It’s no secret the strength of the Winona High School wrestling team is in the upper weights.

Saturday, February 03, 2001

It’s no secret the strength of the Winona High School wrestling team is in the upper weights.

But that didn’t matter much Friday night.

By the time the Winhawks’ horses hit the mat, Albert Lea had victory well in hand.

The Tigers won nine of the first 10 bouts and rolled to a 44-17 Big Nine Conference dual-meet triumph at Albert Lea High School.

Though the final score was one-sided, Tigers coach Larry Goodnature said by no means was it a cake walk.

&uot;Going into it, on paper, it looked like a close match,&uot; said the coach. &uot;We knew that. Winona has beaten some good teams, including Faribault, and they had their lineup set tonight. All their boys were there, and we were missing one.&uot;

So Goodnature made a request.

&uot;I asked the kids before the match to step it up a notch,&uot; he said. &uot;That’s exactly what they did.&uot;

A key, according to the coach, was the Tigers won six matches by fall. Another was they got wins from several underclassmen.

&uot;Our kids wanted it more than Winona,&uot; said Goodnature. &uot;They went out and did it.&uot;

Josh Hansen got the Tigers off to a 3-0 lead with a thrilling 8-5 decision at 103 pounds, winning it with back points in the final seconds. Brandon Klukow made it 9-0 with a win by fall at 112.

Neal Underdahl scored a crucial fall at 119. Tied 0-0 entering the third period, Underdahl reversed his opponent and eventually pinned him.

Adam Elseth won 5-1 at 125 and Nate Loberg won by fall at 130.

Jared Butler, an eighth-grader, was inserted into the lineup at 135 and lost by fall.

Adam Morreim, who usually wrestles at 135, was bumped up to 140 in the absence of Alan Attig. Morreim won by fall in 3:13.

Another key win was at 145, where Justin Krueger scored two near-fall points in the third period to defeat one of Winona’s best wrestlers by a score of 8-6.

Wyatt Reyerson remained undefeated, pinning his 152-pound opponent in only 30 seconds. Eric Page won by fall at 160.

The Winhawks took the rest of the matches. Andy Davis lost 20-7 at 171, Isaac Walton was defeated 21-7 at 189 and Adam Lares lost 11-4 at heavyweight. Lares wrestled Max Lawson, the No. 1 ranked heavyweight in Class AAA and has a scholarship to Michigan State.

The win improved the Tigers to 12-4 overall and 7-1 in the Big Nine. They travel to Fairmont Tuesday for a double-dual, taking on Fairmont at 5 p.m. and Worthington at 6:30. They wrestle at Mankato West Thursday in their final Big Nine meet of the season.