Johnsrud leads Albert Lea with 4th-place finish at tourney

The No. 9 Class AA Albert Lea wrestling team was led by Beau Johnsrud on Friday and Saturday at the Minnesota Christmas tournament in Rochester as four Tigers placed and two more were one win away from the podium.

“Placing in this tournament is huge for the kids,” said Albert Lea head coach Larry Goodnature. “It went really well.”

Johnsrud led the Tigers with a fourth-place finish at 120 pounds. He is the No. 6-ranked wrestler in Class AA at 126 pounds. After receiving a first-round bye, Johnsrud earned a 5-0 decision over Andy Andress of White Bear Lake. In the third round, he won a 6-2 decision over Dylan Sogge of Prior Lake. Johnsrud lost by fall to Kael Knowlen of Bismark, N.D., in the next round, but he rebounded with a 15-0 technical fall over Ian Gioacchini of Kaukauna, Wis.

The win set up a rematch for third place between Sogge and Johnsrud. This time, Sogge squeaked out a 4-3 decision.

Garrett Aldrich and Devin Nelson also placed.

Aldrich, the No. 7-ranked wrestler in Class AA at 106 pounds finished in seventh place with a 5-2 record.

“A lot of coaches thought 106 was the toughest weight class,” Goodnature said. “Garrett had a great tournament and beat some ranked and seeded kids.”

Aldrich began the tournament by pinning Kendall Nowlan of Watertown-Mayer in 3 minutes and 8 seconds. He suffered a setback in the second round by losing a 13-4 major decision to Jared Franek, the eventual third-place finisher.

However, Aldrich got back on track by beating Zach Nygaard of St. Michael-Albertville with an 8-0 major decision and Peyton Robb of Owatonna — the No. 6 wrestler in Class AAA at 106 pounds — with an 8-4 decision. Then Aldrich and Franek met again, but Franek won by fall this time. Aldrich bounced back again with a 5-1 division over Jackson Stauffacher of Scott West in his final match.

Nelson took seventh place at 138 pounds with a 4-2 record.

He beat Shane Abraham of Scott West and Ryan Stalsberg of Holmen, Wis. in the first two rounds before losing to Luke Rowh of Hastings 12-4.

Nelson rebounded with a 6-5 decision over Andrew Schmidt of Lake City. After losing by one point to Miles Patton of Rochester — the No. 4 wrestler in Class AAA — Nelson beat Lane Kaseman of Bismark, N.D., 6-4.

“All three of the place winners (Johnsrud, Aldrich and Nelson) had to grind it out and dig in,” Goodnature said. “It’s a brutal tournament. You wrestle all day long.”

Derek Samudio and Tim Christianson were one win away from placing, Goodnature said.

Thirty-three teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota attended. Albert Lea finished with 72.5 points to take 18th place.

Next, Albert Lea will wrestle in the Rumble on the Red at 10 a.m. Friday in Fargo, N.D.

“It’s another tough two-day tournament,” Goodnature said. “It prepares them for the end of the year with the section and state tournaments.”