Thursday will mark the 16th time Jackson County Central will wrestle as a team at the state tournament. For the first four trips, JCC was a cooperatively sponsored program with Southwest Star Concept.
In their first 15 appearances the Huskies have a 36-7-1 record, a .830 percentage.
Two of those losses were by one point, one on a tiebreaker.
JCC lost 34-33 to Perham in the 2007 Class 1A quarterfinals and 37-36 on the fifth tiebreaking criteria to Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale in the 2021 Class 1A semifinals.
Another loss was by four points (27-23) to Dassel-Cokato in the 1998 Class 2A championship match.
The 2007 loss to Perham is the only time JCC lost in the quarterfinals and has been sent to the consolation bracket.
The tie came against Frazee in the 2011 Class 1A championship match. The Huskies won nine matches and the Hornets five.
According to Minnesota State High School League rules, in the final round of the tournament when there is no team advancing the dual remains a tie and the teams are declared co-champions (or co-third place or co-fifth place).
The Heron Lake-Okabena-Lakefield Silver Bullets wrestled as a team in the 1993 Class A state tournament, placing third.
Also, the Jackson/Heron Lake-Okabena-Lakefield Jaguars made back-to-back trips to state as a team in 1996 and 1997.
JCC vs. Everyone
Here’s JCC’s breakdown by team according to win-loss percentage in state tournament competition:
Kenyon-Wanamingo 2-0 1.000
Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial 2-0 1.000
Pierz 2-0 1.000
St. Michael-Albertville 2-0 1.000
West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville 2-0 1.000
Badger/Greenbush-Middle River 1-0 1.000
Barnesville 1-0 1.000
Big Lake 1-0 1.000
Blackduck/Cass Lake-Bena 1-0 1.000
Blue Earth 1-0 1.000
Border West 1-0 1.000
Caledonia/Houston 1-0 1.000
Canby 1-0 1.000
Foley 1-0 1.000
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 1-0 1.000
Kimball Area 1-0 1.000
Maple River/United South Central 1-0 1.000
New Prague 1-0 1.000
Royalton/Upsala 1-0 1.000
Scott West 1-0 1.000
Staples-Motley 1-0 1.000
Thief River Falls 1-0 1.000
Frazee 5-0-1 .917
Minneota 3-1 .750
Chatfield 1-1 .500
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0-1 .000
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 0-1 .000
Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale 0-1 .000
Dassel-Cokato 0-1 .000
Perham 0-1 .000
Total 36-7-1 .830
Class 1A notes
Chatfield, the defending small-school champion, has not lost to a Minnesota team this season. The Gophers’ two losses came during the Clash Duals in early January in La Crosse.
Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial Area, the Section 2A champion, won the consolation final a year ago.
LeSueur-Henderson is the Section 4A champion for the second consecutive year. The Giants are powered by junior 215-pounder George Doherty.
Canby, a Class 1A power over a span of three decades returns as a team for the first time since 2008.
West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville returns after a one-year hiatus. The Knights have power up top with junior 189-pounder Ezekiel Sieckert and senior Jeremy Blascyk at 215.
Staples-Motley is on a 12-dual winning streak, a span that includes two victories over powerful Holdingford. The Cardinals have three losses, all at The Clash. Two were to St. Michael-Albertville and Shakopee, both in the Class 3A field, and to Bettendorf, IA, which was second in the Iowa Class 3A traditional tournament last weekend.
United North Central placed sixth in Class 2A a season ago. The Warriors are on an eight-dual winning streak.
Class 2A notes
Kasson-Mantorville opened its season with a loss to Chatfield. The KoMets then rattled off a 10-1 run before back-to-back losses to Stillwater and St. Michael-Albertville.
Watertown-Mayer/Mayer Lutheran, which finished sixth a season ago, is the top seed in Class 2A. The Royals’ only loss is to St. Michael-Albertville in early January. Since seeding began in 2014, Watertown-Mayer is the only team other than Simley and Kasson-Mantorville to be the top seed in Class 2A.
Marshall was the Class 2A runner-up in 2019 in its only other state tournament trip.
Simley is the six-time defending Class 2A champion. To make it a lucky seven, the Spartans must do so as the No. 3 seed. While Simley lost 10 starters from last season’s squad, don’t be surprised if the tradition-rich Spartans find a way to make a run at another crown.
Totino-Grace, the Section 5AA champion, is making its fifth consecutive trip to the state tournament and 21st overall. Junior Joe Kruse is 33-6 at 189.
Becker is on a nine-dual winning streak that includes a victory over Totino-Grace on Jan. 30.
Grand Rapids, the Section 7AA champion, returns for the first time since 2018. They were the Class 2A runner-up in 1977 and 1987, respectively.
Perham, the Class 2A runner-up in 2007 and 2008 respectively, is making its 13th state tournament appearance.
Class 3A notes
Albert Lea Area, representing the Big 9 Conference, is on a late-season tear with a 12-dual winning streak.
Prior Lake is one of two schools from the South Suburban (Shakopee is the other) that is competing in the big-school field. Sophomore Liam Collins is 32-2 at 114.
In 2023, Hastings stunned the Minnesota high school wrestling community by upsetting St. Michael-Albertville in the Class AAA championship match. Do the Raiders have another upset special in them? Junior Trey Beissel touts a 45-2 record at 133.
Stillwater raced past Mounds View in the Section 4AAA championship to earn a state tournament trip for the eighth time since 2017. In that span, the Ponies were the Class AAA runner-up three times.
All eyes are on St. Michael-Albertville to see if it can complete and undefeated run toward a Class 3A repeat and 12th overall. The Knights’ closest margin of victory this season is a 30-21 victory over Watertown-Mayer on Jan. 10.
Shakopee won three consecutive Class 3A championships from 2019-2021. The Sabers return with an eye on another. Their only loss? A 51-16 setback to St. Michael-Albertville on Jan. 4.
Elk River’s last loss during the season was to Cambridge-Isanti on Feb. 1. Nearly two weeks later, the Elks reversed that result in a 34-31 victory over the Bluejackets in the Section 7AAA championship. It is Elk River’s first state tournament appearance as a team since 2003.
Bemidji, the Section 8AAA champion, is seeking its first state title in nine trips. Junior Nick Strand is 40-4 at 139.