In a season filled with ups and downs, the Jackson County Central wrestling team endured some of each in its Class 1A state championship match vs. Caledonia/Houston at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Just as they had done all season, the Huskies were able to put those down moments behind them and claim a 43-19 win over Caledonia/Houston and win a second straight state championship.
The dual was tied 10-10 as the teams split the first four matches. Kayden Eller won by fall at 106 pounds and Isaac Rodriguez won a major decision at 120.
The Warriors pulled even on the team scoreboard at 126 pounds as JCC state qualifier Benjamin Dahlin had to medical forfeit his match.
That brought a pair of state-ranked wrestlers to the match at 132 pounds in fourth-ranked and at the time, two-time state champion Nolan Ambrose of Jackson County Central and Caledonia/Houston’s third-ranked Owen Denstad.
Ambrose would start the Huskies on a roll as he was in control all the way in a 5-1 win.
“I knew going in that I was the favorite no matter what the rankings were,” said the JCC junior. “I knew if I just wrestled my match good things would happen. Through being here last season and a lot of tough tournaments this year I knew we were battle tested. We’ve been in environments like this so I didn’t think it would be a problem for any of the guys because they’ve been in multiple situations like this.”
Ambrose’s win was the first of four in a row for Jackson County Central, three over ranked wrestlers.
At 138, No. 3 Thomas Freking was a 7-3 winner over Cory Scanlan, No. 3 Logan Butzon won 2-1 over No. 2 Tucker Ginther at 145 and unranked state qualifier Isaiah Rodriguez beat No. 3 Isaac Blocker 4-3 at 152.
Trey Rossow dropped a tough 3-2 decision at 160 that brought CH within 22-13, but Seth Stai picked the Huskies right up with a pin in 1:08 over Aden Kulas at 170 pounds.
The Warriors’ final points came when state qualifier Dylan Withers had to injury default for JCC at 182 to make the score 28-19.
Jackson County Central would win the final three matches.
At 195, No. 5 Matthew Haley won a 6-0 decision over No. 2 Ayden Goetzinger (CH) to make it 31-19.
That set the stage for No. 2 Caleb Vancura to pin CH’s Tyler Jennings in 36 and seal the win for the Huskies.
“I was pretty ecstatic,” Vancura said. “I clinched it last year too so it was pretty cool that I got to do it again.
“But I need to thank all my teammates and everybody who put me in a position to do what I did.” He continued. “It really comes down to a team battle. We went through some adversity in the match and that kind of put a damper on us, but we came back.”
Cameron Scholten put an exclamation point on the victory as he won by fall is 51 seconds.
“The guys wrestled awesome,” said JCC Coach Nate Hanson.” We won just about every match we could. There were nine tossup matches and we won eight.
“They had a lot of fun out there,” Hanson said of the Huskies. “It was great to see everybody smiling and wrestling hard. Couldn’t be more proud of everybody. “We’re from a really, really successful program and sometimes all the success gets taken for granted. On days like this it’s nice to celebrate and appreciate it all.”
JCC state tournament duals
Jackson County Central 43, Caledonia/Houston 19
106: Kayden Eller (JCC) pinned Aiden Burns (CH) 0:59
113: Hunter Frank (CH) maj. dec. Kyler Thier (JCC) 18-6
120: Isaac Rodriguez (JCC) maj. dec. Tanner Ginther (CH) 15-2
126: Braxton Lange (CH) over Benjamin Dahlin (JCC) medical forfeit
132: Nolan Ambrose (JCC) dec. Owen Denstad (CH) 5-1
138: Thomas Freking (JCC) dec. Cory Scanlan (CH) 7-3
145: Logan Butzon (JCC) dec. Tucker Ginther (CH) 2-1
152: Isaiah Rodriguez (JCC) dec. Isaac Blocker (CH) 4-3
160: Simon Seymour (CH) dec. Trey Rossow (JCC) 3-2
170: Seth Stai (JCC) pinned Aden Kulas (CH) 1:08
182: Eric Mauss (CH) over Dylan Withers (JCC) injury default
195: Matthew Haley (JCC) dec. Ayden Goetzinger (CH) 6-0
220: Caleb Vancura (JCC) pinned Tyler Jennings (CH) 0:36
285: Cameron Scholten (JCC) pinned Grant Ness (CH) 0:51
Jackson County Central 54, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 18
106: Kayden Eller (JCC) pinned Ryker Cobes (HLWW) 1:51.
113: Raydon Graham (HLWW) dec. Kyler Thier (JCC) 7-0.
120: Isaac Rodriguez (JCC) pinned Gabriel Michels (HLWW) 3:33.
126: Benjamin Dahlin (JCC) pinned Tegan Miller (HLWW) 3:12.
132: Nolan Ambrose (JCC) pinned Caleb Michels (HLWW) 3:40.
138: Thomas Freking (JCC) maj. dec. Tony Baumann (HLWW) 11-3.
145: Logan Butzon (JCC) tech fall Steve Heber (HLWW) 19-4,
152: Mitchell Mallak (HLWW) dec. Isaiah Rodriguez (JCC) 7-5.
160: Seth Stai (JCC) pinned Caleb Boese (HLWW) 0:51.
170: Dylan Withers (JCC) dec. Isaac Cain (HLWW) 4-0.
182: Tyler Graczyk (HLWW) pinned Brayden Winter (JCC) :59.
195: Charlie Mumford (HLWW) pinned Jack Mix (JCC) :59.
220: Caleb Vancura (JCC) pinned Matthew Busse (HLWW) 1:35.
285: Cameron Scholten (JCC) pinned Leo Duske (HLWW) 1:01.
JCC 48, WCAABE 17
106: Owen Gruchow (WCA) tech fall Kyler Thier (Jackson County Central) 16-1
113: Kayden Eller (JCC) pinned Evan Dingwall (WCA) 1:23
120: Isaac Rodriguez (JCC) pinned Tucker McGee (WCA) 0:44
126: Benjamin Dahlin (JCC) pinned Carter Lohse (WCA) 1:58
132: Landon Andrews (JCC) dec. Adam Lohse (WCA) 8-1
138: Thomas Freking (JCC) pinned Sam Olson (WCA) 1:18
145: Skyler Andrews (JCC) pinned Kolby Peters (WCA) 3:46
152: Solomon Wales (WCA) dec. Isaiah Rodriguez (JCC) 14-12 TB1
160: Hunter Gruchow (WCA) over Trey Rossow (JCC) 8-5
170: Dylan Withers (JCC) over Ezekiel Sieckert (WCA) 7-4
182: Anthony Sykora (WCA) over Braydan Winter (JCC) 1:00
195: Matthew Haley (JCC) dec. Beau Robinson (WCA) 4-0
220: Caleb Vancura (JCC) pinned Will Rustan (WCA) 0:48
285: Cameron Scholten (JCC) dec. Justin Blascyk (WCA) 3-2
State Class 1A wrestling tournament
Quarterfinals
Jackson County Central 48, West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville 17
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 37, Royalton/Upsala 25
Caledonia/Houston 35, United North Central 23
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 42, Medford 22
Semifinals
Jackson County Central 54, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 18
Caledonia/Houston 33, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 27
Consolation semifinals
West Central Area 31, Royalton/Upsala 29
Medford 38, United North Central 20
Championship
Jackson County Central 43, Caledonia/Houston 19
Third place
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 32, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 30
Fifth place
Medford 37, West Central Area 30