On Saturday Jan. 19 the PEM wrestling team traveled to Ellsworth, WI for a triangular with the Ellsworth Panthers and the Simley Spartans.
The first meet of the event was Simley vs. PEM. As a Section 1 AA opponent, the Spartans are no stranger to the Bulldogs, but once again this year they are loaded from top to bottom. In addition to being the #2 ranked team in the state of MN, they also have 10 individuals currently ranked in the top 4 in the state, and are currently ranked 24th in the entire United States. The Bulldogs effort was solid, but fell short of the extremely talented Spartans. Some PEM highlights included sophomore Garrett Olson picking up a 1st period pin at 120 over James Diaz Lopez, and freshman Martin Prieto (182) using 4 takedowns to upset Simley senior Esiquio Diaz by a score of 9-5. Riley Wingert provided the final highlight of the dual with a come-from-behind overtime win over Freddy Rivera at 220.
In the 2nd dual of the morning, PEM faced the host Panthers. In addition to delicious cheese-curds, the other thing Ellsworth, WI is known for is extremely tough wrestling. Since 2007, the Panthers have made 10 appearances in the Wisconsin state finals including 6 state championships. They finished 2018 as the state runner-ups, and are currently ranked #2 this season as well. Again, the strong Panthers proved to be a little more than the Bulldogs could handle, but the PEM effort was strong against the WI powerhouse. Highlights for the Bulldogs included: Freshman Jason Feils powering his way to a 7-2 victory at 106. Garrett Olson scored a dominant 7-1 decision over state ranked Bailey Poellinger. Senior, Carter Marx (152) threw #4 ranked Sawyer Hamilton to his back with :30 left in the match to score a 6-3 come-from-behind victory. Senior, Dustin Dittrich used a variety of turns in the top position to earn a second period technical fall at 182. At 285, junior Logan Wingert notched a first period pin, (his 26th of the season), to be the first PEM wrestler to reach 30 wins this season.
Coach’s Comments: “It’s always very humbling to compete against opponent’s as talented as those we faced at this event. But in the larger scheme, this event will be extremely beneficial to each individual as we try to focus on the areas that need improvement and continue progressing, as the post-season looms closer.”
Pictures of the event are located here!
Simley (#2 AA) 55 PEM (#12 AA) 12
106: Peyton Spychalla (SIM) over Jason Feils (PEM) (Dec 8-5)
113: Andrew Shenouda (SIM) over (PEM) (For.)
120: Garrett Olson (PEM) over James Diaz Lopez (SIM) (Fall 0:48)
126: Chase DeBlaere (SIM) over Kael Lamb (PEM) (Fall 3:20)
132: Ryan Sokol (SIM) over Cooper Hofschulte (PEM) (TF 21-4 3:22)
138: Cael Berg (SIM) over Cael Marx (PEM) (MD 10-2)
145: Antonio Everett (SIM) over Lafe Aarsvold (PEM) (Fall 0:38)
152: Gavin Nelson (SIM) over Carter Marx (PEM) (Dec 10-8)
160: Jacob Hageman (SIM) over Connor Jones (PEM) (Fall 2:55)
170: Nolan Wanzek (SIM) over Alex Rahman (PEM) (Fall 1:35)
182: Martin Prieto (PEM) over Esiquio Diaz (SIM) (Dec 9-5)
195: Bennett Tabor (SIM) over Dustin Dittrich (PEM) (MD 10-2)
220: Riley Wingert (PEM) over Freddy Rivera (SIM) (SV-1 9-7)
285: Daniel Gregory Kerkvliet (SIM) over Logan Wingert (PEM) (Fall 1:26)
Ellsworth, WI (#2 D2) 40 PEM(#12 AA) 20
106: Jason Feils (PEM) over Cale Ekholm (ELLS) (Dec 7-2)
113: Cole Nelson (ELLS) over (PEM) (For.)
120: Garrett Olson (PEM) over Bailey Poellinger (ELLS) (Dec 7-1)
126: Jon Cain (ELLS) over Kael Lamb (PEM) (Dec 9-2)
132: Tyler Hines (ELLS) over Cooper Hofschulte (PEM) (Dec 8-5)
138: Carter Huppert (ELLS) over Cael Marx (PEM) (Dec 8-2)
145: Jared Lansing (ELLS) over Lafe Aarsvold (PEM) (Fall 2:52)
152: Carter Marx (PEM) over Sawyer Hamilton (ELLS) (Dec 6-3)
160: Cedric Kosnopfal (ELLS) over Connor Jones (PEM) (MD 13-1)
170: Jared Toenjes (ELLS) over Alex Rahman (PEM) (Fall 1:39)
182: Dustin Dittrich (PEM) over Alex Matzek (ELLS) (TF 18-3 3:49)
195: Logan Melstrom (ELLS) over Martin Prieto (PEM) (Dec 9-4)
220: Logan Peterson (ELLS) over Riley Wingert (PEM) (Fall 1:28)
285: Logan Wingert (PEM) over Kyle Anschutz (ELLS) (Fall 0:34)