Raiders crown three place-winners at Christmas tourney

The Hastings Raiders wrestling team competed in the annual Minnesota Christmas tournament over the weekend. The tournament drew some of the best wrestlers from around the state, along with teams from North Dakota and Iowa.

Unable to field their starting lineup due to injuries, the Raiders finished 13th out of 34 teams with three wrestlers finishing in the top six.

At 113 pounds, sophomore Luke Rowh claimed Hastings’ top award with a third-place finish. Rowh ended his weekend with a 5-1 record. His only loss came to eventual tournament champion Tommy Thorn of St. Michael-Albertville.

Rowh cruised through the first two rounds with a pin and tech fall, which placed him in the quarterfinals against second ranked Zach Siegel of Scott West. Rowh’s ability to control the pace of the match propelled him to a 4-2 over Siegel.

Top-ranked Tommy Thorn awaited Rowh in the semi-finals. Thorn didn’t allow Rowh to mount much offense while earning an 8-2 decision and trip to the finals. Rowh found himself against Garrett Wangsness of Albert Lea in a placing match to see who would wrestle for third- or fifth-place. In that match Rowh earned the only takedown on his way to win a 3-2 decision. Rowh capped off his tournament with another 3-2 decision, this time over third-ranked Tanner Johnshoy of Prior Lake.

At 182 pounds, senior Jake Swenson took home sixth- place. Swenson started his tournament run with two first-period pins to earn a quarterfinal date with top-ranked and eventual tournament champion Micah Barner of Simley. Barnes used his quickness and riding ability to score a 12-4 major decision over Swenson.

Swenson rebounded with a 3-1 decision over Henry Sibley’s Uthman Rabiu and a 3-2 decision over fourth-ranked Beau Bibeau of White Bear Lake. Top-ranked Clayton Jennissen of Cambridge-Isanti awaited Swenson in the placing match. Jennissen scored the only takedown of the match to gain a 3-1 decision over Swenson. Fifth-ranked Richard Carlson claimed a 3-1 decision in the fifth-place match when Swenson was unable to score a takedown of his own. Swenson ended his weekend with a 4-3 record.

At 220 pounds, senior Isaac Eichmann also finished in sixth place. Eichmann began the tournament by rolling off three straight pins on his way to the semifinals. Eichmann’s opponent in the semis was top-ranked Nick Edling of STMA. Neither wrestler could mount much offense with Edling’s escape being the only points scored.

The placing match saw Eichmann and third-ranked Coyte Kuefner of Owatonna vying for a spot in the third-place match. With the score tied 3-3 in the third and Eichmann on top, Kuefner earned an escape to regain the lead. With time running out Eichmann set up a good throw but was unable to keep Kuefner from rolling through with Kuefner ending up on top after the scramble. In the fifth-place match top-ranked Michael Burkhardt of Coon Rapids scored a 4-2 decision over Eichmann.

The Raiders did have three wrestlers one win away from placing. 126-pound senior Dan Gove lost to third-ranked Luke Zilverberg of Scott West 7-3. 145-pound freshman Jake Anderson came up short against fifth place finisher Ty Torgerson of Cambridge-Isanti. Senior heavyweight Jake Anderson fell to sixth-place finisher Andrew Gustafson of Centennial.

All three finished with 3-2 records on the weekend while wrestling well against the stout competition the faced.

Other wrestlers competing this week were: 106-pound sophomore Josh Loiacano (2-2), 120-pound junior Isaac Bauer (2-2), 132-pound sophomore Bill Norris (0-2), 138- pound sophomore Dan Marquette (1-2), 152-pound senior Louie Wright (1-2), 170-pound sophomore Andy Rachuy (2-2) and 195-pound senior Cody Wagner (0-2).

Looking forward the team’s goal is to get everyone back on the mat healthy and in shape as they prepare for the Clash on Dec. 30-31.

The Clash is the premiere national high school wrestling dual tournament with seven of the top nine teams in the country competing in this 32-team tournament.

Tags: raider wrestling, sports, hastings, minnesota, spiral, prep