Bulldogs Hit the Road vs. HVL Competition, Cael Marx Notches Win #150!

PEM vs. Kasson-Mantorville

Last week the PEM grapplers took the road vs. 3 Hiawatha Valley League schools. Beginning on Thursday, the Bulldogs traveled to Kasson to do battle against the always tough and #2 state ranked Komets.

In the first match of the evening, junior Isaac Walch rolled, using four takedowns and a set of nearfall points to rack up a 13-1 major decision at 106. But with PEM being open in the next 3 of the next 4 weight classes, the Komets quickly took the lead back and led 23-4 going into 138. Senior, Cooper Hofschulte once again got the Bulldogs restarted at 138 with a 2nd period pin. At 145, Garrett Olson battled hard against #1 state ranked Logan Vaughan but ultimately lost by a score of 17-6. In the next weight class (152) Kael Lamb used some late match heroics to earn a decision at 152. Down 3-2 with the match entering the final :30 seconds, Lamb escaped to tie the match at 3, then scored his first takedown of the match in the final :10 seconds to finish with a 5-3 win.

K-M would again rebound quickly earning ten points at 160 and 170 with a major decision and a fall from their highly ranked middleweights. At 182, Alex Rahman picked up the 4th Bulldog victory of the night, using 2 takedowns and 2 sets of nearfall to cruise to a 12-2 victory. K-M would again return fire scoring 18 points in the final 3 weight classes, with a forfeit at 195 and two pins at 220 and 285.

Kasson-Mantorville 55 PEM 17

106: Isaac Walch (PEM) over Broc Vaughan (KM) (MD 13-1)

113: Sam Graunke (KM) over (PEM) (For.)

120: Luke Swanson (KM) over Carson Rahman (PEM) (TF 17-1 5:49)

126: Joseph Kennedy (KM) over (PEM) (For.)

132: Dominic Mann (KM) over (PEM) (For.)

138: Cooper Hofschulte (PEM) over Henry Paulson (KM) (Fall 3:52)

145: Logan Vaughan (KM) over Garrett Olson (PEM) (MD 17-6)

152: Kael Lamb (PEM) over Tyler Paulson (KM) (Dec 5-3)

160: Cole Glazier (KM) over Cael Marx (PEM) (MD 11-0)

170: Kail Wynia (KM) over Dereck Boyum (PEM) (Fall 2:58)

182: Alex Rahman (PEM) over Eli Richardson (KM) (MD 12-2)

195: Bennett Berge (KM) over (PEM) (For.)

220: Jackson Kennedy (KM) over Martin Prieto (PEM) (Fall 2:47)

285: Anthony Moe-Tucker (KM) over Cody Schneider (PEM) (Fall 1:51)

Pictures of the event will be available shortly!

PEM vs. Goodhue

The following evening, the Bulldogs would take to the road again, heading to Lake City for the second time in as many weeks to face the Tigers again as well as the 13-3 Goodhue Wildcats.

The first test for PEM on this night was against the Wildcats. Leading the way at 106 was again Isaac Walch who dominated the neutral position for 3 takedowns and a 7-1 victory, giving the Bulldogs an early 3-0 lead in the dual. At 113 Goodhue would respond with a pin to take the lead back at 6-3. In the 120 pound weight class, PEM would be the recipient of a gutsy performance from Nolan Ford, competing in his first ever varsity match. Just a 7th grader, Ford was giving up over 10 pounds and 2 years of experience. Though the match ultimately went to Goodhue in the win column giving them a 10-3 lead, Ford battled like a warrior for all 6 minutes, limiting his opponent to a 4 point major decision. The two saved team points would prove critical nearly an hour later as the meet was winding down. Unfortunately, injuries left PEM open at 126 and 132, and Goodhue would win those weight classes by forfeit, stretching their lead to 22-3.

But starting at 138, PEM’s 6 seniors began the attempt to get the Bulldogs back in the meet, beginning with senior #1 Cooper Hofschulte. Goodhue’s Makae O’Reilly proved extremely stingy at 138, refusing to give up back points to Hofschulte. But Hofschulte dominated on the feet using 4 takedowns to earn an 11-4 decision victory, and chipping away at the Wildcat lead (22-6).

At 145, senior #2 Garrettt Olson faced the always tough Maddox O’Reilly in what was definitely the most exciting match of the dual meet. Olson started the match hot scoring the first takedown to take a 2-0 lead early, but O’Reilly battled back with an escape and takedown of his own to take the lead back. Olson battled off the bottom and scored an escape before the period ended at a 3-3 tie. In the 2nd period, O’Reilly would begin in the down position and after a quick escape would again have the lead back at 4-3 with both wrestlers in the neutral position. Olson would again push the pace on the feet and score his 2nd takedown of the match to take the lead back once again at 5-4. Once again, O’Reilly would escape and tie the match at 5-5. Late in the 3rd period, Olson would receive a penalty point for unsportsmanlike conduct due to O’Reilly continuing to manipulate Olson’s finger joints after numerous warnings from the referee.

Leading 6-5 heading into the 3rd period, Olson would escape to take the first 2 point lead of the match since 2-0. But with the final minute of the match ticking down, O’Reilly would score his 2nd takedown of the match again tying the bout at 7-7. As time ticked down, Olson battled to get away and earn a 1 point victory, while O’Reilly battled to keep Olson down and send the match to overtime. In the end, Olson’s conditioning proved superior as he would score the escape in the closing seconds to win 8-7. Though the win was the Bulldogs’ 3rd of the evening, the Wildcats still held a commanding 22-9 lead in the dual.

At 152, senior #3 Kael Lamb took a 2-2 match into the 3rd period before pulling away with 2 3rd period takedowns for the 8-3 victory. The decision evened the win totals at 4 apiece, but the Bulldogs still trailed by 10 on the scoreboard (22-12). At 160, senior #4 Cael Marx scored the Bulldogs’ first bonus points of the evening with a first period pin bringing PEM within 4 points (22-18). Dereck Boyum (senior #5) followed suit at 170. After cruising to a 7-0 1st period lead, Boyum chose the top position to begin the 3rd period and needed just :12 seconds to turn an arm-bar into a pin. The fall would five the Bulldogs the lead back for the first time since 106 (24-22). Then at 182, senior #6, Alex Rahman would complete the senior sweep. With the match tied at 2-2 heading into the 3rd period, Rahman would rally for 10 points to win 12-3 and earn a major decision, stretching the Bulldog lead to 28-22.

Though there were no seniors left in the Bulldogs’ line-up, 3 critical matches remained in the dual. The Bulldogs needed to win at least one more match, and a pin would give PEM the dual. At 195, junior Martin Prieto attempted to do just that for the Bulldogs. But the Wildcats proved very good at staying off their back. Prieto notched 6 takedowns in the match, and got his opponent called for stalling 3 times, but could not earn the pin despite an amazing effort. Nevertheless, with the major decision, PEM held a 10 point lead heading into the final 2 matches and the Wildcats last hope was 2 pins at the top two weight classes.

At 220, junior Tony Roberton had a chance to win the dual for the Bulldogs if he could stay off his back. In the first period, Roberton did his job perfectly staying in good position in the center of the mat working for good ties. The opening period would end in a 0-0 tie, though Roberton would receive a warning for stalling. In the 2nd period, Goodhue would wisely choose the top position. Despite an onslaught of crossfaces and half-nelson attempts, Roberton would fight them off and not concede any nearfall points. Unfortunately, he would receive two more warnings for stalling, giving Goodhue a 2-0 lead in the match. In the final period, Roberton would choose neutral and again battle for position in the center of the mat. When Goodhue got called for stalling, that brought the match score to 2-1. But another late period stall call on Roberton earned Goodhue 2 penalty points and gave them their position choice. Goodhue chose the top position and again for the final :20 seconds of the match Roberton was able to fight off a barrage of pinning combinations. Though he lost the match, the loss by decision locked up the team win for the Bulldogs. The Wildcats scored a pin at 285, but it was not enough as the Bulldogs hung on for the 1 point victory.

PEM 32 Goodhue 31

106: Isaac Walch (PEM) over Hayden Holm (GOOD) (Dec 7-1)

113: Lucas Bortz (GOOD) over Carson Rahman (PEM) (Fall 3:47)

120: Jeremiah Bien (GOOD) over Nolan Ford (PEM) (MD 15-1)

126: Ryan Bortz (GOOD) over (PEM) (For.)

132: Ethan Breuer (GOOD) over (PEM) (For.)

138: Cooper Hofschulte (PEM) over Makae O`Reilly (GOOD) (Dec 11-4)

145: Garrett Olson (PEM) over Maddox O`Reilly (GOOD) (Dec 8-7)

152: Kael Lamb (PEM) over Beau Jaeger (GOOD) (Dec 8-3)

160: Cael Marx (PEM) over Jeremiah O`Reilly (GOOD) (Fall 1:35)

170: Dereck Boyum (PEM) over Malakye Parker (GOOD) (Fall 2:12)

182: Alex Rahman (PEM) over Kade Altendorf (GOOD) (MD 12-3)

195: Martin Prieto (PEM) over Mason Taxdahl (GOOD) (MD 14-3

) 220: Cody Lohman (GOOD) over Anthony Roberton (PEM) (Dec 4-1)

285: Blake Williams (GOOD) over Cody Schneider (PEM) (Fall 2:49)

Pictures of the event will be available shortly!

PEM vs. Lake City

The final bout of the week for the Bulldogs featured a rematch with the Lake City Tigers who handed the Bulldogs a 23 point loss less than 2 weeks earlier. In the first match of the dual, Isaac Walch set the tone for the rematch. In defeating Lake City’s Cristofer Ramirez, Walch avenged one of his 3 losses on the season, and established that the Bulldogs were looking to improve upon the previous meet’s performance.

Lake City retook the lead at 113 with a pin. But at 120, 8th grader Carson Rahman put together a wonderful performance against senior Steven Ramirez and earned a 10-3 victory. The win included a masterful headlock at the end of regulation that nearly ended in a pin. The decision would tie the team score at 6-6, but Lake City would get 12 free points at 126 and 132 with the Bulldogs being open at those two weight classes.

At 138, Cooper Hofschulte would earn his team leading 18th win of the season with a 4-1 decision, giving the Bulldogs their 3rd win of the dual as well as team points 7, 8, and 9. At 145, Garrett Olson would again battle valiantly against 2x state entrant Jonathan Harvey, but would fall 1 takedown short in the 3-2 loss. The decision would give the Tigers a 21-9 lead, but the Bulldogs would not go quietly. Kael Lamb paced the Bulldogs at 152. Lamb would take a 5-2 lead into the 3rd period on the strength of a takedown in each of the 1st two periods. But Lake City would rally in the 3rd with 2 takedowns of their own to tie the match at 6. Then in the final minute Lamb would escape to take a 7-6 lead, and finish with one more takedown to close the match 9-6. The win would put PEM within single digits at 21-12.

At 160, PEM senior Cael Marx entered the meet with 149 career wins. But there was no guaranteed win as he would be facing 2020 state entrant Joe Kozlowski. In the first period, Kozlowski would strike first with an inside trip that resulted in a takedown. The first period would end with Kozlowski on top and after a Lake City escape to begin the 2nd period the score was 3-0. Midway through the 2nd period, Kozlowski would again attempt the inside trip on the edge of the mat, but Marx was ready with a hip toss of his own that would result in 4 points before the action went off the mat. Kozlowski would end the period with a reversal to recapture the lead at 5-4 heading into the 3rd period. After being ridden for most of the final period, Marx was finally able to score an escape and tie the match at 5-5. Regulation would end with the score knotted at 5 and overtime would come next. Halfway through the overtime period Marx would get in on a single leg and finish for the 7-5 victory. The win would give Marx milestone victory 150. With the win, Marx becomes just the 4th wrestler in PEM’s 59 year history to achieve the milestone. Additionally, the win would move the Bulldogs within one pin of tying the team score (21-15).

At 170, Dereck Boyum would provide the needed fireworks. Boyum would use 2 first period takedowns followed by a monster 2nd period headlock to score the fall and tie the dual at 21-21. Following at 182, Alex Rahman would get a rematch vs. Lake City’s Sam Nutt who pinned him in the first matchup. This time Rahman would battle to the bitter end, but ultimately drop the 3-0 decision. At 195, Martin Prieto would use an explosive display of takedowns to earn an 18-3 technical fall and again give the Bulldogs a 2 point lead in the dual (26-24). Unfortunately, the Tigers would earn a decision at 220 and a fall at 285 to reclaim the lead and the dual meet.

Lake City 33 PEM 26

106: Isaac Walch (PEM) over Cristofer Ramirez (LC) (Dec 6-0)

113: Nate Evans (LC) over Nolan Ford (PEM) (Fall 2:56)

120: Carson Rahman (PEM) over Steven Ramirez (LC) (Dec 10-3)

126: Elijah Dodd (LC) over (PEM) (For.)

132: Luke Skifton (LC) over (PEM) (For.)

138: Cooper Hofschulte (PEM) over Aaron Meincke (LC) (Dec 5-1)

145: Jonathan Harvey (LC) over Garrett Olson (PEM) (Dec 3-2)

152: Kael Lamb (PEM) over Luke Becker (LC) (Dec 9-6)

160: Cael Marx (PEM) over Joe Kozlowski (LC) (SV-1 7-5)

170: Dereck Boyum (PEM) over Dominic Goihl-Krier (LC) (Fall 2:40)

182: Sam Nutt (LC) over Alex Rahman (PEM) (Dec 3-0)

195: Martin Prieto (PEM) over Ben Nutt (LC) (TF 18-3 4:00)

220: Jeremy Nguyen (LC) over Anthony Roberton (PEM) (Dec 6-5)

285: Max Balow (LC) over Cody Schneider (PEM) (Fall 1:34)

Pictures of the event will be available shortly!