Grapplers win Highway 13 Rumble and Mapleton tourneys

New Prague High School’s wrestlers had a busy few days as they won both the Highway 13 Rumble at home, Friday, Feb. 2, and the Takedown on 22 tournament in Mapleton, Saturday, Feb. 3.

Triangular The Trojans started by traveling to Farmington High School Thursday, Feb. 1, where they defeated Lakeville South, 47-18, and lost to Farmington, 31-30.

“This was a great event as both these teams are in our new section,” said head coach Dan Wagner.

The Trojans got the evening started against Lakeville South. Wagner said there were several great individual matches, highlighted by senior Brandon Michel defeating the No. 10-ranked wrestler in his weight class by a score of 2-1. The team also picked up wins by Elijah Lofton, Grady Connelly, Vinnie LaBelle, Lawson Eller, Jordan Schmitz, Brady Westall, Owen Johnson and Brady Gregory.

“The second dual of the evening is exactly what we thought it would be. Farmington graduated zero wrestlers from their section team last season, making them a front runner for section 2AAA,” said Wagner. “We knew we were in for a battle, and we got just that. This dual was back and forth the entire evening.”

Lofton got the Trojans started with a fall. Farmington fired back with a major decision at 114. The Trojans then earned falls by LaBelle and Eller before the Tigers fired back with a decision and fall of their own, bringing the score to 18-13.

Michel then won an exciting victory in four overtime periods, bringing the score to 21-14. However, Farmington earned wins at 152 and 160 to take a 22-21 lead. Westall would then give the lead back to the Trojans by securing a fall. At 189, the Tigers would earn six team points of their own. Going into 215, the score was 28- 27 in favor of the Tigers. At 215, the Trojans would pick up a victory by Owen Johnson, putting the Trojans back in front by two points, with the team score 30-28. However, the heavyweight for the Tigers was just too much for New Prague to handle and the Tigers took the dual, 31-30.

“We will very likely get a rematch of the Tigers in the section semifinals if the team takes care of business in the opening rounds,” said Wagner.

Highway 13 Rumble Friday evening, New Prague held the 17th annual Highway 13 Rumble with Prior Lake. “This is a program-wide event that we have been doing with Prior Lake,” said Wagner. “This event started in 2008 as a...

To see more on this story pick up the February 8, 2024 print edition of The New Prague Times.