Minnesota state wrestling: Tvinnereim 2nd; Willaby, Ellingson, Altermatt third

4048541+Tvinnereim wr web.jpg — Jacob Tvinnereim of Jackson County Central faces his opponent in the finals of the Minnesota state Class A 152-pound championship Saturday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. (Doug Wolter/The Globe)

By Doug Wolter

March 03, 2018 11:17 PM

ST. PAUL -- Southwest Minnesota represented itself well at the 2018 Minnesota high school wrestling tournament. There were three champions. And there were several wrestlers who earned places.

A year ago, Jackson County Central’s Jacob Tvinnereim placed fourth at 138 pounds in Class A. The senior wrestled for a 152-pound title Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, settling for second.

Windom/Mountain Lake 10th-grader Brett Willaby placed fourth at 106 pounds. On Saturday, he finished third at 113.

Teammate Alex Borsgard placed fifth last year at 132, and this time he captured fifth at 138.

Dereck Ellingson of Tracy-Milroy-Balaton/Westbrook-Walnut Grove was third at 126 on Saturday at 126. Nick Altermatt of Wabasso/Red Rock Central was third at 170 pounds. Garrett Ploeger of Pipestone Area was fourth at 182.

The top-rated wrestler in Class A at 152 pounds, Tvinnereim faced the No. 2-ranked wrestler, unbeaten Adam Jaeger of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in the finals. Jaeger led 1-0 after one period, gave up an escape to make it 1-1, and eventually prevailed 3-1. Defensive yet strong, Jaeger proved proficient at tying up in the neutral position, and his victory over Tvinnereim was his 34th on the season.

Tvinnereim finished 48-6.

Willaby, after winning 12-4 over Michael Miller of Frazee to put him into the third-place match at 113, drew Carter Jonsagaard of Lewiston-Altura-Rushford-Peterson. Willaby won it 13-4 for his 41st victory of the season in 45 tries.

His teammate, Borsgard, rolled up a 16-7 victory over Owen Bjerga of Staples-Motley in his fifth-place match, finishing him at 40-6 in his junior year.

At 126, Ellingson, after having to go overtime to trim Mason Gode of Long Prairie-Grey Eagle-Browerville to win a shot at third place, copped third with a 3-1 win over Tanner Schermerhorn of Frazee to finish 37-7 in his junior season.

Altermatt edged Kaleb O’Reilly of Goodhue 2-1 to get himself a third-place match against Colton Waldvogel of Osakis, which resulted in a 3-1 Altermatt win. The senior finished 35-2.

Ploeger, another senior, after recording a fall at 3:42 against Marshall Meehl of Royalton-Upsala in his last match in the wrestlebacks, lost to Michael Nelson of Dover-Eyota 16-6 in the third-place showdown.

Ploeger finished the year at 37-9.

By Doug Wolter

Doug Wolter joined the Worthington Globe in December of 1983 as a sports reporter. He later became sports editor, and then news editor and managing editor. In 2006 he moved to Mankato with his wife, Sandy, and served as an editor at the Mankato Free Press. In 2013 he and Sandy returned to Worthington to take up the job of sports editor at The Globe, and they have been in Worthington since.

Doug can be reached at dwolter@dglobe.com.

Minnesota state wrestling: Tvinnereim 2nd; Willaby, Ellingson, Altermatt third

ST. PAUL -- Southwest Minnesota represented itself well at the 2018 Minnesota high school wrestling tournament. There were three champions. And there were several wrestlers who earned places. A year ago, Jackson County Central's Jacob Tvinnereim ...