Team falls to juggernauts Mounds View, Hastings in first state appearance since 2020
A trio of Rangers claimed third-place medals at the Class AAA state meet. Seniors Mark Rendl and Parker Lyden, along with girls wrestler junior Nas’Jarae White, all clinched the white ribbons around their necks at the state individual meet held on Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2.
After ultimately qualifying seven total individual wrestlers and its boys team with a section championship for the 2024 Minnesota state wrestling tournament, the Forest Lake wrestling team had an action-packed weekend from Thursday, Feb. 29, to Saturday, March 2. The boys squad earned its shot to compete in the Class AAA state team competition by defeating Anoka in the Section 7AAA championship back on Friday, Feb. 16 – whereas seniors Mark Rendl, Jackson Marr, Hunter Gruba and Parker Lyden, along with juniors Grant Marr, Nas’Jarae White and freshman Bella Carlson all punched their tickets by placing in the top two in their respective weight classes in the Section 7AAA individual tournament.
Senior captain Mark Rendl, the 2023 state champion in the 220 class, became the second Ranger boys wrestler to earn a medal for third place on the weekend. Rendl began his title defense by easily knocking off Noah Ackerman of Northfield by way of a pin in a lopsided match, before going on to beat Avaugn Dorvil from Minnetonka 8-0. Rendl abruptly lost to Cittadino Tuttle of Stillwater, who ended up placing second in the 285-pound weight class. With the close loss, the senior took out his frustrations by stomping Isiah Wright 7-1 in his next match, before pinning Parker Orvick of Bemidji in 17 seconds to further establish his third-place medalist finish.
“He was super frustrated with having to compete in the semifinals, so he came back and won the match to go for third. He wanted 100 career pins. He was determined, since he can’t be in the finals to win a state championship, he for sure was going to get that mark,” head coach Joe Kunshier said.
Rendl did just that, securing both his 100th career pin, as well as his 150th and 151st career wins.
Parker Lyden, the 139-pound wrestler who’s committed to Campbell University, earned a third-place finish and a medal after topping Zach Carr of Park 12-3 and St. Michael-Albertville’s Ian Schultz 6-3. In a bout in Saturday’s matchup against Davis Parrow from Farmington, Lyden fell 9-2; Parrow went on to capture the 139-pound title. In a battle for the third-place match, Lyden beat Jayden Hauter of Apple Valley 6-1 to allow Lyden to cement his third-place medal following a 3-1 win over Shakopee’s Connor Warren.
“Mark had a tough bracket, along with Parker’s probably being one of the toughest in the tournament. It’s not necessarily what they wanted,” Kunshier said.
Kunshier mentioned what it means to him to have two state medalists, with Lyden and Rendl each placing third overall in their respective brackets.
“Even though they placed third, I wouldn’t say it was a disappointment from their end. That being said, they’re both still hanging a picture on the wall in our wrestling room,” Kunshier said.
White, who entered the competition ranked No. 2 overall in the girls 170-pound weight class, ultimately finished as the third Ranger to earn a third-place medal on the weekend.
“She had a really tough group – she had two prior state champions in her bracket that were seeded ahead of her,” girls head coach Chris Blasko said.
One of the state champions was Apple Valley’s Grace Alagbo, to whom White lost via pin in a challenging matchup as Alagbo went on to clinch back-to-back state titles. White’s first win came with a pin over East Ridge’s seventh grader Danica Fuelling in the first-round matchup. Her third match of the weekend came down to a battle for third place, when she toppled Maggie Steele of St. Michael-Albertville.
“To come off that loss and to be very tough and competitive in her next match, it’s very hard to do. She won her next match in 34 seconds. It was really fast and I’m extremely proud of her,” Blasko said.
Other individuals
Junior Grant Marr, who competed in the 127-pound bracket, picked up a solid first-round 5-1 victory by decision over his opponent from Rogers to set up his second-round matchup with Logan Davis of Albert Lea. Grant went on to lose 7-3 to Davis, who wound up placing third in the bracket. Grant then fell to Landon Brooks of Park of Cottage Grove by a 5-3 decision.
“He placed fourth last year and had a couple of missteps this year. For him, I just know it’s going to motivate him to do better. He’s already upset and talking about what he’s going to do differently next year,” Kunshier said. “He’s 100% not satisfied with his outcome; he lost to a couple of really good kids. He’s not going to settle for anything less than putting a picture on the wall. He will for sure be a top-three kid next year.”
Senior Jackson Marr also made a name for himself at the state individual competition, going 2-2 on the weekend with big wins over Kyler Walters of Savage via pin and a 19-8 major decision win over Cael Spates of Stillwater. Jackson ultimately missed the cut to place in his 145-pound bracket, despite his two notable victories.
“I’m super proud of him for being able to make it to the state tournament and performing to the best of his ability. He had a great career and a great season,” Kunshier added.
Senior Hunter Gruba, who participated in the challenging 215-pound bracket, held his own in a tough loss to the eventual state champion Quin Morgan of Mounds View, to whom Gruba lost 14-3. The heavyweight wrestler needed Morgan to win in his next match to stay alive in the tournament – and he did just that – allowing Gruba to face off with another top wrestler in Brock Zurn from Prior Lake. Gruba would lose 3-1 to have his high school career come to a close following his very first state appearance.
“He had a great season and did the best he possibly could. I’m so proud of the career he had. He wasn’t in wrestling for a super long time and to make it to the state tournament, it was a really high point for him,” Kunshier said. Freshman Bella Carlson also made her mark on Saturday in the Class AAA girls individual state competition. Carlson, who is participating in her first year of wrestling, overcame the odds en route to her very first state berth.
“Not many girls qualify for the state tournament in their first year with the sport,” Blasko said. “She’s so strong and she’s so flexible. To be able to control your nerves and highlight and showcase your athletic ability, it’s great. Not only that, but she’s a great leader in the wrestling room because of how hard she works. She comes to practice and sets the example of what we are looking for in a Forest Lake wrestler.”
Carlson, who competed in the 148-pound bracket, faced off with tough opponent Esperanza Calvillo from Apple Valley. Carlson lost 13-4, and she transitioned to the backside of the bracket before squaring off with another strong wrestler from Park Rapids in Brooke Kritzeck, who owned an impressive 28-5 record. The young, talented freshman had her season come to an end via pin.
Team
The Rangers boys team fought hard, but ultimately fell to top-seeded Mounds View in the Ranger’s first match in the team competition that took place on Thursday, Feb. 29. Kunshier noted his team was “just looking to have fun out there.”
“I think it went well. Mounds View was a bit of a challenge for us, at least matchup wise. They’re too good in too many spots. But [we] came out ready to fight and it was something we really prepared for. It just wasn’t necessarily in the cards for us,” he said.
The first-round 43-18 loss to Mounds View resulted in Forest Lake moving to the consolation side of the bracket, as the squad prepared to take on No. 5 ranked Hastings, last year’s team champion, later that afternoon. In a close match, the Rangers would fall by a final score of 37-27.
“To move onto that Hastings match, it all came down to the heavyweight. It all comes down to a flip of a coin basically. It was a good showing for the team and it was great team building for the future with the younger kids. It was awesome.”
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