Christensen, Kern, 9 others advance
ST. PAUL - Eleven of 27 area wrestlers won their prelim matches Wednesday afternoon in the Class 1A individual tournament at the Xcel Energy Center.
At 171 pounds, second-ranked Matt Christensen (Aitkin) remained unbeaten in 40 matches with an 11-0 decision over Kody Lafreniere-Sorenson (Frazee).
Top-ranked 119-pounder Ethan Kern (Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale) was pushed to the maximum by Justin Sather (Dawson-Boyd), rallying from a 2-0 deficit for a 4-3 victory.
Other area winners included C-I's Wade Adams at 125, decisioning Alin Bakken of Pelican Rapids 2-0.
Ninth-ranked Zak Lambert of B-H/V scored a technical fall over Eric Goette at 125.
Aitkin's Matt Cristensen looked skyward while battling Kody Lafreniere/Sorenson of Frazee during the first round Wednesday. Christensen advanced to the second round of the 1A tournament by beating Lafreniere/Sorenson 11-0 in the 171-pound class. Photo/John Pedersen
At 140, No. 8 Trey VanOrsdel of Wadena-Deer Creek advanced with an 8-3 decision over Jake Schermerhorn of Frazee.
At 145, fifth-ranked Justin Chouanard (Aitkin) dec. No. 9 Adam Stalboerger (Mahnomen/Waubun) 6-0 and Staples-Motley's Jordan Bendson pinned Nate King (Zumbrota-Mazeppa) at 3:09.
Aitkin's Andrew Hallberg, ranked sixth at 160, dec. David Rosen (St. Clair) 10-3 and No. 7 Sam Moenkedick (B-H/V) pinned Rob Zehnder (Madelia/Truman) 1:42.
At 171, Ninth-ranked Matt Moenkedick (B-H/V) dec. No. 10 Dusty Meuleners (Norwood/Young America) 7-2.
Eighth-ranked 189-pounder Tony Wegscheid (W-DC) pinned Nathan Cummings (Aitkin) at 5:26.
Class 1A
Highlights: Second-ranked Matt Christensen of Aitkin and No. 1 Ethan Kern of B-H/V were among 11 area wrestlers who won prelim matches Wednesday.
Next: Quarterfinals 9 a.m. Thursday, Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul
Suffering upset losses were Keith Wasserzieher of Aitkin and Clint Poster and Tanner Tetrick, both of Pierz.
Wasserzieher, ranked 10th at 112, lost by technical fall to unranked Will McCarthy of Wheaton-Herman.
Poster, ranked third at 112 and the defending state champion at 103, lost to second-ranked Grant Hegge of Southland 4-2.
At 140, No. 7 Tetrick was pinned by unranked Zach Pesch (LeSueur-Henderson) at 1:45.
Class 1A prelims
103: No. 4 Travis Borchert (Browerville) dec. Hayden Zillmer (C-I) 6-2
112: Grant Hegge (Southland) dec. Clint Poster (Pierz) 4-2; Will McCarthy (Wheaton-Herman) tech fall Keith Wasserzieher (Aitkin).
119: Ethan Kern (Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale) dec. Justin Sather (Dawson-Boyd) 4-3; Julius Stone (Browerville-Eagle Valley) pinned Brandon Biever (C-I) 3:05.
125: Zak Lambert (B-H/V) tech. fall Eric Goette Morris Area-Hancock; Taylor Menke (Jackson County Central) dec. Dalton Stevens (Aitkin) 5-4; Wade Adams (C-I) dec. Alin Bakken (Pelican Rapids) 2-0.
130: Cody Brazier (Greenbush-Middle River) tech. fall Craig Leathers (Aitkin).
135: Jesse Westphal (Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton) pinned Sam Srock (C-I) 5:32.
140: Trey VanOrsdel (Wadena-Deer Creek) dec. Jake Schermerhorn (Frazee) 8-3; Zach Pesch (LeSueur-Henderson) pinned Tanner Tetrick (Pierz) 1:45.
145: Mark Evjen (Hayfield) pinned Eric Andres (Pierz) 2:27; Justin Chouanard (Aitkin) dec. Adam Stalboerger (Mahnomen/Waubun) 6-0; Jordan Bendson (Staples-Motley) pinned Nate King (Zumbrota-Mazeppa) 3:09.
152: Kevin Pedersen (Mille Lacs) dec. Jake Braaten (Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale) 9-2
160: Andrew-Hallberg (Aitkin) dec. David Rosen (St. Clair) 14-4; Sam Moenkedick (B-H/V) pinned Rob Zehnder (Madelia/Truman) 1:42; Jon Verheist (Canby) pinned Sean Huls (Pierz) 1:49.
171: Matt Moenkedick (B-H/V) dec. Dusty Meuleners (Norwood/Young America) 7-2; Eric Croatt (Ortonville) pinned Ben Rothstein (C-I) 3:09; Matt Christensen (Aitkin) maj. dec. Kody Lafreniere-Sorenson (Frazee) 11-0.
189: Caleb Lines (Jackson County Central) maj. dec. Alex Huls (Pierz) 15-7; Tony Wegscheid (Wadena-Deer Creek) pinned Nathan Cummings (Aitkin) 5:26.
215: Travis Hansen (Canby) dec. Wade Moenkedick (B-H/V) 3-1
285: Nick Mackenthun (Norwood/Young America) dec. Adam Hyatt (Pierz) 7-1.
MIKE BIALKA may be reached at mike.bialka@brainerddispatch.com or at 855-5861.