On Saturday, Dec. 2, the PEM varsity wrestling team traveled to Faribault to compete in the 45th annual Dick Shiels Wrestling Invitational. This year’s invitational featured a 9 team field including 3 state ranked class AAA teams (Owatonna #8, Stillwater #11, and Faribault #15). The field of individual wrestlers included 18 wrestlers currently ranked in the top 10 in the state at their weight class. Despite having 2 open weight classes, the 12 Bulldogs that competed were able to keep pace with the field. After 6 hours of wrestling, the team title came down to the final match of the day, with PEM finishing in 2nd place, just 4 points short of team champion Owatonna. The Bulldogs only had 1 tournament champion, but their entire line-up finished 5th or higher including 4 in 2nd place, and 3 in 3rd place.
Highlights for the Bulldogs included freshman Carter Meyers getting his first ever taste of varsity action. Despite falling short in both of his matches, Meyers scored 5 points for the Bulldogs as he finished in 5th place. Fellow freshman Garrett Olson made the finals of a varsity tournament for the first time in his career at 113 on the strength of several quality leg attacks in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. At 120, senior Nick Miller competed to 3rd place in what was easily the deepest bracket in the tournament that included 4 previous state qualifiers. Miller wrestled extremely well each round going 3-1 on the day. His lone loss was a 4-3 decision to a state ranked opponent. His 3 wins included a pin over a quality opponent from Northfield and two decision victories over a state entrant from Stillwater in the quarterfinal and 3rd place match. 126 freshman Cael Marx wrestled 5 quality matches for the Bulldogs, dropping a 10-9 decision to a state ranked Owatonna opponent in the semifinals, but also picking up 4 wins including 3 pins and a major decision.
At 138, freshman Cooper Hofschulte picked up his first 2 wins of the season. Additionally, Hofschulte showed great potential in the 2 matches that he dropped, taking down both opponents, one of whom was a 2x state entrant and the tournament champion. At 145, sophomore Joe Stucky used a variety of takedowns to defeat 3 opponents on the day earning his way to a 3rd place finish. Junior 160, Carter Marx made the tournament finals with a pin in the quarterfinal and semifinal round before falling to Owatonna state champion Peyton Robb in the finals. Junior, Connor Jones earned his first 2 victories of the year by fall enroute to 5th place in the 170 bracket.
At 182, PEM senior Austin Rother went 3-0 on the day with a fall and two hard fought decisions that were each won by 2 points in the semifinal and final rounds. In Rother’s finals bout, he found himself in a 2-0 deficit before posting 6 straight points and winning the tournament championship. At 195, junior Dustin Dittrich, PEM’s lone state ranked wrestler, wrestled one of the most exciting matches of the day in the finals against #1 ranked Cade King of Owatonna. After many explosive scrambles Dittrich found himself on the short end of a 14-11 decision, but definitely pushed the 2017 state finalist to the edge.
At 220, sophomore Riley Wingert earned a fall in the first round, and after dropping his semifinal match to last year’s AAA state finalist, Wingert worked his way back to the 3rd place match where he almost recorded the upset of the day, putting #3 ranked Marco Cavallaro to his back 2 different times. Narrowly avoiding the fall, Cavallaro battled back to earn the victory at the very end of the match. Sophomore Heavyweight Logan Wingert also had a great day for the Bulldogs earning 2 pins in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds before falling to a state ranked opponent in the finals.
According to Coach Marx, “This was a great early season test for our team. The tournament was very well run and featured many high quality opponents that we were not extremely familiar with. I was proud of the way our wrestlers were mentally and physically ready to wrestle each round and how our performance improved throughout the day.”
Pictures of the Event can be located here!
Team Scores
1. Owatonna 189 2. Plainview Elgin Millville 185 3. East Ridge 155 4. Faribault 141 5. Tri City United 134 6. Northfield 129 7. Stillwater 112 8. St. Paul Johnson 47 9. Minneapolis Roosevelt 6
Dick Shiels Faribault Invite Varsity Results for Plainview Elgin Millville
106 - Carter Meyers (0-2) placed 5th and scored 5.00 team points. Quarterfinal - Johnny LaCore (East Ridge) 1-2 won by fall over Carter Meyers (Plainview Elgin Millville) 0-2 (Fall 0:27), Cons. Round 1 - Carter Meyers (Plainview Elgin Millville) 0-2 received a bye () (Bye), Cons. Semi - Caden O`Malley (Tri City United) 2-1 won by fall over Carter Meyers (Plainview Elgin Millville) 0-2 (Fall 0:30), 5th Place Match - Carter Meyers (Plainview Elgin Millville) 0-2 received a bye () (Bye)
113 - Garrett Olson (2-1) placed 2nd and scored 19.00 team points. Quarterfinal - Garrett Olson (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-1 won by fall over Tanner Holt (East Ridge) 1-2 (Fall 1:22), Semifinal - Garrett Olson (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-1 won by major decision over Caleb Whipps (Tri City United) 2-2 (MD 15-2), 1st Place Match - Ryder Rogotzke (East Ridge) 3-0 won by fall over Garrett Olson (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-1 (Fall 1:20)
120 - Nick Miller (3-1) placed 3rd and scored 14.00 team points. Quarterfinal - Nick Miller (Plainview Elgin Millville) 3-1 won by decision over Javon Taschuk (Stillwater) 1-2 (Dec 7-1), Semifinal - Nick Johnson (Tri City United) 1-1 won by decision over Nick Miller (Plainview Elgin Millville) 3-1 (Dec 4-3), Cons. Semi - Nick Miller (Plainview Elgin Millville) 3-1 won by fall over Kevin Garcia Rosas (Northfield) 1-3 (Fall 4:34), 3rd Place Match - Nick Miller (Plainview Elgin Millville) 3-1 won by decision over Javon Taschuk (Stillwater) 1-2 (Dec 3-1)
126 - Cael Marx (4-1) placed 3rd and scored 21.00 team points. Prelim - Cael Marx (Plainview Elgin Millville) 4-1 won by fall over Kyle Gregerson (Minneapolis Roosevelt) 0-2 (Fall 1:10), Quarterfinal - Cael Marx (Plainview Elgin Millville) 4-1 won by fall over Hunter Rutt (Tri City United) 1-3 (Fall 0:47), Semifinal - Landon Johnson (Owatonna) 2-1 won by decision over Cael Marx (Plainview Elgin Millville) 4-1 (Dec 10-9), Cons. Semi - Cael Marx (Plainview Elgin Millville) 4-1 won by major decision over Sam LaCanne (Faribault) 2-2 (MD 10-0), 3rd Place Match - Cael Marx (Plainview Elgin Millville) 4-1 won by fall over Darrin Kuyper (Northfield) 2-2 (Fall 2:38)
138 - Cooper Hofschulte (2-2) placed 5th and scored 7.00 team points. Quarterfinal - Cooper Hofschulte (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-2 won by decision over Bryce Nolen (Faribault) 1-3 (Dec 7-2), Semifinal - Trey Kruse (Stillwater) 2-1 won by major decision over Cooper Hofschulte (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-2 (MD 12-3), Cons. Semi - Todd Olson (Northfield) 1-2 won in sudden victory - 1 over Cooper Hofschulte (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-2 (SV-1 4-2), 5th Place Match - Cooper Hofschulte (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-2 won by decision over Bryce Nolen (Faribault) 1-3 (Dec 6-2)
145 - Joe Stucky (3-1) placed 3rd and scored 15.50 team points. Quarterfinal - Joe Stucky (Plainview Elgin Millville) 3-1 won by tech fall over Fue Her (St. Paul Johnson) 2-3 (TF-1.5 2:22 (16-0)), Semifinal - Justin Kopet (Tri City United) 3-0 won by major decision over Joe Stucky (Plainview Elgin Millville) 3-1 (MD 11-3), Cons. Semi - Joe Stucky (Plainview Elgin Millville) 3-1 won by fall over Levi Vandermartin (Northfield) 1-3 (Fall 2:58), 3rd Place Match - Joe Stucky (Plainview Elgin Millville) 3-1 won by decision over Jerez Autridge (Owatonna) 2-2 (Dec 11-6)
160 - Carter Marx (2-1) placed 2nd and scored 20.00 team points. Quarterfinal - Carter Marx (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-1 won by fall over Quentin Moguet (East Ridge) 1-3 (Fall 0:51), Semifinal - Carter Marx (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-1 won by fall over Jack Stanton (Northfield) 2-2 (Fall 2:46), 1st Place Match - Peyton Robb (Owatonna) 3-0 won by fall over Carter Marx (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-1 (Fall 2:43)
170 - Connor Jones (2-2) placed 5th and scored 10.00 team points. Quarterfinal - Jose Reyes (Tri City United) 2-2 won by decision over Connor Jones (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-2 (Dec 8-2), Cons. Round 1 - Connor Jones (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-2 won by fall over Will Erickson (Faribault) 0-2 (Fall 2:20), Cons. Semi - Austin Underdahl (Faribault) 3-1 won by decision over Connor Jones (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-2 (Dec 8-1), 5th Place Match - Connor Jones (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-2 won by fall over Shayden Wellentin (Northfield) 1-3 (Fall 2:59)
182 - Austin Rother (3-0) placed 1st and scored 22.00 team points. Quarterfinal - Austin Rother (Plainview Elgin Millville) 3-0 won by fall over Steve Miller (Tri City United) 2-3 (Fall 1:51), Semifinal - Austin Rother (Plainview Elgin Millville) 3-0 won by decision over Josh Heyda (Faribault) 3-1 (Dec 4-2), 1st Place Match - Austin Rother (Plainview Elgin Millville) 3-0 won by decision over Josh Piechowski (Stillwater) 2-1 (Dec 6-4)
195 - Dustin Dittrich (1-1) placed 2nd and scored 18.00 team points. Quarterfinal - Dustin Dittrich (Plainview Elgin Millville) 1-1 received a bye () (Bye), Semifinal - Dustin Dittrich (Plainview Elgin Millville) 1-1 won by fall over Ethan Erickson (Faribault) 2-2 (Fall 3:37), 1st Place Match - Cade King (Owatonna) 3-0 won by decision over Dustin Dittrich (Plainview Elgin Millville) 1-1 (Dec 14-11)
220 - Riley Wingert (2-2) placed 4th and scored 13.50 team points. Quarterfinal - Riley Wingert (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-2 won by fall over Ezra Medellin (Tri City United) 1-3 (Fall 2:19), Semifinal - Austin Rendler (Faribault) 3-0 won by fall over Riley Wingert (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-2 (Fall 1:41), Cons. Semi - Riley Wingert (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-2 won by tech fall over Isaiah Noeldner (Owatonna) 2-2 (TF-1.5 3:39 (22-5)), 3rd Place Match - Marco Cavallaro (East Ridge) 3-1 won by fall over Riley Wingert (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-2 (Fall 5:00)
285 - Logan Wingert (2-1) placed 2nd and scored 20.00 team points. Quarterfinal - Logan Wingert (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-1 won by fall over Eddie Pacheco (St. Paul Johnson) 1-2 (Fall 3:11), Semifinal - Logan Wingert (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-1 won by fall over Wes Eggers (East Ridge) 1-2 (Fall 0:51), 1st Place Match - Dillon McEachran (Faribault) 3-0 won by major decision over Logan Wingert (Plainview Elgin Millville) 2-1 (MD 16-8)
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