Thursday, February 01, 2018

An incredible night on the home mat!

Freshmen Mark Jenniges puts the squeeze on WCA/A/B-E's Alex Butcher while earning a pin that sealed the win for B-B-E.

My ears will still be ringing tomorrow morning! The match finished up over 1 1/2 hours ago, and my head is still spinning.

It was a night for the ages on the home mat tonight, with our No. 9-ranked B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team hosting a triangular to put a wrap on the regular season.

In B-B-E's first dual against Royalton/Upsala, the Jaguars won 51-15.

The night ended in grand fashion, with our Jaguars defeating No. 5-ranked West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville by a 36-31 score. The Jaguars clinched the win when Mark Jenniges won by pin at 170 pounds over Alex Butcher with a time of just 59 seconds.

Blaine Fischer got things rolling for the Jaguars with a win by a 2-0 decision against No. 6-ranked Jordan Lohse at 113 pounds. Lohse is state-ranked in the 106-pound class. Ryan Young then put the hammer down for the Jaguars when he pinned Reubens Swanson in the 120-pound match with a time of 1:39, giving B-B-E a 9-6 lead. Canon Swanson battled for a win at 126 pounds by a 6-4 decision against fellow sophomore Kaleb Getz; he led 2-1 after one period, took that 2-1 lead into the third period and earned two takedowns in the final 90 seconds for the win. B-B-E's lead expanded to 12-6 by that point.

At 132 pounds, B-B-E's sophomore Dylan Kampsen faced senior Chris Onstad and came away with a win by a 5-1 decision. He blasted out to a 5-0 lead with late near fall points at the end of the first period. A very exciting match played out at 138 pounds, when B-B-E's Tyler Bents faced fellow junior Hunter Hanson and earned a win by pin (3:39) after building a 9-2 lead midway through the second period. The Jaguars led 21-6 at that point.

B-B-E's sophomore Taiton Lindner squared off with Hunter Mickelsen at 145 pounds. Mickelson, a junior, earned a win by a 5-2 decision to get WCA/A/B-E their first points since the 106-pound match. Lindner, who trailed 4-0 after two periods and fought off his back late in the second period, battled valiantly throughout the entire third period.

At 152 pounds, B-B-E's Isaiah Gilbert took care of business with a win by pin (4:21) over fellow senior John Barber.

Next came the match of the night, and very likely the most exciting regular season match that wrestling fans will see in a long, long time. You can watch the entire match yourself in the video below. B-B-E's Adam Jaeger won by a 2-1, sudden-victory, four-overtime decision at 160 pounds against fellow senior and state-ranked Kaden Spindler. Jaeger picked up the win by earning an escape with just two seconds remaining in the fourth overtime. B-B-E's lead was 24-9 at that point.

At 170 pounds, Mark Jenniges then put every B-B-E fan on their feet after the B-B-E freshmen pinned junior Alex Butcher in just 59 seconds.

WCA/A/B-E (15-3) then won the final four matches, three by pin and one by an 11-1 major decision at 195 pounds to bring it to the final score. They wrap up their regular season with the Park Region Conference tournament on Saturday at Royalton.

B-B-E takes a 19-2 overall record into the playoffs, where they will likely be the No. 2 seed in Section 5A. The Jaguars begin the playoffs with a quarterfinal-round match on Tuesday, February 13 at home. You better be there!!! Details to follow in the upcoming issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Below is video featuring the entire 160-pound match, all three regulation periods plus four overtime sessions! Two state-ranked wrestlers duked it out. It was an unforgettable match that lasted approximately 14 minutes! And here's a very neat sidebar to all that: both of the wrestlers in this video will be Concordia College Cobbers next year, taking their passion for wrestling and competition to the Division III level. B-B-E's Adam Jaeger is ranked No. 3 at 152 pounds, while Kaden Spindler is ranked No. 2 at 160 pounds.


With the win by a 2-1 four-OT decision, Jaeger will take an undefeated record into the playoffs.

What more can I say? I could not be prouder of our team and our community!

Stay tuned for more coverage. It will take quite the effort to relax and wind down for a few hours of sleep!

##ConquerEveryDay


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