Three champions, three more runner-ups for first-place Knights at Monticello

The West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville Knights wrestling team were crowned team champions of the 19-team Monticello Invitational Saturday, Dec. 17, in Monticello. Owen Gruchow at 113, Hunter Gruchow at 160, and Anthony Sykora of 182 all finished in first place in their respective weights while Adam Lohse at 138, Solomon Wales at 160, and Will Rustan at 220 all finished runner-up.

Owen Gruchow won the 113-pound tournament with two pinfall wins. The eighth-grader opened his tournament with a pinfall victory over Ethan Benson of Mounds View in 57 seconds. He then took a 5-3 decision over No. 10-ranked 113-pound 3A wrestler Jack Hamak of St. Cloud Tech in the semifinals before pinning Max Nygaard of Benson in 5:23 for the championship. Gruchow remains undefeated at 9-0 on the season.

Hunter Gruchow pinned his way to the championship of the 160-pound tournament. He pinned Jack Terry of Spectrum in 1:45 to open the tournament, then took a 5:26 pinfall victory of Micale Miltich of Spectrum in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, the sophomore pinned Hunter Allen of Coon Rapids in 1:23. In the championship, Gruchow took an injury default victory over No. 10-ranked 152-pound 3A wrestler Jaxon Kenning of St. Cloud Tech.

Anthony Sykora pinned his way through the 182-pound tournament Saturday. After an opening round bye, Sykora pinned Jordan Johnson of Mounds View in just 18 seconds for the fastest fall of the day for the Knights. In the semifinals, the senior pinned William Graunke of Rockford in 1:33 before taking a 2:56 pinfall victory over Mason Bauer of Monticello in the finals.

Adam Lohse was runner-up at 138 pounds. He pinned James Walker of Mounds View in 3:13 to open the tournament then pinned Caden Thell of Two Rivers in 3:06 to reach the championship where he was defeated by Andrew Schwab of South Saint Paul by 11-4 decision.

Solomon Wales, a junior, had two pins and a major decision en route to the championship of the 152-pound tournament Saturday. He pinned Trey Swanson of Monticello in 1:25 then took a 54-second pinfall victory over Lucas Conser of Central in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, the junior took a 10-2 major decision over Nick Bolduc of Benson to reach the finals where he fell by 7-1 decision to Colton Loween of Mounds View.

Will Rustan opened the 220-pound tournament with a bye into the quarterfinals. In his first match of the day, the junior edged a 7-5 decision win over Andrew Bonk of South Saint Paul. In the semifinals, Rustan took a fall over Keegan Ellis of Monticello in 3:23. In the finals, Rustan fell by 9-4 decision to Sam Winkels of Austin.

Beau Robinson finished third overall at 195 pounds, while Justin Blascyk finished third at heavyweight. Other individual place winners were Evan Dingwall (sixth at 106), Sam Olson (fifth at 132), Kolby Peters (fourth at 145), and Jeremy Blascyk (fourth at 170).

The Knights, who were open at 120 and 126 at the invite, boasted 236 team points with 12 individual place winners to finish in first ahead of runner-up Mounds View (224.5) and third-place finishing Benson (121). Saint Cloud Tech and Andover rounded out the top five teams at the invite.

The Knights are ranked the No. 2 team in Class A, according to the Dec. 8 Guillotine rankings with five ranked wrestlers. Hunter Gruchow is third in the 145-pound rankings. Solomon Wales is 10th in the 160-pound rankings. Anthony Sykora is the top ranked wrestler at 182 pounds. Beau Robinson is ranked seventh at 195 pounds while Will Rustan is seventh at 220 pounds.

WCA/A/B-E is next slated to wrestle at the Minnewaska quadrangular Thursday, Dec. 22, at the Minnewaska Area High School in Glenwood. Participating schools include the Lakers, the Knights, Fergus Falls, and Osakis. After Christmas, the Knights close out the 2022 portion of the season at Rumble on the Red, which is in its 16th year, Thursday and Friday, Dec. 29 and 30, at the Fargodome in Fargo.

2022 Monticello Invitational Results for West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville

106

Evan Dingwall (6-6) placed 6th and scored 12.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Evan Dingwall (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 6-6 won by major decision over Zander Spitzmueller (Zimmerman) 5-6 (MD 17-3)

Quarterfinal – Trevor Neisen (Mahnomen-Waubun) 8-2 won in sudden victory – 1 over Evan Dingwall (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 6-6 (SV-1 11-9)

Cons. Round 2 – Evan Dingwall (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 6-6 won by fall over Cooper Reemts (Spectrum) 2-4 (Fall 0:56)

Cons. Semi – Evan Dingwall (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 6-6 won by fall over Parker Honl (Central Public Schools) 11-5 (Fall 2:35)

5th Place Match – Brady Wadel (Andover) 9-5 won by decision over Evan Dingwall (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 6-6 (Dec 4-0)

113

Owen Gruchow (9-0) placed 1st and scored 26.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Owen Gruchow (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 9-0 received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal – Owen Gruchow (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 9-0 won by fall over Ethan Benson (Mounds View) 7-8 (Fall 0:57)

Semifinal – Owen Gruchow (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 9-0 won by decision over Jack Hamak (Saint Cloud Tech) 9-5 (Dec 5-3)

1st Place Match – Owen Gruchow (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 9-0 won by fall over Max Nygaard (Benson) 5-2 (Fall 5:23)

132

Sam Olson (4-1) placed 5th and scored 17.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Sam Olson (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 4-1 won by fall over Evan Gehrke (Monticello) 3-6 (Fall 1:22)

Quarterfinal – Caden Grenier (Mounds View) 13-2 won by fall over Sam Olson (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 4-1 (Fall 1:15)

Cons. Round 2 – Sam Olson (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 4-1 won by fall over Will Steinhagen (Central Public Schools) 1-9 (Fall 0:37)

Cons. Semi – Sam Olson (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 4-1 won by fall over Aaron Dungy (Park Center) 4-4 (Fall 3:23)

5th Place Match – Sam Olson (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 4-1 won by fall over Tyler Bertram (Andover) 6-6 (Fall 1:53)

138

Adam Lohse (9-2) placed 2nd and scored 22.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Adam Lohse (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 9-2 received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal – Adam Lohse (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 9-2 won by fall over James Walker (Mounds View) 8-3 (Fall 3:13)

Semifinal – Adam Lohse (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 9-2 won by fall over Caden Thell (Two Rivers) 7-1 (Fall 3:06)

1st Place Match – Andrew Schwab (South Saint Paul) 14-2 won by decision over Adam Lohse (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 9-2 (Dec 11-4)

145

Kolby Peters (6-4) placed 4th and scored 15.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Kolby Peters (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 6-4 won by fall over Collin Thell (Two Rivers) 1-2 (Fall 3:50)

Quarterfinal – Kolby Peters (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 6-4 won by fall over Bryce Schoen (Monticello) 4-3 (Fall 3:28)

Semifinal – Jesse Farrell (Spectrum) 8-4 won by major decision over Kolby Peters (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 6-4 (MD 19-8)

3rd Place Match – Ethan Schmidt (Spectrum) 3-1 won by decision over Kolby Peters (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 6-4 (Dec 8-4)

152

Solomon Wales (9-3) placed 2nd and scored 23.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Solomon Wales (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 9-3 won by fall over Trey Swanson (Monticello) 1-2 (Fall 1:25)

Quarterfinal – Solomon Wales (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 9-3 won by fall over Lucas Conser (Central Public Schools) 8-8 (Fall 0:54)

Semifinal – Solomon Wales (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 9-3 won by major decision over Nick Bolduc (Benson) 6-1 (MD 10-2)

1st Place Match – Colton Loween (Mounds View) 14-2 won by decision over Solomon Wales (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 9-3 (Dec 7-1)

160

Hunter Gruchow (11-1) placed 1st and scored 30.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Hunter Gruchow (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 11-1 won by fall over Jack Terry (Spectrum) 1-2 (Fall 1:45)

Quarterfinal – Hunter Gruchow (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 11-1 won by fall over Micale Miltich (Spectrum) 7-4 (Fall 5:26)

Semifinal – Hunter Gruchow (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 11-1 won by fall over Hunter Allen (Coon Rapids) 8-3 (Fall 1:23)

1st Place Match – Hunter Gruchow (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 11-1 won by injury default over Jaxon Kenning (Saint Cloud Tech) 11-3 (Inj. 0:00)

170

Jeremy Blascyk (5-6) placed 4th and scored 11.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Jeremy Blascyk (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 5-6 received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal – Jeremy Blascyk (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 5-6 won in sudden victory – 1 over Sam Oelfke (Austin) 6-2 (SV-1 3-1)

Semifinal – Preston Mcgee (Benson) 6-1 won by fall over Jeremy Blascyk (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 5-6 (Fall 0:43)

3rd Place Match – Wyatt Witschen (Monticello) 7-4 won by fall over Jeremy Blascyk (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 5-6 (Fall 2:23)

182

Anthony Sykora (10-0) placed 1st and scored 28.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Anthony Sykora (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 10-0 received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal – Anthony Sykora (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 10-0 won by fall over Jordan Johnson (Mounds View) 6-7 (Fall 0:18)

Semifinal – Anthony Sykora (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 10-0 won by fall over William Graunke (Rockford) 8-3 (Fall 1:33)

1st Place Match – Anthony Sykora (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 10-0 won by fall over Mason Bauer (Monticello) 10-4 (Fall 2:56)

195

Beau Robinson (4-2) placed 3rd and scored 17.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Beau Robinson (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 4-2 received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal – Beau Robinson (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 4-2 won by fall over Grayson Hepfl (Spectrum) 5-6 (Fall 1:07)

Semifinal – Quin Morgan (Mounds View) 12-2 won by fall over Beau Robinson (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 4-2 (Fall 1:55)

3rd Place Match – Beau Robinson (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 4-2 won by fall over Mason Smith (Monticello) 7-6 (Fall 1:05)

220

Will Rustan (6-3) placed 2nd and scored 20.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Will Rustan (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 6-3 received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal – Will Rustan (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 6-3 won by decision over Andrew Bonk (South Saint Paul) 8-7 (Dec 7-5)

Semifinal – Will Rustan (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 6-3 won by fall over Keegan Ellis (Monticello) 8-6 (Fall 3:23)

1st Place Match – Samuel Winkels (Austin) 9-1 won by decision over Will Rustan (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 6-3 (Dec 9-4)

285

Justin Blascyk (8-1) placed 3rd and scored 15.0 team points.

Champ. Round 1 – Justin Blascyk (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 8-1 received a bye () (Bye)

Quarterfinal – Justin Blascyk (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 8-1 won by fall over Johnny Kobberman (Benson) 3-3 (Fall 5:50)

Semifinal – Jacob Solheim (Mounds View) 12-2 won by fall over Justin Blascyk (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 8-1 (Fall 1:53)

3rd Place Match – Justin Blascyk (West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville) 8-1 won by decision over Hayden Skillings (Coon Rapids) 6-3 (Dec 3-1)