Tigers clash with nation’s best
Published 10:34 pm Friday, January 7, 2011
Dalton Westerlund looks to pull a reverse Friday at the Clash meet in Rochester. -- Andrew Dyrdal
Albert Lea wrestlers beat Broomfield in Day 1 at the Clash National Wrestling Duals, fall to Carl Sandburg, Mason City
ROCHESTER — With 11 nationally ranked teams and 20 nationally ranked wrestlers, the Albert Lea Tigers wrestling team had their hands full Friday at the Clash National Wrestling Duals at Rochester Community and Technical College.
The Tigers sandwiched a dramatic come from behind win between two losses during Day 1 at the Clash.
After falling to No. 1-ranked Carl Sandburg, Ill., 53-10 in their opening-round match, the Tigers faced another top-ranked
Albert Lea’s Carter Kortan, right, wrestles against Broomfield’s Connor King Friday at the Clash National Wrestling Duals in Rochester. -- Andrew Dyrdal
opponent, the Broomfield Eagles, the No. 1-ranked team in Colorado and two-time defending state champions.
By random draw, the match began at 119 pounds, pitting Lucas Hansen against the Eagles’ Phil Downing.
Downing pinned Hansen in 42 seconds and began a flurry of scoring for the Eagles as they strung together three falls to build an 18-0 lead over the Tigers.
At 135 pounds, the Eagles’ Mike Fragoso earned an 11-3 major decision over the Tigers’ Tristan Westerlund giving Broomfield a 22-0 lead heading into a likely sure-fall at 140 pounds.
But Bany Chan gave the Tigers their best loss of the season.
Facing Nick Babcock, a two-time state runner-up and ranked No. 2 in Colorado, the untested ninth-grader kept the Tigers within striking distance.
Chan wrestled a scrappy match and held Babcock to just a 10-2 major decision.
“That was huge,” Tigers head coach Larry Goodnature said, of Chan’s match. “In duals it’s all about falls and not giving up bonus points and that’s what (Chan) did.”
Albert Lea’s Dalton Westerlund wrestles Mason City’s Dillon Coe Friday at the Clash in Rochester. -- Andrew Dyrdal
Following Chan’s match, the Tigers faced a 26-0 deficit with eight weight classes left.
They won seven of them.
At 145 pounds, the Tigers’ Trey Hable sparked three consecutive falls by pinning Warren Eckman in 1:07.
Dalton Westerlund pinned Cody Sullivan in 1:31 at 152 pounds, and Cory Hansen pinned Nate Aragon in 3:12 at 160 pound to quickly pull the Tigers within 26-18.
The Eagles extended their lead to 32-18 when Connor King, Colorado’s No. 1-ranked wrestler at 171 pounds, pinned Carter Kortan in 4:26.
The Tigers shutout the Eagles and scored 22 unanswered points the restof the match.
The Tigers biggest win over the Eagles, according to Goodnature, was at heavyweight, where Albert Lea’s Alex Nielsen won a 3-0 decision over Colin Eaks, the No. 12-ranked wrestler in Colorado.
Nielsen’s win pulled the Tigers within 32-31, setting up brothers Dakota and Garrett Wangsness to seal the win at 103 and 112
Albert Lea’s Cory Hansen wrestles Carl Sandburg’s 160-pounder Kyle Hughes in the opening round of the Clash. -- Andrew Dyrdal
pounds, respectively.
Dakota pinned Dylan Alverez in 3:29 and Garrett earned an 8-6 decision over Jonathan Stelling.
“They’re used to wrestling to start off the meet,” Goodnature said of the Wangsness brothers. “With all the pressure on they really stepped up.
“The win was a tribute to the kids that they never gave up. I told them, ‘Don’t let the boys in front on you get you down.’ They went out there and did it.”
Carl Sandburg drops Tigers 53-10
The Tigers couldn’t go anywhere against the Carl Sandburg Eagles, the No. 1-ranked team in Illinois, in their opening-round match Friday.
The Eagles built a 32-0 lead before the Tigers’ Dalton Westerlund put Albert Lea on the board with a 9-1 major decision over Chris Pajak.
Carter Kortan and Gaudian also notched decision wins for the Tigers as they lost 53-10.
Mason City edges Albert Lea 35-28
The Tigers third match against the No. 5-ranked Mason City Mohawks had the looks of another gutsy comeback, but Albert Lea fell just short 35-28.
Beginning at 125 pounds, the Tigers fell behind the Mohawks 22-0 before a decision and major decision by Dalton Westerlund and Cory Hansen, respectively, pulled the Tigers within 22-7.
The Mohawks rallied with a fall and a decision to pull ahead 31-7 and Tigers couldn’t find the falls they had against Broomfield.
After Gaudian pinned the Mohawks’ Tom Shiffer and Nielsen won by forfeit, Dakota Wangsness pinned Kaz Onoo to pull the Tigers as close as 31-25.
With two matches left, the Tigers needed to win match to steal the match but got only one victory from Lucas Hansen over Andrew Bartel at 119 pounds.
The Tigers beat Skutt Catholic, Neb., 47-26 in the opening round of Day 2 but individual results were unknown when this issue went to press.
The Tigers also wrestled Stewartville at 11 a.m. and Wausau West, Wis., at 1 p.m.
Carl Sandburg 53, Albert Lea 10
112 — Jim Panozzo (CS) over Garrett Wangsness (AL) Dec 5-0
119 — John Pellegrino (CS) over Lucas Hansen (AL) Dec 7-3
125 — Jake Stefan (CS) over Devin Nelson (AL) Pin 3:44
130 — Dan Garcia (CS) over Spenser Carstens (AL) Pin 1:50
135 — Colin Holler (CS) over Tristan Westerlund (AL) TF 15-0
140 — Dan Argueta (CS) over Caleb Kolodge (AL) Pin 3:49
145 — Nick Fishback (CS) over Trey Hable (AL) Dec 10-4
152 — Dalton Westerlund (AL) over Chris Pajak (CS) Maj 9-1
160 — Kyle Hughes (CS) over Cory Hansen (AL) Dec 2-1
171 — Brandon Lopez (CS) over Cole Helig (AL) Pin 1:27
189 — Carter Kortan (AL) over Matt Strzelczyk (CS) Dec 5-4
215 — Caleb Gaudian (AL) over Brenden Pindel (CS) Dec 4-1
285 — Chris Lopez (CS) over Alex Nielsen (AL) Pin 0:59
103 — Jim Pellegrino (CS) over Beau Johnsrud (AL) Pin 1:38
Albert Lea 40, Broomfield 32
119 — Phil Downing (B) over Lucas Hansen (AL) Pin 0:42
125 — Zach Stodden (B) over Spenser Carstens (AL) Pin 5:37
130 — Courtland Hacker (B) over Devin Nelson (AL) Pin 0:21
135 — Mike Fragoso (B) over Tristan Westerlund (AL) Maj 11-3
140 — Nick Babcock (B) over Bany Chan (AL) Maj 10-2
145 — Trey Hable (AL) over Warren Eckman (B) Pin 1:07
152 — Dalton Westerlund (AL) over Cody Sullivan (B) Pin 1:31
160 — Cory Hansen (AL) over Nate Aragon (B) Pin 3:12
171 — Connor King (B) over Carter Kortan (AL) Pin 4:26
189 — Connor Kortan (AL) over Connor Eaks (B) Maj 10-1
215 — Caleb Gaudian (AL) over Theo Robison (B) Pin 0:10
285 — Alex Nielsen (AL) over Colin Eaks (B) Dec 3-0
103 — Dakota Wangsness (AL) over Dylan Alverez (B) Pin 3:29
112 — Garrett Wangsness (AL) over Jonathan Stelling (B) Dec 8-6
Mason City 35, Albert Lea 28
125 — Cody King (MC) over Devin Nelson (AL) Dec 4-2
130 — Blake Spotts (MC) over Spenser Carstens (AL) Pin 5:41
135 — Valentine Flores (MC) over Tristan Westerlund (AL) Pin 3:57
140 — Austin Voves (MC) over Caleb Kolodge (AL) Maj 16-5
145 — Parker Sturges (MC) over Trey Hable (AL) Dec 8-4
152 — Dalton Westerlund (AL) over Dillon Coe (MC) Dec 6-0
160 — Cory Hansen (AL) over Jordan Flaherty (MC) Maj 9-0
171 — Travis Mallo (MC) over Cole Helig (AL) Pin 1:24
189 — Jared Bartel (MC) over Carter Kortan (AL) Dec 7-5
215 — Caleb Gaudian (AL) over Tom Shiffer (MC) Pin 0:54
285 — Alex Nielsen (AL) over Forf 103 — Dakota Wangsness (AL) over Kaz Onoo (MC) Pin 1:17
112 — Andres Gonzalez (MC) over Garrett Wangsness (AL) Maj 10-2 119 — Lucas Hansen (AL) over Andrew Bartel (MC) Dec 4-3
