22 area wrestlers state bound
Medford 145-pounder Charley Elwood scores a takedown against Westfield’s Cade Christianson at the Section 2A individual tournament. Elwood and Christianson were two of 22 area wrestlers who qualified for the state meet last weekend. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
Steele County produced 22 state qualifiers from the 2022-23 section individual tournament, punching nearly two dozen tickets to the Xcel Energy Center on Friday, March 3.
Out of 22 qualifying wrestlers, 11 won their weight brackets at the Section 2A and 1AAA tournaments in what is suiting up to be another strong year for the county's top talent.
The total number of qualifiers matches last year’s total of 22, with 19 wrestlers coming from the boys brackets and three from the girls.
Looking to make history for the girls will be Annabelle Petsinger, who has the opportunity to be NRHEG’s first-ever female state champion.
Meanwhile, Owatonna’s Isabelle Townley and Alia Fischer hope to bring another state title back home after Rian Grunwald won the 114-pound title last season.
Each Steele County school will be represented in St. Paul as Owatonna produced 10 wrestlers, Medford seven, NRHEG three and Westfield two.
Earning the top spot in their section brackets were the following:
Owatonna: Kaden Lindquist, 106; Lane Karsten, 120; Trey Hiatt, 132 and Cael Robb, 152.
Medford: Luis Lopez, 113; Tommy Elwood , 126; Charley Elwood, 145; Garron Hoffman, 152 and Tate Hermes, 170.
NRHEG: Annabelle Petsinger, 120.
Westfield: Bo Zwiener, 132.
Runner-up finishers at section also qualified for state. They are:
Owatonna: Isabelle Townley, 107; Donoven Sorenson, 113; Aliah Fischer, 138; Michael Reinardy, 138; R.J. Reinardy, 160 and Blake Fitcher, 195.
Medford: Evan Schweisthal, 138 and Dylan Heiderscheidt, 195.
NRHEG: Reese Routh, 152 and Makota Misgen, 285.
Westfield: Cade Christianson, 145.
All listed boys wrestlers will compete next at the Minnesota State High School League state tournament held at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Friday.
Owatonna boys wrestlers will begin their individual rounds at the conclusion of the Class AA state first round, beginning at 9 a.m.
Gopher Conference boys wrestlers will compete immediately following the conclusion of the Class AAA first round.
All female wrestlers will begin their tournament on Saturday, along with the quarterfinal rounds of the Class A, AA and AAA tournaments.
For more on the success of these area athletes, turn to sports in the B Section.