Mayo's Carr earns state medal

ST. PAUL — Only two Rochester wrestlers remained in action during the final day of the state tournament Saturday at Xcel Energy Center.

And one of them brought a medal back to Rochester.

Mayo’s Justin Carr battled his way through wrestlebacks at 195 pounds in Class AAA, and he earned a place on the podium.

Carr lost in the wrestleback semifinals, but he won by injury default in the fifth-place match over Cody Linseen of Park of Cottage Grove.

The senior finished with a 31-13 record.

John Marshall’s Ryan Williamson saw his senior season come to an end in the second round of wrestlebacks. He suffered a 15-4 loss to eventual third-place finisher Clayton Jennissen of Cambridge-Isanti.

That meant Williamson’s two losses at state came to the third-place finisher and the state champion, Chase Morlock of Moorhead.

Goergen falls

Caledonia/Houston senior Austin Goergen was trying to make history Saturday, but he came up just short.

Goergen was trying to become Minnesota’s first-ever three-time heavyweight state champion.

He advanced to the finals for the third consecutive season, but waiting there was Scott West’s Michael Kroells.

Kroells will wrestle for the Gophers next season. He entered the tournament unbeaten and was a state champion last season.

Kroells, who wrestled at 220 pounds most of the season but came up to heavyweight for state, had more than enough offense to get the job done, scoring three takedowns in his 8-3 victory over Goergen.

It was a disappointing finish for Goergen, but he had a wildly successful high-school career.

He ended his senior season with a 36-2 record and a second-place medal.

Goergen will have the opportunity to wrestle in college, though he hasn’t picked a school yet. He said he’s taking a visit to Nebraska soon and also is considering junior colleges and St. Cloud State in order to get his grades up, in hopes of eventually transferring to the University of Minnesota.

Bulldogs get two

The Plainview-Elgin-Millville Bulldogs had two wrestlers on the podium Saturday.

Garret Miller capped an incredible senior season with a third-place finish at 170 pounds in Class AA.

Miller won a rematch of the section finals against Casey Stemper of Caledonia/Houston in the wrestleback semifinals. In the third-place match, he rolled to a 6-0 victory over Nick Dvorak of Scott West.

Stemper went on to win the fifth-place match.

Miller finished with a 42-1 record. His lone loss came in the quarterfinals, by a single point.

Teammate Tyler Petit also made his way into the third-place match at 220.

Petit suffered a 7-5 loss to Nic Grimley of Monticello and took home the fourth-place medal.

Petit, who was in his first full season of varsity wrestling, finished with a 39-4 record.

Stolarzyk third

Stewartville junior Brett Stolarzyk was unable to defend his state title, but the standout battled through wrestlebacks to finish third at 120 in Class AA.

Stolarzyk was bumped to wrestlebacks after a tough loss in the semifinals. He ran into Scott West’s Luke Betchwars, who held on for a 4-2 win.

Stolarzyk easily won his wrestleback semifinals match, then ended his season with a pin in the third-place match. He capped the season with a 37-7 record.

Kasson-Mantorville’s Sam Stoll also battled through wrestlebacks to place third at heavyweight.

Stoll was stunned in the opening round at state by Simley’s Matt Kadrlik, but when Kadrlik won in the second round, Stoll was granted a wrestleback match. He didn’t waste the chance.

The sophomore big man was banged up in the state tournament, but he came all the way back and won a 1-0 decision in the third-place match for his second straight state medal.

Majerus third

Zumbrota-Mazeppa’s Joey Majerus finished third for the second consecutive season.

Majerus suffered a loss to Border West’s Cameron Sykora in the semifinals at 106 pounds, but he won the rubber match with Chatfield’s Hank Friederichs in the wrestleback semifinals. Friederichs and Majerus met in the section team tournament and the Section 1A finals.

In the third-place match, Majerus won a 5-2 decision over Conrad Kondos of Breckenridge/Campbell-Tintah.

Friederichs went on to win the fifth-place match, 7-0 over Zach Scott of Holdingford.

Tigers place three

Lake City had three state place-winners.

Rusty Grisim lost in the semifinals at 145 pounds, but he came back to get fourth place.

Will Balow won the fifth-place match at 160, and Pedro Guevara finished fourth at heavyweight.

Goodhue’s Weston Gadient finished sixth at 220, and Chatfield’s Justin Viss was sixth at 195.