ST. PAUL -- With the possibility of meeting in the semifinals of the Class AA state high school team wrestling semifinals, the Adrian Dragons and the Jackson County Central Huskies took to the mats Wednesday evening at the Xcel Energy Center.
The semifinal match-up wasn't to be, however, as the Dragons moved in the winner's bracket with a 31-24 victory over the Thief River Falls/Goodridge Prowlers, while the Huskies were edged 34-33 by the undefeated Perham Yellowjackets.
With the victory, the Dragons advance to meet the Yellowjackets at 6:30 p.m. Friday afternoon. The Huskies will meet the Prowlers at noon Friday in the consolation semifinals.
As expected, the Dragons held their own early on and then won six of the last seven bouts to win the match.
"We lost the flip, which might have given us another win at 140, but other than that, things went as expected," Adrian head coach Greg Nelson said. "At 171, I thought they might move their wrestler up to wrestle Calvin Loosbrock to get another win, but at that point, the match was over."
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The Prowlers grabbed a quick 3-0 after the 103-pound match as TRF/G's Kyle LaDuc won a 4-1 decision over the Dragons' Jake Dorn. Adrian's Stephen Loosbrock pulled those points right back, plus one, as he scored a major decision over Mike Dyrdal at 112 pounds.
The Prowlers took the next two bouts as Steve Keogh beat Brock Bullerman, 4-0, and Jordan Engen followed by pinning Luke Tiesler three minutes and 30 seconds into their battle -- giving TRF/G a 12-4 advantage.
Matt Gades cut the deficit to five points as the Dragon 130-pounder defeated TRF/G's Brian Anderson, 6-3. A grueling battle followed between Adrian's Tony Thier and the Prowlers' Kevin Fynboh.
Tied at 1-all at the end of regulation, Fynboh managed to score a takedown in the second overtime period to grab a 3-1 lead. In the third overtime, Thier escaped for a point, but couldn't earn the takedown to win the 135-pound match.
With the Prowlers up 15-7, TRF/G's 140-pounder, Kyle Iverson, looked to keep the Prowlers rolling. He controlled Adrian's Andy Heitkamp for most of the match to win a 6-3 decision, giving the Prowlers an 18-7 advantage. That's when the match shifted in the Dragons' favor.
The Dragons sent out Nate Barker at 145, and the senior methodically pulled apart his opponent -- Mike Kalinoski -- to win a major decision, 17-5, drawing Adrian within seven at 18-11. Adrian's Jordan Reker followed Barker with a quick 53-second pin of William Hess at 152 pounds, and the Dragons were down by just one.
Next up for Adrian was Zach Reker at 160. Reker, like Barker had, worked his opponent -- Jake Torn -- from every angle to win a 15-6 major decision and give Adrian a 21-17 lead.
