January and the first part of February have been a tough test for the Jackson County Central wrestling team, but the Huskies continue to get good grades.
Despite a difficult schedule and several injuries JCC is rated first in the state in Class 1A and has compiled a dual-meet record of 14-7.
The latest win for the Huskies was a 44-10 triumph over St. Peter in the Big South Conference championship match in the main gym at JCC High School. It’s JCC’s second straight BSC title and the third in its nine-year history.
Jackson County Central was wrestling for the second straight night, having won twice the night before at Tracy including a win over Section 3A rival Tracy-Milroy-Balaton/Westbrook-Walnut Grove. The Huskies and Panthers are seeded 1-2 for the section team tournament that starts Thursday.
“We kind of had the same lineup that we had at Tracy,” said Coach Nate Hanson. “We’re getting a little bit closer every time. We have a couple of guys who are still out but they’re training and they’re getting closer too. I’m optimistic that we’ll get everybody back.”
The Saints won at 106 pounds but the Huskies won the next 10 matches for a 35-4 lead. St. Peter got a win from its lone state-ranked wrestler at 195 before JCC closed out the dual with wins at 220 and 285.
Winners by fall for the Huskies were Kayden Eller (113) and Caleb Vancura (220). Winning major decisions were Logan Butzon (145) and Seth Stai (170).
Picking up decisions were Isaac Rodriguez (120), Benjamin Dahlin (126), Landon Andrews (132), Thomas Freking (138), Isaiah Rodriguez (152), Trey Rossow (160), Dylan Withers (182) and Cameron Scholten (285).
Hanson was happy with his team’s performance throughout the lineup. He pointed out Dallas Gossen’s performance in a loss.
“Dallas spotted his guy a bunch of points,” Hanson commented “And then in the third period it stayed 10-0. He gave up eight points in the first, two in the second and none in the third. That was a good effort against a guy that has 20-some wins.”
Dahlin just returned to the lineup this week and won by a 9-2 decision in the St. Peter dual.
“Ben has been out a while,” said Hanson. “That guy was tough. We beat him by three points last time and beat him worse this time after kind of a long layoff so I was happy to see that. Our conditioning isn’t 100 percent yet but we wrestled really well the times we did wrestle out there with him.”
Another JCC wrestler answering a challenge for the Huskies was Dylan Withers, who is rated seventh and was the Big South Conference 170-pound champion, but bumped up and beat conference 182-pound champion Cole Filand 7-2.
“We had great efforts up and down the lineup,” Hanson said. “I wasn’t disappointed in anyone’s effort or performance.”
Jackson County Central opens the Section 3A tournament at home Thursday. Eighth-seeded Wabasso wrestles ninth-seeded Luverne at 6 p.m. with the top-seeded Huskies getting the winner at about 7 p.m.
The team tournament concludes Saturday in Lamberton. The section individual tourney is Saturday, Feb. 25 in Jackson.
Look for more on JCC’s Big South Conference championship in another newsletter.
BSC championship matches
In the first two years of the Big South Conference, all 13 teams competed in a tournament at one site. Since then, the West Division regular-season champion has met the East Division regular-season champion in a dual for the title.
Championship match scores
2015: Jackson County Central 43, Worthington 27
2016: Worthington 32, Blue Earth Area 19
2017: Blue Earth Area 34, Worthington 23
2018: Martin County 45, Marshall 12
2019: Martin County 44, Marshall 17
2020: Martin County 45, Marshall 19
2021: Martin County 31, Jackson County Central 29
2022: Jackson County Central 50, Martin County 13
2023: Jackson County Central 44, St. Peter 10
Jackson County Central wrestling schedule
Sat., Dec. 3: at Don Hall Invitational, Glencoe, 1st of 9 teams
Tues., Dec. 6: vs. Luverne at Redwood Falls, W 46-21
Tues., Dec. 6: at Redwood Valley, W 72-0
Sat., Dec. 10: JCC Pizza Ranch Invitational, 2nd of 17 teams
Sat., Dec. 17: at Austin Roberts Memorial, Spencer, 1st of 11 teams
Tues., Dec. 20: Marshall at Worthington, W 54-12
Tues., Dec. 20: at Worthington, W 66-9
Fri., Dec. 30: at Rumble on the Red, Fargo, 3rd of 63
Fri., Jan. 6: Willard, Mo. at LaCrosse, W 43-16
Fri., Jan. 6: Glenbard North, Ill. at LaCrosse, W 48-20
Fri., Jan. 6: Bettendorf, Iowa at LaCrosse, L 46-24
Sat., Jan. 7: Zumbrota-Mazeppa at LaCrosse, L 42-21
Sat., Jan. 7: Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa at LaCrosse, L 52-18
Sat., Jan. 7: Osage, Iowa at LaCrosse, L 34-30
Fri., Jan. 13: Adrian, W 49-15
Sat., Jan. 14: Big South Conference, Pipestone, 1st of 13 teams
Fri, Jan. 20: Simley, L 47-20
Fri, Jan. 20: St. Michael-Albertville, L 47-27
Tues., Jan. 24: Sibley East at Grove City, W 69-6
Tues., Jan. 24: at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, W 68-3
Tues., Jan. 24: Holdingford at Grove City, W 40-24
Thurs., Jan. 26: Pipestone, W 52-24
Fri., Feb. 3: vs. Brandon Valley at Sioux Falls, L 44-19
Sat., Feb. 4: at Takedown on 22, Mapleton, 1st of 16
Mon., Feb. 6: at Windom/Mountain Lake, 6 p.m.
Thurs., Feb. 9: BOLD at Tracy W 84-0
Thurs., Feb. 9: at Tracy-Milroy-Balaton/Westbrook-Walnut Grove, W 63-12
Fri., Feb. 10: St. Peter, W 44-10
Thurs., Feb. 16: Wabasso or Luverne, 7 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 18: Section 3A team semifinals and finals, Lamberton, 12:30 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 25: Section 3A individual, Jackson
Thurs., March 2: State team tournament, Xcel Energy Center
Fri., March 3: State individual tournament, Xcel Energy Center
Sat., March 4: State individual tournament, Xcel Energy Center