4 area wrestlers advance to finals

ST. PAUL -- Justin Reinsma wanted one point.

A senior 130-pounder for Fulda/Murray County Central's wrestling team, Reinsma was trailing 1-0 against Simley's Tommy Glenn midway through the third period Friday in the Class AA semifinals. He was turning, spinning, scrambling and doing everything he could to escape the grasp of the top-ranked wrestler in his weight class.

"I knew I had to get at least one, just try to get one," Reinsma said. "I know I'm pretty good on the bottom, so I was just hoping to keep moving and keep scrambling. He's a leg-rider, and those guys are tough to get away from."

With a trip to the state championship match on the line, he did better than just one point.

Reinsma registered a reversal, taking a 2-1 lead before riding Glenn for the remaining minute and earning a trip to the finals for the first time in five tries.

"I just wanted to get to the finals this year; I've been up here five times," Reinsma said. "My first couple of years, I was just hoping to win a match. The next step was to place. Getting up here last year, I wanted to go for the state title, and I was hoping to get to the finals -- anything can happen there."

Reinsma, who is ranked No. 2 in Class AA, will face St. Paul Humboldt senior Devon Bonds today in the championship match.

The two have some history. Reinsma earned a 5-2 victory against Bonds at 125 pounds in the quarterfinals of last year's state tournament.

"It helps with confidence, but I have to go out there and work just as hard as I did in this one," Reinsma said.

Would he be happy with second place?

"No, not this year," he said. "I would have been last year, but not this year."

Reinsma isn't the only area wrestler who will face a familiar opponent in the finals.

After Jackson County Central sophomore Bronson Steuber cruised to a 9-1 victory over Yellow Medicine East's Austen Cole at 119 pounds in the semifinals of the Class A tournament, he was confronted in the hallway by Austin Peters.

"Steuber, how'd you do?" the Medford senior asked.

"I won; how'd you do?" Steuber answered.

"I won," Medford said, smirking.

The two laughed, shook hands and wished each other luck. This afternoon, they will battle each other for the state title in a rematch of the Section 2A finals. Steuber defeated Peters 13-2 only a week ago.

"I just can't go in there overconfident; if I just wrestle my match, I'll win," Steuber said. "Get some food in me, get some energy, and give it hell."

Steuber, the top-ranked Class A wrestler in his weight class, led 2-0 after the first period before taking a commanding lead with a reversal immediately followed by a three-point near-fall.

Nate Lynn's trip to the finals wasn't as comfortable.

A freshman 103-pounder, Lynn earned a title shot in his first trip to the state tournament after rallying to defeat top-ranked Max Anderson 8-5 in the semifinals.

Lynn trailed 5-0 late in the second period before reversing Anderson to his back and earning three points for a near-fall. Anderson fought off the pin until time expired.

Lynn escaped to start the third period, taking a 6-5 lead, and eventually recorded a takedown with 16 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Lynn will face Thief River Falls/Goodridge sophomore Jacoby Bergeron, who defeated Fulda/MCC's Elissa Reinsma in the first round.

Windom/Mountain Lake/Butterfield-Odin's Spencer Johnson also advanced to the finals.

The junior 171-pounder cruised to a 6-0 victory over Scott West's Connor Fogarty and will face TRF/Goodridge senior Travis Peralta, who placed fifth at 171 pounds last season.

Johnson's teammate, Sam Fischenich, will wrestle today for fifth place.

The senior 135-pounder rolled to a 9-3 victory against Hutchinson's Ethan Smith before suffering a disheartening loss in the consolation semifinals.

Fischenich suffered a 7-5 defeat after Mora's Andrew Youngblom recorded a match-ending takedown 25 seconds into overtime.

Andy Henning's day might have been worse.

The Adrian 160-pounder was a victory away from making his first appearance in the championship match; instead, he lost two matches Friday and will wrestle today for fifth place.

Henning, a senior, trailed Saint Michael-Albertville's Jordan Campa 4-0 entering the third period in the Class AA semifinals. He earned an escape 30 seconds into the final period, and he received a point after Campa was penalized for stalling, cutting the deficit to two points. But Henning was unable to record a takedown in the final seconds.

In the consolation semifinals, needing a victory to advance to the third-place match, Henning led nearly the entire way until New London-Spicer's John Nething registered a reversal with 25 seconds remaining in the third period to earn a 3-2 victory.

Henning will face Totino-Grace sophomore Anthony Gullickson.

Adrian's Shea Klooster also will wrestle today for fifth place.

The senior 189-pounder advanced by default to the consolation semifinals before dropping a 4-0 decision against Zimmerman's Jeff Nielsen.

Klooster will face Scott West freshman Michael Kroells in a rematch of the first round. Kroells won a 12-10 decision in overtime Wednesday to send Klooster to the consolation bracket.

Two Jackson County Central wrestlers won two matches Friday in the consolation bracket and will wrestle today for third place.

Junior 130-pounder Jessie Regalado earned a 4-3 victory against Frazee freshman Rij Koehnen in the consolation quarterfinals before defeating Crookston junior Javier Portillo by the same score in the semifinals.

Regalado will face Southland senior Matt Schroeder

JCC freshman 140-pounder Cooper Moore pinned Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa junior Cole Tenson in 4:47 to advance to the consolation semifinals, where he pinned Parkers Prairie senior Jason Arvidson in 37 seconds.

Moore will face YME's Casey Field, the top-ranked Class A wrestler at 140 pounds.

JCC junior 135-pounder Taylor Menke lost a 7-4 decision against Crookston's Mariano Portillo in the consolation quarterfinals, eliminating him from the tournament.

RRC/W-WG sophomore 103-pounder Ryan Schroepfer was eliminated after suffering a 4-2 loss against Badger/Greenbush-Middle River freshman Isaac Novacek in the consolation quarterfinals.