Mutz, Lingwall advance to semis
ST. PAUL - Nick Lingwall was a possible candidate to advance to the semifinals of the Class 3A individual state wrestling tournament at the Xcel Energy Center.
The Brainerd Warrior senior had wrestled in two previous state tournaments, finishing fourth at 135 pounds last year.
Teammate Brandon Mutz was an improbable choice to reach the semifinals.
Mutz, a junior and three-year varsity wrestler, won his quarterfinal match Thursday 15-7 over Prior Lake's Tyler Trattles. He built leads of 6-2 and 12-4 on his way to his 29th victory in 32 matches.
"I just kept wrestling," Mutz said. "I didn't want to give up because I got this far, so why give up?"
Brainerd Warrior Brandon Mutz (top) defeated Tyler Trattles of Prior Lake 15-7 in the Class 3A 119-pound individual quarterfinals Thursday at the Minnesota State Wrestling Tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. » Purchase reprints of this photo.
Mutz is scheduled to face 10th-ranked Kyle Anderson of Coon Rapids in Friday's semifinals.
"I've just got to keep wrestling the same," Mutz said of the semifinals. "Hopefully, I will have more energy, though."
Lingwall built a comfortable lead and scored a 7-5 decision over David Hurt of North St. Paul in the quarterfinals.
"He was pretty tough," Lingwall said. "He kept coming after me. He kept driving in and kept reaching, which was good for me because I was able to get in a couple shots.
"He had a motor. He kept going the whole time."
Lingwall (39-2) was scheduled to wrestle top-ranked Luke Vaith of Hastings in Friday's semifinals.
"I'm really happy I'm there," Lingwall said. "I have a tough kid in the semis. If I beat him I think I can beat a kid in the finals."
Brainerd's other state entrants, Scott Padrnos (125) and Jake Patnode (135) lost in the quarterfinals.
Class 3A individuals
Highlights: Brainerd's Brandon Mutz and Nick Lingwall advanced to the semifinals.
Next: Class 3A individual semifinals and consolation quarterfinals, 11 a.m. Friday; 3A individual consolation semifinals, 2 p.m. Friday; Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul.
Scott Padrnos lost to Cody Madsen of Stillwater 7-2 and dropped into the wrestlebacks.
"Scott didn't wrestle his best match, who knows why," Warriors co-head coach Mike Boran said. "He wrestled that kid before and wrestled a better match the first time. He just couldn't get things going today.
"(Madsen) wrestled really well. He kept the pressure on us and kind of wore us down. He was tough on top."
Later Thursday, Padrnos remained alive in the wrestlebacks, pinning Brandon Haluptzok of Centennial at 2:57.
In the quarterfinals, Jake Patnode had the misfortune of drawing two-time state champion and top-ranked Matt Mincey of Apple Valley and he lost by technical fall.
"He's very good," Boran said of Mincey. "Jake went out there and moved against him, but (Mincey) was just a little too much for us."
Patnode was eliminated from the tournament after losing 8-6 in overtime to Rochester Mayo's Mike Minske in the wrestlebacks.
Class 3A quarterfinals
119: Brandon Mutz (Brd) dec. Tyler Trattles (Prior Lake) 15-7
125: Cody Madsen (Stillwater) dec. Scott Padrnos (Brd) 7-2
130: Nick Lingwall (Brd) dec. David Hurt (North St. Paul) 7-5
135: Matt Mincey (Apple Valley) tech. fall Jake Patnode
3A wrestlebacks
125: Padrnos pinned Brandon Haluptzok (Centennial) 2:57
135: Mike Minske (Rochester Mayo) dec. Patnode 8-6 ot
MIKE BIALKA may be reached at mike.bialka@brainerddispatch.com or at 855-5861.