Section 1AA Individual Tournament
The unforgettable 2021 wrestling season came to a finish for the Bulldogs last week. In a yearmarked by unprecedented modifications due to Covid-19, last week was no exception. Beginning on Wed. March 17, when the Section 1AA individual tournament was held. Since fans were extremely limited, the event was held in the Cannon Falls Fieldhouse, instead of the Mayo Civic Center where it is normally held. In addition, the event was held start to finish on a Wednesday evening, instead of the traditional Friday/Saturday schedule. Furthermore, in an effort to limit contact, instead of the top 2 wrestlers per weight class qualifying for the State Tournament, this season the top 4 wrestlers qualified for the State Prelims Tournament. Since all 4 top qualifiers moved on, the finals or 3rd place matches were not wrestled. Wrestlers who made it to the finals were considered 2nd place, wrestlers who made it to the 3rd place match were considered 4th place.
While the new format was certainly unique, PEM competed well in the modified format. The Bulldogs brought 12 wrestlers into the 11 team tournament and 6 of them placed in the top 4 to advance to the State Prelims. Among those who did not place in the top 4, junior Isaac Walch advanced to the top 6 with a rubber-match win over Lake City’s Cristofer Ramirez at 106, but fell in the consolation semifinals to end his season with a very impressive 25-10 record.
Brothers Carson (8) and Alex (12) Rahman also won matches in their 1st and last Section Tournament. Carson won his preliminary bout at 113 by fall to earn his first ever Section Tournament win as just an 8th grader, before falling in the quarterfinal and consolation rounds. Carson finishes his 8th grade campaign with 10 varsity wins to his credit. At 182, senior Alex Rahman had an incredibly tough draw with 27-2 Vincent Mueller of St. Thomas Academy to begin the tournament. But Rahman battled back in the consolations with a first period pin over Cannon Falls’ Beau Zimmerman to earn his spot in the top 6 of the Section for the 4th time in his career. Unfortunately, in the next round Rahman was paired with Byron’s 19-1 Austin Freerksen and was unable to advance into the consolation finals. Rahman finishes his Bulldog career with 66 career wins, including 20 in his senior season.
Advancing to the State Prelims for the Bulldogs were seniors Cooper Hofschulte (138), Garrett Olson (145), Cael Marx (152), Kael Lamb (160), Dereck Boyum (170), as well as junior Martin Prieto (195).
At 138, Cooper Hofschulte scored the first quarterfinal win for the Bulldogs. Using two takedowns and dominating control on top, Hofschulte earned a 7-0 decision into the semis before meeting Byron’s state champion Maxwell Peterson. After dropping a decision to Peterson, Hofschulte rebounded with his 3rd win this season over Lake City’s Aaron Meincke to advance into the top 4 and onto Saturday’s competition.
In a critical first round match at 145, Garrett Olson poured on a series of takedowns vs. Simley’s Vristol Short, to notch an 8-0 major decision and advance into the semifinals. In the semis Olson met undefeated and top-ranked Logan Vaughan of K-M and fell by decision. Needing to win in the consolation round to advance into the State Prelims, Olson wasted no time and pinned Stewartville’s Lincoln Dube in only :41 seconds and extended his senior campaign by 3 days.
At 152, Cael Marx used a 14-5 major decision over Pine Island’s Mason Pike to advance into the semis. In the semis, Marx would face 28-1 Preston Carlisle of Cannon Falls. After giving up the first takedown Marx found himself down 2-0 but recovered with a reversal to end the first period and tie the match at 2-2. In the 2nd period, Marx surrendered another takedown, but gained another reversal to tie the match 4-4. Then as the scramble finished Marx hooked up an inside cradle to earn the pin and give Carlisle loss #2 on the season. The win put Marx in the finals and into Saturday’s competition.
Kael Lamb had a dangerous draw in his quarterfinal bout vs. LARP’s Brennan Corcoran whom he had a close match with only a couple weeks prior. But it would not be close this time, as Lamb used a barrage of takedowns to cruise to a 15-4 major decision victory. In the semis, Lamb would fall to K-M’s #3 ranked Cole Glazier, but then would battle back with another major decision in the consolation round over St. Thomas Academy’s Jack Springer to punch his ticket to the State Prelims.
At 170, Dereck Boyum drew St. Thomas Academy’s Jack Borman in the quarterfinals. It would be the 3rd time this season that the two have met with Boyum winning the first two meetings. This meeting would produce the closest result to date, but Boyum would recover from surrendering a first period takedown to earn a 6-3 decision victory to advance to the semifinals. In the semis, Boyum would earn the first takedown, but ultimately fall to Simley’s Travis Smith. But Boyum recovered in the consolation round, earning a pin over LARP’s Colin Klug to advance into the State Prelims.
Finally at 195, Martin Prieto earned a hard fought victory in the opening round over St. Thomas Academy’s Jackson Cercioglu. Down 1-0 going into the 3rd period, Prieto earned an escape to tie the match. Then using his superior conditioning, Prieto poured on a ton of motion in the neutral position that earned him 3 third period takedowns and a 7-3 victory to advance into the semifinals. In the semis, Prieto was matched with K-M’s Jackson Kennedy (ranked #3 in the state), who had pinned Prieto in their earlier meeting this season. In the first period, Prieto shot to his left and Kennedy countered with a front headlock that earned him the first takedown of the match and a 2-0 lead. In the 2nd period Kennedy chose the down position and escaped to extend his lead to 3-0. Prieto began with an attack to the left side again, but after getting stopped switched to a right side attack. Prieto got in deep on Kennedy’s left leg and earned the takedown and also exposed an obviously injured leg on Kennedy’s right side. Still trailing in the match, Prieto put Kennedy back on his feet and took him down again to tie the match 4-4. Showing great courage, Kennedy refused to concede the match and continued on. But he was unable to stop the single leg takedown, as Prieto earned 4 takedowns in the 2nd period and 4 more in the 3rd to score a 16-9 decision victory. The win put Prieto into the finals and in the State Prelims.
MSHSL Section 1AA Results for PEM
106: Isaac Walch (25-10) placed Top 6
Quarterfinal - Nick Thein (PI) 19-11 won by decision over Isaac Walch (PEM) 25-10 (Dec 7-0)
Cons. Rd. 1 - Isaac Walch (PEM) 25-10 won by decision over Cristofer Ramirez (LC) 17-13 (Dec 9-2), Cons. Semi - Luke Swanson (KM) 16-8 won by fall over Isaac Walch (PEM) 25-10 (Fall 5:04)
113: Carson Rahman (10-23)
Prelim - Carson Rahman (PEM) 10-23 won by fall over Liam Connor (STA) 0-4 (Fall 1:42)
Quarterfinal - Luke Williams (PI) 13-0 won by fall over Carson Rahman (PEM) 10-23 (Fall 0:36)
Cons. Rd. 1 - Nate Evans (LC) 21-7 won by fall over Carson Rahman (PEM) 10-23 (Fall 2:41)
120: Nolan Ford (3-9)
Quarterfinal - Colton Zwiefel (STA) 25-3 won by fall over Nolan Ford (PEM) 3-9 (Fall 1:35)
Cons. Rd. 1 - Caden Odonnell (Byron) 14-17 won by fall over Nolan Ford (PEM) 3-9 (Fall 0:18)
138: Cooper Hofschulte (32-3) placed Top 4
Quarterfinal - Cooper Hofschulte (PEM) 32-3 won by decision over Henry Paulson (KM) 10-14 (Dec 7-0),
Semifinal - Maxwell Petersen (Byron) 30-0 won by major decision over Cooper Hofschulte (PEM) 32-3 (MD 15-5),
Cons. Semi - Cooper Hofschulte (PEM) 32-3 won by decision over Aaron Meincke (LC) 14-16 (Dec 10-4)
145: Garrett Olson (23-11) placed Top 4
Quarterfinal - Garrett Olson (PEM) 23-11 won by major decision over Vristol Short (SIM) 11-9 (MD 8-0),
Semifinal - Logan Vaughan (KM) 22-0 won by major decision over Garrett Olson (PEM) 23-11 (MD 16-6),
Cons. Semi - Garrett Olson (PEM) 23-11 won by fall over Lincoln Dube (Stewartville) 5-18 (Fall 0:41)
152: Cael Marx (31-3) placed Top 2
Quarterfinal - Cael Marx (PEM) 31-3 won by major decision over Mason Pike (PI) 14-11 (MD 14-5), Semifinal - Cael Marx (PEM) 31-3 won by fall over Preston Carlisle (CF) 29-2 (Fall 3:28)
160: Kael Lamb (28-7) placed Top 4
Quarterfinal - Kael Lamb (PEM) 28-7 won by major decision over Brennan Corcoran (LARP) 18-16 (MD 15-4),
Semifinal - Cole Glazier (KM) 20-2 won by decision over Kael Lamb (PEM) 28-7 (Dec 9-2),
Cons. Semi - Kael Lamb (PEM) 28-7 won by major decision over Jack Springer (STA) 15-13 (MD 8-0)
170: Dereck Boyum (27-8) placed Top 4
Quarterfinal - Dereck Boyum (PEM) 27-8 won by decision over Jake Borman (STA) 18-10 (Dec 6-3),
Semifinal - Travis Smith (SIM) 21-4 won by tech fall over Dereck Boyum (PEM) 27-8 (TF-1.5 4:41 (19-4)),
Cons. Semi - Dereck Boyum (PEM) 27-8 won by fall over Colin Klug (LARP) 17-12 (Fall 3:25)
182: Alex Rahman (20-15) placed Top 6
Quarterfinal - Vincent Mueller (STA) 27-2 won by fall over Alex Rahman (PEM) 20-15 (Fall 3:02)
Cons. Rd. 1 - Alex Rahman (PEM) 20-15 won by fall over Beau Zimmerman (CF) 12-12 (Fall 1:44), Cons. Semi - Austin Freerksen (Byron) 19-1 won by tech fall over Alex Rahman (PEM) 20-15 (TF-1.5 1:50 (15-0))
195: Martin Prieto (32-2) placed Top 2
Quarterfinal - Martin Prieto (PEM) 32-2 won by decision over Jackson Cercioglu (STA) 6-3 (Dec 7-3),
Semifinal - Martin Prieto (PEM) 32-2 won by decision over Jackson Kennedy (KM) 16-5 (Dec 16-9)
220: Anthony Roberton (7-14)
Quarterfinal - Gavin Nelson (SIM) 23-0 won by fall over Anthony Roberton (PEM) 7-14 (Fall 0:07), Cons. Rd. 1 - Carter Geerts (Byron) 17-14 won by fall over Anthony Roberton (PEM) 7-14 (Fall 2:55)
285:Cody Schneider (10-17)
Prelim - Brock Frisik (LARP) 14-12 won by fall over Cody Schneider (PEM) 10-17 (Fall 2:52)
Section 1AA/4AA State Prelims
On Saturday March 20, the Bulldogs’ six qualifiers traveled back to Cannon Falls for the first ever State Prelims Tournament. The event would feature the top 4 qualifiers from Section 1AA (SEMN) and the top 4 qualifiers from Section 4 AA (St. Paul Metro Area) forming an 8 man bracket, with the top 2 finishers going to the State Championships on Friday March 26. In the opening round of the tournament, every bout pitted Section 1AA vs. 4AA. Section 1 AA flexed their muscle in the opening round winning 46 of the 56 matches that were wrestled.
The Bulldogs had a solid quarterfinal round as well winning 5 of their 6 opening round matches. At 138, Cooper Hofschulte would earn a 1st period fall over Mahtomedi’s Evan McGuire to advance into the semifinals. Garrett Olson would follow at 145, but his draw was considerably tougher in 2020 State Entrant Josh Logan of North Branch. Olson would drop the opening round match by decision to the 23-5 Logan and would move into the consolation bracket.
Getting the Bulldogs back on track at 152, Cael Marx needed a minute and a half to score a first round pin over St. Croix Lutheran’s Maximilian Berg. Kael Lamb would follow suit at 160 with a 2nd period pin over previously undefeated Robin Spitzer of St. Paul Johnson. Dereck Boyum would keep the round going with another 1st period pin at 170 over Chisago Lakes’ Logan Bender. Then at 195, Martin Prieto put an exclamation point on the first round with a 2nd period pin over St. Croix Lutheran’s Will Kapanke.
As good as the first round was for the Bulldogs, the second round was exactly the opposite as all of the Bulldogs in the semis would drop their semifinal bouts including close decisions at 152 and 195. The lone bright spot for the Bulldogs in the 2nd round was a 16-0 technical fall victory by Garrett Olson at 145 over South St. Paul’s Nate Berchtold to keep his tournament chances alive and advance to the consolation semifinals.
With all 6 qualifying Bulldogs out of championship contention, but still alive in the consolations, the focus shifted to placing in the top 4 in the tournament and in the process earning a spot among the top 16 in the state at their weight class. Cooper Hofschulte set the pace for the Bulldogs getting out to a 13-2 lead before securing a pin in the 3rd period to advance into the 3rd place match. At 145, Garrett Olson would drop his consolation semifinal bout to St. Thomas Academy’s state ranked Jacob Draxler by decision, ending both his tournament and PEM wrestling career. Garrett finished his career with 117 career varsity wins (18th all-time in Plainview/PEM history).
Continuing the round, Cael Marx would recover at 152 with a 13-3 major decision victory over 26-4 and 2020 state entrant Will Nihart of South St. Paul. Kael Lamb would earn a hard-fought 5-2 victory over Lake City’s Dominic Goihl Krier. Tied at 2-2 heading into the final period, Lamb would earn an escape and a final takedown to clinch the decision. At 170, Dereck Boyum would need to beat Byron’s Will Wharton to advance into the top 4. Boyum needed last minute heroics to earn a come-from-behind win vs. Wharton in the regular season dual meet vs. Byron. But this time Boyum didn’t even need the second period, earning a pin in 1:44 to advance into the top 4. In the final consolation semifinal for the Bulldogs, Martin Prieto would dig himself a hole early, going down 5-0 vs. Shalen Woods of St. Paul Washington. But Prieto would recover with a 1st period reversal that put Woods on his back and earned the pin for Prieto to advance into the top 4.
In the final round of competition for the Bulldogs, Cooper Hofschulte started the Bulldogs off on the right foot, using only :50 seconds to record his 18th pin of the season in the final match of his career to place 3rd in the tournament. Cael Marx was next up at 152 facing Cannon Falls’ Preston Carlisle for the 2nd time in 4 days. For the 2nd time in as many tries Marx was victorious, this time winning by a score of 9-2 over the 29-3 Carlisle. In the 160 and 170 lb. weight classes Kael Lamb and Dereck Boyum both fell short but still finished in the top 4 in their weight classes and subsequently in the top 16 in the state. In the Bulldogs’ final scheduled bout of the season, Martin Prieto won by injury default as his Stewartville opponent was injured a round prior. With the win Prieto also finished 3rd in the tournament and subsequently in the top 12 in the state.
MSHSL Ind State Prelim 1AA-4AA Results for PEM
138: Cooper Hofschulte (35-4) placed 3rd
Quarterfinal - Cooper Hofschulte (PEM) 35-4 won by fall over Evan McGuire (Mahtomedi) 12-10 (Fall 1:19),
Semifinal - Chase DeBlaere (Simley) 25-1 won by major decision over Cooper Hofschulte (PEM) 35-4 (MD 18-8),
Cons. Semi - Cooper Hofschulte (PEM) 35-4 won by fall over Hayden Trupe (Chisago Lakes) 16-18 (Fall 4:46),
3rd Place Match - Cooper Hofschulte (PEM) 35-4 won by fall over Roman Cortez (South Saint Paul) 19-7 (Fall 0:50)
145: Garrett Olson (24-13) placed 6th
Quarterfinal - Josh Logan (North Branch) 23-5 won by decision over Garrett Olson (PEM) 24-13 (Dec 7-2),
Cons. Round 1 - Garrett Olson (PEM) 24-13 won by tech fall over Nate Berchtold (South Saint Paul) 14-13 (TF-1.5 3:16 (16-0)),
Cons. Semi - Jacob Draxler (St. Thomas Academy) 26-3 won by decision over Garrett Olson (PEM) 24-13 (Dec 9-4)
152: Cael Marx (34-4) placed 3rd
Quarterfinal - Cael Marx (PEM) 34-4 won by fall over Maximilian Berg (St. Croix Lutheran) 14-8 (Fall 1:31),
Semifinal - Joe Kozlowski (Lake City) 21-7 won by decision over Cael Marx (PEM) 32-4 (Dec 7-4), Cons. Semi - Cael Marx (PEM) 34-4 won by major decision over Will Nihart (South Saint Paul) 26-4 (MD 13-3),
3rd Place Match - Cael Marx (PEM) 34-4 won by decision over Preston Carlisle (Cannon Falls) 29-3 (Dec 9-2)
160: Kael Lamb (30-9) placed 4th
Quarterfinal - Kael Lamb (PEM) 30-9 won by fall over Robin Spitzer (St. Paul Johnson) 12-2 (Fall 2:40),
Semifinal - Cael Berg (Simley) 26-1 won by fall over Kael Lamb (PEM) 30-9 (Fall 2:35),
Cons. Semi - Kael Lamb (PEM) 30-9 won by decision over Dominic Goihl-Krier (Lake City) 15-13 (Dec 5-2),
3rd Place Match - Brandt Bombard (North Branch) 26-3 won by fall over Kael Lamb (PEM) 30-9 (Fall 1:44)
170: Dereck Boyum (29-10) placed 4th
Quarterfinal - Dereck Boyum (PEM) 29-10 won by fall over Logan Bender (Chisago Lakes) 11-9 (Fall 1:27),
Semifinal - Kail Wynia (Kasson-Mantorville) 23-2 won by fall over Dereck Boyum (PEM) 29-10 (Fall 1:06),
Cons. Semi - Dereck Boyum (PEM) 29-10 won by fall over William Wharton (Byron) 20-11 (Fall 1:42),
3rd Place Match - Ian Wilsey (Mahtomedi) 29-5 won by fall over Dereck Boyum (PEM) 29-10 (Fall 3:04)
195: Martin Prieto (35-3) placed 3rd
Quarterfinal - Martin Prieto (PEM) 35-3 won by fall over Will Kapanke (St. Croix Lutheran) 17-13 (Fall 3:12),
Semifinal - Quinn Christoffersen (South Saint Paul) 25-3 won by decision over Martin Prieto (PEM) 35-3 (Dec 11-9),
Cons. Semi - Martin Prieto (PEM) 35-3 won by fall over Shalen Woods (St. Paul Washington Technology Magnet) 14-2 (Fall 1:40),
3rd Place Match - Martin Prieto (PEM) 35-3 won by injury default over Christian Sackett (Stewartville) 20-8 (Inj. 0:00)
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