SECTION 3A INDIVIDUAL WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
David Schuh, Taylor Squires hit the mats in St. Paul
David Schuh and Taylor Squires might have a lot in common, but the similarities end when it comes to wrestling on the biggest high school stage.
Schuh, a senior, qualified for his fourth Minnesota State Wrestling Tournament by winning the Class A 139-pound championship at Saturday’s Section 3A Individual Wrestling Tournament in Springfield, while Squires, one year younger, took second place to earn his first trip to St. Paul.
DAVID SCHUH — 139 POUNDS
Seeded No. 1 in his class entering the tournament, Schuh is making his final run at an individual Class A title today (Feb. 26). His championship dreams a year ago ended in bloody fashion in a three-point overtime loss to Minneota’s Adam DeVlaeminck.
But this is a new year. Schuh (40-4 this year) made things look easy early on Saturday with a pin over Bryson Marsh of Red Rock Central in :29.
In his semifinal match against Wabasso’s Lane Taylor, the senior ended the first period with a 6-1 advantage, and the lead only grew from there, as Schuh was in total control the entire way, eventually posting a 20-3 technical fall.
Then, in the championship match against rival Pipestone Area’s Isaac Rodriguez, a takedown with :38 left in the first period staked Schuh to a 3-0 lead. An escape with :42 left in the second period put him up 4-0. After Rodriguez scored an escape point, Schuh ended any suspense with a takedown with :47 to go, sealing his fourth straight trip to St. Paul.
“The cool thing is, I beat him my freshman year to go to state, so this was a fun one to end section competition,” Schuh said. “It was a grind; he’s a real good wrestler.”
Schuh has joined elite company with his section title, becoming the sixth Tracy, TMB or TMB/WWG wrestler to make it to state more than three times. Zach Campbell was a fivetime qualifier; Schuh joins Devin Carter, Ayden Horner, Paul Carlson, Aldon Struchen and Dough Whiting in the prestigious four-time club.
Schuh was battling a bit of the flu last week, but it didn’t show on the mat in Springfield.
“That made it a little bit harder, but it’s wrestling so you’ve just gotta wrestle through it,” he said. “There’s no excuses, you’ve just gotta go win your match.”
Even though Schuh knows he is seeded lower at state than he was a year ago, his mindset — and goal — will be the same.
“I might have to beat the same kid I did last year,” he said. “It was overtime last year; if we see him again, we’re going to flip it this year.” TAYLOR SQUIRES — 121 POUNDS
Squires’ first trip to state will surely be a memorable one, and after his second-place finish at sections, he received some advice from his fellow state tournament qualifier.
“David always says that the lights are super bright there,” Squires said. “It’s going to be fun; I’m really excited. It feels really good — all the hard work you put in, like over the summer at team camp … just how much the coaches invest in you — it’s awesome to make them proud.”
Squires said he has no reason to be nervous this week; instead, he’s looking at his first bout at state as just another match.
“My dad’s always helped me with my mental game plan,” he said. “He really has taught me that it’s just a match, it’s just wrestling — you’re having fun. It’s a sport, it’s supposed to be fun.”
Squires, a junior, received a bye in the first round and then pinned Jackson County Central’s Ever Mazariegos in 1:49, sending him to the title match against Fulda/Murray County Central’s Kason Clarke. Clarke built a 7-0 lead before pinning Squires with :06 left in the second period.
The loss sent Squires to the true second match against Adrian Area’s Rayden Boyenga, and Squires was more than ready. An early near fall put him up 7-0, and he punched his first ticket to state with a pin late in the first period.
“You just can’t dwell over a loss,” Squires said of his ability to bounce back after his loss to Clarke. “Sure, I was sad, but I knew I had to rebound and be mentally prepared for the next one. Next match mentality.”
• TMB/WWG’s other competitors at the Section 3A Individual Tournament:
107 pounds — Ethan Johnson
Johnson suffered two technical falls — 16-1 to Jackson County Central’s Payten Sorbel and 16-0 to KJ Beermann of Wabasso. Sobel was the champion at 107 pounds.
“He has worked hard filling our lowest weight and has shown improvement,” Campbell said. “He will need to get stronger in the offseason as we look for him to be a major contributor in the future.
114 pounds — Lane Hoffman
Hoffman was also a JCC victim, as he fell to Colten Gossen by fall in his first bout. He then lost to Fulda/Murray County Central’s Lue Sweetman, also by fall. Gossen took third at 114 and Sweetman sixth.
“Lane has split time with Owen (Beier) at this weight and won the wrestle off to be able to compete,” said Campbell. “Lane has also shown improvement this season but also needs to get physically stronger in the off season. Good for him to get the section tourney experience.”
127 pounds — Logan Petersen (4th place) Petersen earned a 7-0 decision over Dane Hanson of F/MCC in his first match, but was pinned by JCC’s Mathias Leopold in round two. He then pinned Jackson Penning of Adrian Area in :39. In the third-place match, Petersen lost a tough 3-1 decision to Luverne’s Ty Kopp.
“Not the finish he or I wanted for him,” Campbell said. “He went in as the two seed, but lost to his Jackson opponent that he beat a couple weeks ago. Logan hit the 100 wins mark this season and has also been one of our top kids in this lineup the last couple years.
Petersen finished the year 29-11.
133 pounds — Weston Marten (3rd place) Marten started his day with a 6-3 decision over JCC’s Dezmynd Tupper. He then went up against undefeated and eventual 133-pound champion Miklo Hernandez of Pipestone Area and fell by major decision, 19-4. Marten rebounded with a 9-6 decision over Red Rock Central’s Marshal Willhite and another decision over Tupper to earn a spot in the second-place match. There, he fell by a 6-2 decision to Adrian Area’s Travis Weiss.
“Weston went in as the 4 seed in a weight class that had what appeared to be four very good kids, including a multi state champ as the one seed,” Campbell said.
Marten finished 36-9 as one of the top kids in the TMB/WWG lineup.
145 pounds — Nolan Verlinde (3rd place) Verlinde, seeded fourth, won a 19-3 decision over PA’s Carlo Saenlouangra before losing a 15-0 technical fall to eventual champion Kyler Their of JCC. He then earned two falls before getting pinned by Casen Myers of Redwood Valley in the second-place bout.
“He made a good run in finishing third,” said Campbell. “He beat the 3 seed in dominant fashion for third. Nolan has made good strides all season and we will need him to be a leader this upcoming season.
Verlinde finished with a record of 25-19.
152 pounds — Tyler Arnold (6th place) Arnold was pinned in his first bout by Paxtion Huhnerkich of Wabasso. After a bye, he was pinned by F/MCC’s Lucas Kuball on the consolation semifinals and by PA’s Try Chaulsett in the fifth-place match. Kuala took second place.
“Tyler shows a lot of good things in the practice room that for some reason have a hard time showing up on the competition mat,” Campbell said. “He has wrestled up in weight all season, and I appreciate him being a good teammate in the practice room.”
160 pounds — Jaxter Pfarr
The freshman was pinned in round one by JCC’s Evan Batholomaus and after a bye in the second round, earned a 16-4 major decision over Springfield’s Michael Colvin. His day ended when he was pinned by Redwood Valley’s Isaiah Nelson.
“Jaxter works hard and has a high motor,” Campbell said. “He just needs to get more physical in the off season for that to translate to success like a lot of our younger guys.”
172 pounds — Nevin Marten (4th place) Marten, a senior, was pinned in his first match by PA’s Oliver Stenrud, but bounced back nicely with two pins. In the third-place match, Marten was pinned again by Stenrud in 4:27.
“He put two good matches together to get back for third. He’s one of those kids that had he bought in earlier in his career could have been something special,” Campbell said.
Nevin finished 17-17.
189 pounds — Lawton Verlinde (5th place)
Seeded fourth, Verlinde finished his Panther career with a fifth-place finish after a 7-0 decision over F/MCC’s Luke Iverson. Verlinde started with a 4-3 decision over Carson Kolander of JCC in the first round, but then lost 5-0 to top-ranked Jesse Bullerman of Adrian Area, who took first place at 189. After that, he fell 9-3 to Zeke Olson of Wabasso. He then beat Iverson, whom he had lost to twice this season, for fifth.
“This weight class was very evenly stacked one through eight,” Campbell said. It’s a shame to see Lawton not get through when he had been 3-0 against the two guys in the true second match.
Verlinde compiled a 33-12 record this season.
215 pounds — Adam Hippe
Hippe also closed out his high school wrestling career Saturday. He was pinned by Wabasso’s Mason Kampsen in the first round and then by Vincent Bray of F/MCC. Kampsen ended up taking second at 215.
“Adam has worked very hard all year doing whatever was asked,” said Campbell. “He lost to the two guys that finished second and third in this weight. Adam was ahead of Bray his last match, and he had dominated Adam twice earlier this year. Adam tried a throw at an inopportune time and got pinned in that match. That kept him off the podium.”
285 pounds — Jack Willhite (6th place) Willhite, seeded second, pinned Red Rock Central’s Dawson Mariner in 5:24 to start his day, but then lost a 6-1 decision to Garrett Penning of Adrian Area in the semifinals. Willhite then was pinned by Brilllin Wagner of Wabasso; in the fifth-place match, the junior was pinned by PA’s Griffin Smidt.
“Jack was in position to win in the semifinals with a lead, and made a mistake and lost the match,” Campbell said. “He finishes 19-20 and could be a force on the mat next year if he puts the work in in the off season.”
Campbell said TMB/WWG had several wrestlers who were seeded lower than he felt they should have been, which ultimately changed matchups along the way.
“The reality is that you have to overcome those challenges, and we didn’t make that happen,” he said. “I’m happy for David and Taylor.”
