The Jackson County Central wresting team has never been shy about putting together a challenging schedule each season but the current campaign is arguably the toughest ever. The Huskies have wrestled in four states so far (Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and North Dakota) and are scheduled to add a fifth state (South Dakota) to that list next week.
They have met a lot of the best teams and individuals those five states have to offer, as well as teams from Missouri and Illinois along the way.
So nothing JCC saw when it served as host school for the first-ever Night of Champions was going to catch the Huskies off guard.
The Huskies went 0-2 on the night, but made a nice showing for themselves in the event, which brought together the three championship teams from last year’s state tournament.
And depending on which state rankings you look at, either all three teams are rated first this season or two are rated first and the other second.
Class 2A Simley defeated Class 1A Jackson County Central 47-20 and then Class 3A St. Michael-Albertville downed the Huskies 47-27. In the final dual, No. 23 nationally ranked Simley trailed No. 24 STMA 29-18 heading into the final two matches but the Spartans got a fall in each of those final two matches to win 30-29.
“I was really happy with how we wrestled, said JCC Coach Nate Hanson. “We knew it was going to be two really tough teams, both nationally ranked right next to each other. We thought going in winning eight matches would be a pretty good night and we wound up winning ten.
“We were close to our full lineup. We were missing two guys, Ben Dahlin is a little dinged up and Matthew Haley is still out. With those guys in there maybe we win a few more matches. I think Matt probably goes 2-0 if he was in there and we were 0-2 at that weight tonight. That wouldn’t have been enough for us to win the duals but it would have tightened it up a little more.”
There weren’t too many empty seats in the JCC High School gym as there were spectators not only from the participating schools but statewide.
“It was a really neat event,” Hanson commented. “It’s never been done before to have all three returning state champs. It was really cool to be part of it.”
The Huskies had two wrestlers go 2-0 on the night, Logan Butzon and Dylan Withers.
Butzon, rated third at 145 in 1A by The Guillotine, won 8-2 over Simley’s Derrick Dohmen and 9-6 over STMA’s Jarrett Wadsen, ranked sixth in 3A at 145.
Like a number of Huskies, Butzon has been battling with an injury throughout January, but made a good showing in his return to the lineup.
“I think I went out there a little out of control,” said the JCC senior, who is headed to Augustana University next season. “It worked but I gassed myself out so I got a little tired but I knew had to just stay in position and keep working for points and they slowly came more and more. I do wish I could have got the last takedown to get the major and another point for the team, but I think I wrestled pretty well for not having competed for a long time.”
In his second match of the night, Butzon, a four-time state qualifier and three-time place winner, defeated a ranked Class 3A wrestler.
“That definitely helps with the confidence to know that you’re there with those guys,” Butzon commented. “These kind of matches show what you need to quit doing and how you can get better.”
Withers, rated third at 170, recorded a win at 170 in the Simley match and then bumped up to 182 vs. STMA. Both wins came by fall.
“I knew they bumped up a guy so I went out there to take advantage and get as many team points as I could get,” Withers said of his match vs. Simley. “I knew it wasn’t their normal starter who is ranked in the state.”
After winning his first match in 1:39, Withers made a little quicker work of his second match, winning in 1:37.
“I had to bump up in that match so I knew I would be giving up some size,” commented Withers. “I went out and tried to take advantage of the mistakes he made and I was able to cradle him up and ended up pinning him in the first period.”
Kyler Thier and Seth Stai both went 1-0 for the Huskies. Nolan Ambrose, Thomas Freking, Caleb Vancura and Cameron Scholten all went 1-1.
Jackson County Central goes to Grove City for a quadrangular Tuesday, facing Class 1A No. 4 Holdingford, Sibley East and host Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City.
Simley 47, Jackson County Central 20
106: Kyler Thier (JCC) dec. Charli Raymond (S) 2-0 SV OT
113: Austin Grzywinki (S) maj. dec. Kayden Eller (JCC) 16-5
120: Brandon Morvari (S) pinned Isaac Rodriguez (JCC) 2:54
126: Derke Buck (S) wins by forfeit
132: Nolan Ambrose (JCC) tech fall JJ Salas (D) 17-0 6:00
138: Thomas Freking (JCC) dec. Kaiden Schrandt (S) 2-1
145: Logan Butzon (JCC) dec. Derrick Dohmen (S) 8-2
152: Cash Raymond (S) maj. dec. Trey Rossow (JCC)
160: Vristol Short (S) dec. Isaiah Rodriguez (JCC)
170: Dylan Withers (JCC) pinned Danny Martin (S) 1:39
182: Travis Smith (S) pinned Brayden Winter (JCC) 1:41
195: Lana Oduwaiye (S) pinned Jack Mix (JCC) 1:06
220: Gavin Nelson (S) pinned Caleb Vancura (JCC) 1:28
285: Soren Herzog (S) pinned Cameron Scholten (JCC) 1:16
St. Michael-Albertville 47, Jackson County Central 27
106: Lincoln Robideau (STMA) pinned Kayden Eller (JCC) :28
113: Chase Mills (STMA) wins by forfeit
120: Mason Mills (STMA) tech fall Isaac Rodriguez 19-3 4:28
126: Ian Schultz (STMA) wins by forfeit
132: Landon Robideau (STMA) maj. dec. Nolan Ambrose (JCC) 11-3
138: Parker Janssen (STMA) dec. Thomas Freking (JCC) 7-1
145: Logan Butzon (JCC) dec. Jarrett Wadsen (STMA) 9-6
152: Eli Davis (STMA) wins by forfeit
160: Noah Torgerson (STMA) tech fall Isaiah Rodriguez 17-1 3:36
170: Seth Stai (JCC) pinned Bennett Eicher (STMA) :48
182: Dylan Withers (JCC) pinned Bryson Sauvy (STMA) 1:37
195; Tyson Hentges (STMA) pinned Brayden Winter (JCC) 3:32
220: Caleb Vancura (JCC) pinned Myles Dehmer (STMA) 1:44
285: Cameron Scholten (JCC) pinned Logan Torkelson (STMA) 1:28
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: vs. ACGC, Holdingford and Sibley East at Grove City, 5 p.m.
Thurs., Jan. 26: Pipestone, 7 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 3: vs. Brandon Valley at Sioux Falls, 6 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 4: at Mike Fasnacht Memorial, Janesville, 10 a.m.
Mon., Feb. 6: at Windom/Mountain Lake, 6 p.m.
Thurs., Feb. 9: vs. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton, BOLD and Marshall at Tracy, 5 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 10: Big South Conference championship
Thurs., Feb. 16: Section 3A team quarterfinals, 6 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 18: Section 3A team semifinals and finals, Lamberton, 12 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