The Caledonia/Houston wrestling team headed to the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester on Feb. 23-24 to earn individual honors in the Section 1AA Wrestling tournament.
Multiple Cal/Houston wrestlers earned honors, and two wrestlers, Owen Denstad and Isaac Blocker, won 1st place in their weight classes to earn a trip to the State tournament.
The 145 weight class saw Owen Denstad in control in every match, and won three straight to earn the right to state. The 9-3 decision was fairly deceptive, as Denstad had control the entire match and used his opportunistic style to win the Section championship. Denstad will be going to State again.
Denstad said, “I knew he was a good AA, I knew he moves his feet well, it was about getting to my offense, they want to make it a close match so they can take it on you, it was about building a bigger lead, and having a bigger gas tank.”
At 139, Isaac Blocker earned the Section championship by winning 3 straight, including winning against Owen Freidrich by a 5-3 decision in the championship. Freidrich had won a week before against Blocker, but Isaac proved his worth in the championship match and is also moving onto State with his performance.
Isaac had this to say about his section match, “I knew it was going to be a tough match against a great competitor, it was years of training and work with my coaches and partners worked out today.”
Both are excited about state and excited for the opportunity. “Not many things replicate that feeling being up there and warming up in the tunnel,” said Denstad.
At 107, Aiden Burns earned a 3rd place finish after a strong push through the consolation bracket after losing out to Rex Ayshford from Kasson-Mantorville in the semi-finals. Burns was able to fight all the way back and win against Plainview-Elgin-Millvile’s Cooper Mack with an 8-0 Major Decision, but would fall in the true second match against Jent Beyer from Zumbrota-Mazeppa(Z-M).
At 121, Hunter Frank earned 4th place after falling to Carson Rahman in the quarterfinal match by pin at 3:40. Frank would fight back through the consolation bracket, but fall to Rahman again in the Consolation championship by pinfall again at 3:31.
The 133 saw Braxton Lange earn 3rd place honors, as he fell to Hunter Karnitz of Stewartville in the quarterfinal match by a 6-3 decision. He would also fight back and earn retribution against Karnitz by winning with a 4-2 decision. Lange would fall to Aiden Graner from PEM in the true second match, 9-3.
At 152, Tanner Ginther wrestled hard, but was marred with a toe injury in his consolation quarterfinal match, and was eliminated in that match after falling to Laiken Copeman of Z-M in the quarterfinal match and then the consolation quarterfinal against Aiden Smith of Pine Island.
160 had Will Allen achieving a 5th place finish as he fought through a waning sickness that sapped him of his breath and energy. A well fought tournament for Will, who is arguably one of the most improved wrestlers this year. He earned the 5th place spot by pinning Jayro Rojas from Lake city at 2:01.
Cooper Allen also showed his prowess at the 172 level with a 4th place finish as an 8th grade entrant. Cooper fell to Wilson Nordquist of Z-M by a 5-1 decision in the Consolation Championship, but like his brother Will, showed great improvement over the year and impressed many at the tournament.
Aden Kulas also took 5th place with a great showing in the tournament, winning against Gavin Bartel from Byron by a 5-4 decision. Aden’s 5th place match came down to the wire as he shot to take down Bartel late, and earned two points just before the end of the match.
Lastly, Logan Kinstler at 215 would not place after falling to Ben Pike from Pine Island in the consolation quarterfinals.
Talking to Coach Mahoney after the tournament: “The most impressive thing was that everyone either wrestled to or above their seed. Looking at the 11 guys we had entered into the tournament and it’s impressive that they all can perform their best at the end of the year, that’s pretty cool.”
When asked about the most improved wrestlers this year, Mahoney said, “Aiden Burns had a great season, great tournament today, lost to two very talented kids from Zumbrota and Kasson, lost a heartbreaker in that true second, so he really did well. Isaac Blocker wrestled an outstanding tournament this weekend, that was a really good bracket looking through their records.”
Denstad and Blocker will be wrestling in the State Tournament starting Thursday, Feb. 29. Follow their progress through trackwrestling.com and through updates with the Caledonia Wrestling Club facebook page.
Update after the Argus had gone to press for the print issue
Congrats to senior Owen Denstad (at 152) for making the 2024 MWCA All-State Academic Wrestling Team. Link to full story: The Guillotine .
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