Minneota wrestlers secure No. 3 seed

Vikings to host quarterfinal match in 3A tournament Thursday

Minneota received the No. 3 seed for the upcoming Section 3A team wrestling tournament and will host a quarterfinal match on Thursday, Feb. 13.

The Vikings received a first-round bye. They will take on the winner of the 6 p.m. first-round match that pits No. 6 Wabasso/Red Rock Central against No. 11 Fulda/Murray County Central in the quarterfinals at 7:15 p.m. Jackson County Central received the No. 1 seed and will host the winner of No. 8 Windom-Mountain Lake vs. No. 9 Springfield at 7:15 p.m. on Feb. 13. In other 3A matches on Feb. 13, No. 4 Canby hosts No. 5 Adrian, and No. 2 Tracy-Milroy-Balaton hosts the winner of No. 7 Pipestone and No. 10 St. James Area.

The team semifinals and finals will be held Feb. 15 in Lamberton. The semifinals are slated for 12:30 p.m. and the championship at 2 p.m. Minneota (16-11) has been plagued by health and injury problems, but the team’s health is improving of late.

“We hope everyone is available for the start of the post-season,” said Matt Myrvik, who is in his first year as head coach. “We hope to fill all the weights for the section team. We may not fill all weights in the individual portion, but we will not make that decision until individual sections.”

The Section 3A individual tournament will be held Feb. 21 and 22 at Canby High School. For now, though, Minneota is focusing on the team portion. “We feel if we are able to get everyone back in our lineup, that it will take a very solid team to beat us,” Myrvik said.

“We also know that we don’t have a lot of room for error.

“Match-ups and the flip before each dual could play a big part in our section. We feel our kids are ready to compete against any of the teams in our section and we look forward to the opportunity to make some noise. Minneota has had a rugged schedule this season with nine of its 11 losses coming against ranked opponents. “Our schedule has prepared us for the section tournament and we have come together as a team,” said Myrvik.

“We have individuals willing to do whatever the coaches ask for the success of the team. Minneota is the youngest team in the section tournament with only two seniors and one junior.

“The leadership from our captains and more experienced wrestlers, and the growth of our less experiences wrestlers, has allowed us to grow throughout the season,” Myrvik noted.

“We are going after more bonus points and giving up less bonus points as the season has progressed. We will need to continue that if we are going to have success in the post-season.”

Seniors: Blake Reiss (31-7) Cole Sanow (14-7); Juniors: Eric Carrasco (32-4); Sophomores: Jonah Gruenes (34-7) Kade Lozinski (25-9) Jackson Esping (23-12) Jayden Gamrak (14-8) Troy Van Keulen (11-16) Conner Sik (7-13) Truman Wambeke (5-8) Tyler Gronke (2-14) Tucker Thooft (0-2); Freshmen: Zack Fier (23-11) Peyton Gillund (18-18) Hudson Scholten (11-18) Branden Johnson (6-12) Ezequiel Monzon (2-1); 8th grade Alex DePestel (3-8); 7th grade Destin Fier (1-1) Kyler Lozinski (0-1)

Coach Matt Myrvik

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