Nolan Rommel 7-6. 138 — Sven Otterness (G) dec. Devin Beier 7-3. 145 — Joel Breuer (G) pinned Andy Noll 1:17. 152 — Kelby O'Reilly (G) maj. dec. Dalon Miller 9-0. 160 — Kelby O'Reilly (G) dec. Cooper Holtorf 1-0. 170 — Mason Huemann (G) pinned Cody Irish 1:29. 182 — Bailee O'Reilly (G) won by forfeit. 195 — Kodee O'Reilly (G) pinned Jon Norgrant 1:38. 220 — Collin Schmoker (WK) pinned Matthew Kuznicki :51. 285 — Ryan Schoenfelder (G) pinned Ben Tentis 3:03.
Finals
Z-M 36, Goodhue 23
106 — Michael Majerus (ZM) dec. Maddox O'Reilly 9-4. 113 — John Altendorf (G) maj. dec. John Poulin 9-1. 120 — Mike Vath (ZM) pinned Bjorn Otterness 3:01. 126 — Baxter O'Reilly (G) dec. Connor Heitman 3-0. 132 — Travis Gadient (G) dec. Jack Smothers 7-1. 138 — Spencer DeFrang (ZM) pinned Sven Otterness 1:20. 145 — Kaleb O'Reilly (G) dec. Luke Tupper 5-0. 152 — Maverick Jackson (ZM) tech. fall Joel Breuer 20-5. 160 — Kelby O'Reilly (G) dec. Tyler Soltau 8-2. 170 — Mason Huemann (G) dec. Sam Nordquist 6-5. 182 — Bailee O'Reilly (G) maj. dec. Hayden Voxland 13-5. 195 — Caden Steffen (ZM) pinned Kodee O'Reilly 1:17. 220 — Jacob Bennett (ZM) pinned Matthew Kuznicki :32. 285 — Jarret Haglund (ZM) maj. dec. Ryan Schoenfelder 12-4.
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SECTION 1AAA
Faribault 51, Mayo 10
106 — Marshall Peters (M) maj. dec. Aiden Tobin 13-3. 113 — Sam LaCanne (F) dec. Jayden Engelken 10-6. 120 — Riley Stoltz (F) pinned Ethan Plonka :48. 126 — Josh Oathoudt (F) dec. Aaron McKinley 5-0. 132 — Cain Van Ryn (F) pinned Anton Plonka 2:48. 138 — Ren Ross (F) won by forfeit. 145 — Austin Underdahl (F) pinned Tyler Calley 2:48. 152 — Brendan Hanson (M) dec. Dylan Lippert 3-1. 160 — Josh Heyda (F) pinned Bryant Badger 1:34. 170 — Will Erickson (F) dec. Dylan Clark 5-3 OT. 182 — Cyrus Scott (M) dec. Ethan Eerickson 6-2. 195 — Felipe Ramirez (F) won by forfeit. 220 — Austin Rendler (F) dec. Carson Ties 12-7. 285 — Dillon McEachran (F) dec. Noah Carter 3-0.
