extended sports coverage for the B-B-E community brought to you by the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper in Brooten, MN. (Address: P.O. Box 250, Brooten) http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. Please submit feedback in writing to the address posted above. **This is Minnesota's oldest varsity high school sports blog. We hope to keep it going into the future!
Thursday, February 13, 2025
Playoff opener loss by the smallest margin (VIDEOS)
For the first time in 9 years, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team will not compete in the Section 5A Final Four.
The Jaguars were facing an uphill climb by the upper weights and trailed 34-18 after the 172-pound match. At 189, Ethan Mueller won by a decision, and the Jaguars pinned out from there at 215 and 285 pounds - Hunter Laage and Carson Gilbert.
Final: K-M-S 34, B-B-E 33.
And a quick shift of your attention to Valentine's Day...
Numerous businesses have advertised Valentine's Day in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. I've got a summary of food and entertainment options for Friday night posted at the newspaper website (click): https://shorturl.at/MEqVb.
The Jaguars had a 6-0 lead after 107, but a penalty point at 114 ultimately cost them the win. Next is the individual section wrestling tournament in Granite Falls (Yellow Medicine East high school) on Saturday, February 22. Action is set to begin at 10 a.m. that morning.
Here's a video featuring part of the singing of the National Anthem plus player introductions:
The Jaguars finish 7-13 overall.
In 2015, the Jaguars advanced to the Section 5A championship but lost to Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. That was the team's first appearance in the section finals since 1999. In 2016, the Jaguars lost 36-27 to Royalton/Upsala in the opening round of the section playoffs. For the next eight seasons, the Jaguars earned Final Four appearances in Section 5A. That streak ended tonight.
Here's a video from the 152-pound match tonight:
After the Jaguars had an open weight at 172 pounds, Ethan Mueller won a 4-2 decision over Aaron Jones that cut the K-M-S lead to 34-21.
In other Section 5A wrestling quarterfinal matches tonight...
Minneota defeated BOLD 65-9. BOLD advanced to the section quarterfinals with a 42-31 win against Quad County earlier tonight.
At Paynesville, the Bulldogs defeated Benson 43-21. In Canby, the Lancers defeated Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 40-26.
Some other sports programming notes...
For tomorrow's action at B-B-E high school, the C-squad girls' basketball Class of 2029 Jaguars will play Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City starting at 4:30 p.m. at the main gymnasium. Once their game is complete, the JV Jaguars will face A-C-GC, and the varsity game will follow that. It is also Parents and Seniors Night. And! The varsity game will be broadcast on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. Their website is: https://www.kmgk1071.com.
The B-B-E wrestling teamearned the No. 5 seed in Section 5A. The Jaguars (7-12 overall) open with a quarterfinal match at Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg high school on Thursday this week (February 13) at 7 p.m. They face the No. 4-seeded K-M-S Fighting Saints (11-3) in the playoff opener.
Minneota (21-0) is the top seed. Paynesville Area (12-4) is the No. 2 seed, and Canby (12-8) is the No. 3 seed.
The Section 5A Final Four is this Saturday, February 15 at Paynesville Area high school. The semifinal round matches start at 12:30 p.m.
Tonight!
The school board meets at 7 p.m. at the high school media center in Belgrade, while the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball teamhas a huge conference game at Kimball Area. The Jaguars are 9-2 (second) in the Central Minnesota Conference, while the Cubs are 7-4 and in fourth place but just a half game out of third behind Holdingford (8-4).
After 16:00 today I have been updating the end of this blog post with wrestling updates at Minnewaska Area...
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team has six wrestlers who have earned spots in their respective Championship matches. This is very exciting news! Action continues all afternoon at Minnewaska Area High School. I am on the road battling technical issues but hope to get this updated shortly.
Competing after 3 p.m. in their championship matches are Ryan Jensen (132), Wyatt Engen (138), Hunter Laage (160), Maximus Hanson (170), Carson Gilbert (182) and Ethan Spanier (220). Laage earned one of the biggest upsets of the entire tournament when he defeated a Fier from Minneota in the semifinals by a 4-2 decision. Fier was the No. 2 seed in the bracket.
At heavyweight, Harley Weber (just a sophomore) nearly upset Hudson Scholten, the No. 2 seed in the bracket, before losing a tough 3-1 decision. He earned a pin (2:45) in his quarterfinal match to open his tournament. Weber and numerous other Jaguars will compete in the wrestlebacks that should all get rolling before 2 p.m.
More to come after 3 p.m. The girls' basketball team will tip off at about 2:13 p.m. at Eden Valley-Watkins in their varsity game. The JV team won their game against the Eagles, but the C-squad lost. First half update: with just under 12 minutes to go, the Jaguars hold a 9-0 lead at EV-W. The finals at wrestling should get going by about 3:15 p.m.!!!! More to come after 4 p.m.
**HALFTIME at EV-W: B-B-E 32, EV-W 26. FINAL:B-B-E 61, EV-W 57. The Jaguars take a 21-4 record into the postseason! They host a sub-section game on Thursday, March 2 with a 7 p.m. tipoff against an opponent to-be-determined.
By bracket...here are some updates... At 106: Aiden Mueller will go for fifth place. At 113: Noah Welte will go for fifth place. At 120: Louie Tensen will go for third place. He earned a pin in his consolation round match! At 132: Ryan Jensen will go for first place. At 138: Wyatt Engen will go for first place. At 145: Tanner Viessman won by fall in his final wrestleback match; he will go for third place. At 152: Ethan Mueller will go for third place; he won a 13-10 decision in his last wrestleback match. At 160: Hunter Laage will go for first place. At 170: Maximus Hanson will go for first place. At 182: Carson Gilbert will go for first place. At 195: Talen Kampsen will go for fifth place. At 220: Ethan Spanier will go for first place. At 285: Harley Weber will go for third place.
At 106 pounds, Aiden Mueller finished in sixth place after losing a 10-5 decision in the fifth-place match.
At 113 pounds, Noah Welte lost a 13-5 major decision in the fifth-place match. He has had an outstanding season as a first-year varsity wrestler and takes a 19-28 overall record into the team state tournament.
At 120 pounds, Louie Tensen lost a 7-2 decision in the third-place match.
At 132 pounds, Ryan Jensen pinned (1:39) in his championship match for a state berth.
At 138 pounds, Wyatt Engen won a thriller by a 4-3 decision in his championship match to seal a state bid!
At 145 pounds, Tanner Viessman won a 6-4 decision in the finals to take third place.
At 152 pounds, Ethan Mueller lost by fall in his third-place match.
At 160 pounds, Hunter Laage lost a 17-0 tech fall to top-seeded Jevon Williams (35-3) of ACGC in the championship match; Laage has earned a state trip as there is no need for a true second match in his weight bracket.
At 170 pounds, Maximus Hanson won a 15-0 tech fall in his championship to seal his trip to state!
At 182 pounds, Carson Gilbert lost a tough 5-1 decision to Paynesville's Peyton Hemmesch in his championship. Gilbert does not need a true second match; he is off to state!
At 195 pounds, Talen Kampsen won by fall (1:50) in the fifth-place match. He had a terrific ending to the individual portion of his wrestling career and takes a 25-23 record into the team state tournament next week.
At 220 pounds, Ethan Spanier trails 5-1 going into the third period of his championship match to A-C-GC's Terrell Renne. Final: Renne 7, Spanier 2.
At 285 pounds, Harley Weber won by fall (0:52) in the third-place match. He does not get a shot at a true second match, however, and his sophomore season record is 29-18 going into the team state tournament.
The Class 1A individual state tournament will take place on Friday and Saturday, March 3-4, at Xcel Energy Center. The state opener matches start after 9 a.m. on Friday.
That's all I've got now...I'll catch up with boys' basketball later tonight. As of 19:00 tonight, this blog post is a wrap. A new blog post is going up tonight with more updates as well as basketball and wrestling video.
Wrestling THREE-PEAT puts Jaguars back at STATE! (VIDEOS)
History was made today at Benson high school! This was FUN!
After back-to-back wins in rock 'em, sock 'em, take-no-prisoner fashion, the No. 5-ranked B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team has advanced to the state tournament for the third straight year while claiming the Section 5A championship. In today's semifinal round, the Jaguars pulled away from Canby in the upper weights for a 40-19 win. In the championship, the Jaguars overcame a right hook, a left hook and everything inbetween from Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg in a 38-25 state-qualifying win. The Fighting Saints initially held a 16-0 lead through the first three weights. The momentum shifted quickly and almost on a dime when Louie Tensen earned a pin at 126 pounds that electrified the Jaguar faithful.
Overall, in school history, the Jaguars have wrestled in section championship matches in 1997, 1998, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022 and now 2023. After losing in five section finals across 23 years, they are now 3-0 in the last three tries for state!
Recent history...in 2015, the Jaguars lost to A-C-GC in the section finals. In 2017, the Jaguars fell to K-M-S in the section finals. In 2020, the Jaguars lost to Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville in the section finals. In that Section 5A championship loss, the Wolves won by a 33-18 score on their way to the state championship match two weeks later, where they defeated A-C-GC 30-27 to forge a 34-3 final record. The Jaguars finished 20-4.
Below is a video featuring the end of the 152-pound match against K-M-S:
*Here's Hunter Laage battling at 160 pounds today against K-M-S:
**Here's video from the end of Carson Gilbert's match at 182 pounds and then footage from Talen Kampsen's 195-pound match against K-M-S:
EVERY win today in that K-M-S match was HUGE! It's hard to single out any one specific match in terms of how important it was. I can state with a high level of confidence that Carson Gilbert's pin at 182 pounds was a game changer. It clearly shifted momentum towards the Jaguars and gave them a 28-22 lead on the scoreboard. THAT was FUN!
That was a fantastic wrestling playoff atmosphere at Benson high school! As good as it gets at the high school level. This blog post will be put on pause tonight. It has been a long-a** day that started before 6 a.m. with an early-morning trip to Holdingford for youth basketball...then my Buick "took flight" for Benson high school and got me there just in time to see the 106-pound match before it ended against K-M-S. More to come before I have church tomorrow. I've been jacked up on adrenaline all day and into this evening, and that is about to wear off.
DON'T forget! The Belgrade Lions Pancake Feast (for all ages) is tomorrow at the B-B-E high school from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This was boldly advertised on page one of the February 9 and February 16 issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
The Jaguars (19-5) will compete in the Class 1A state wrestling tournament on Thursday, March 2 at Xcel Energy Center. Before that! They have a huge day of action next Saturday, February 25, when they compete in the Section 5A individual tournament at Minnewaska Area.
In Section 6A, West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville defeated Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie 48-28 in the finals to advance to state.
In Section 7A, Royalton-Upsala put the hammer down and ended the seasons of both Holdingford and LP-GE/Browerville today. In the semis against the Huskers, the Royals won 40-31. Then in the finals against the Wolves, the Royals won 39-22. Down in Section 3A, defending state champion Jackson County Central advanced to state and has won 10 duals in a row. B-B-E has 11 straight wins to their credit.
Step I: Jaguar wrestlers start strong in sections (VIDEOS)
With a big pin by 106-pounder Aiden Mueller to kick things off tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team took care of business against Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City to win their playoff opener by a 57-24 score. Mueller won by fall at 106, and Welte won a 15-0 tech fall at 113. With the Section 5A quarterfinal success, the Jaguars (18-5 overall) advance to the semifinal round this Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in Benson. Start planning your carpools now!!!
*Here's the National Anthem tonight:
**You can catch the end of Mueller's match in this video and also watch Noah Welte's complete match at 113 pounds:
The MSHSL website has not updated yet, which is disappointing. I don't see updated scores yet on Minnesota-Scores.Net either. I'm still hunting.
A brief match review:
At 126 pounds, perhaps the most exciting match of the night took place when Louie Tensen won by fall in the second period. This was the outcome after he had trailed by as much as 10-3. Then at 132, Ryan Jensen won by fall. At 145, Wyatt Engen won by fall in the second period to put the Jaguars ahead 29-12. Tanner Viessman won by fall at 152 in the second period. At 170, Maximus Hanson earned a forfeit win. At 182, Carson Gilbert won a 10-2 major decision. At 195, Talen Kampsen won by fall in just 22 seconds! At 220, Ethan Spanier won by fall to put the Jaguars ahead 57-18 going into the heavyweight match.
Upon further review...in the 126-pound match with under 45 seconds to go in the first period and trailing 10-3 on the scoreboard while on his back, Louie Tensen earned a reversal and then earned a pin with just 19 seconds left on the clock.
**Here's a post-dual interview with Ryan Jensen:
In another Section 5A quarterfinal match tonight, the No. 4-seeded Minneota Vikings survived a strong challenge from fifth-seeded Paynesville Area and won by a 32-27 final score. They will likely face top-seeded Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg in the semifinals on Saturday in Benson.
Found this on Twitter...K-M-S defeated Minnewaska Area 49-18. They will take on Minneota in one of the two 12:30 p.m. semifinal matches on Saturday in Benson.
**And in the other quarterfinal, No. 2-seeded Canby defeated No. 7-seeded Benson by a 56-20 score. They will be the team our Jaguars face in the semifinals on Saturday.
In boys' basketball news...
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team defeated host Maple Lake 85-35 tonight. They led 55-19 at halftime.
Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on February 16:
Kimball Area 66, Holdingford 46
Royalton 71, A-C-GC 49
Area boys' basketball scores on February 16:
New London-Spicer 65, Sauk Centre 56
BOLD 88, Springfield 62
Lake Park-Audubon 71, Underwood 69
Cass Lake-Bena 57, Cherry 52
Osakis 77, Upsala 46
Battle Lake 90, Rothsay 44
Browerville 62, Swanville 40
Albany 75, Melrose Area 47
Henning 89, Parkers Prairie 50
Border West 74, Lac qui Parle Valley 72
Section 5A wrestling individuals (updates, VIDEOS)
I'll do my best to post reports here throughout the afternoon. You can also listen to live updates at Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood (both online and on the radio). **NOTE: the finals round is fully updated as of 16:21. We are about halfway through the finals round with true-second matches to follow from Minnewaska Area high school. *This is fully updated in terms of who won in the finals round. The true second matches are also complete. *Two VIDEOS are below.
**Here's a video recorded just before the finals round started today at Minnewaska Area high school:
At 106, Louie Tensen (20-19) had a first-round bye but then lost in the quarterfinals. He won his first wrestleback match by a 20-4 tech fall (4:27) to stay alive. Tensen will face freshman Eli Greenman (34-10) of Canby in the next round.
At 113, Brett DeRoo (31-10) blazed his way into the quarterfinals after a first-round bye and then a win by fall (0:55) in the second round. He lost in the quarterfinals by a 9-1 major decision to Canby's Isaac Guzman. DeRoo awaits matches in the wrestlebacks before he goes again.
At 120, Ethan Mueller (10-10) is alive in the wrestlebacks after losing in the quarterfinals by a 5-2 decision to junior Noah Johnson (24-20) of Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg. He will face * sophomore Preston Welling of Paynesville in his next match. **UPDATE: Mueller won by pin (2:29) to stay alive in wrestlebacks! He needs one more win to get into the third-place match.
At 126, Ryan Jensen (40-3) had a first-round bye and then won two pins in his next two matches. He got a pin in just 23 seconds in the quarterfinals, and he pinned in just 1:23 in the semifinals to get into the championship match.
At 132, Walker Bents (39-1) mirrored the success of Ryan Jensen with a quarterfinal pin with a time of 2:55 and then a semifinal pin with a time of 4:58 to get into the championship.
At 138, Tyler Jensen (14-7) had a first-round bye and then won an 8-4 decision in the quarterfinals. He will face A-C-GC's Jevon Williams in the semifinals. *Update: Tyler Jensen lost a 9-2 decision to Williams in the semifinals. He now faces Minneota's Kade Lozinski (24-13) in the wrestlebacks.
At 145, Tanner Viessman (18-17) lost in the quarterfinals and awaits a wrestleback match where he will face Paynesville's Grant Wendlandt (7-13).
At 152, Blaine Fischer (38-1) had a first-round bye and then won by fall (1:11) in the quarterfinals. He awaits his semifinal match where he'll take on K-M-S's senior Ely Johnson (24-18). **Update!: Fischer pinned Johnson with a time of 3:58 to advance to the championship!
At 160, Maximus Hanson (32-7) is competing in a seven-man bracket and had two byes and awaits the semifinals. **Update: Hanson won with a pin in a time of just 1:07 to get into the championship match! He defeated Benson junior Preston Mcgee (26-21) to get into the championship.
At 170, Talen Kampsen (14-20) had a first-round bye and then lost in the quarterfinals by fall (1:28) to A-C-GC's Jake Mortensen. Kampsen had a bye in the consolation round and now awaits a match with Canby's Alan Malanado (0-2). *Update: Kamspen won by fall (0:44) over Malanado to stay alive in the wrestlebacks!
At 182, Carson Gilbert (33-7) also is competing in a seven-man bracket. He had back-to-back byes and awaits a semifinal match, where he'll take on Benson senior Nathan Bolduc (34-6).
The 195-pound bracket is open for B-B-E.
At 220, Ethan Spanier (30-7) had a first-round bye and then won by fall (1:46) in the quarterfinals. He awaits his semifinal match where he will take on No. 2-seeded junior Spencer Eisenbraun (32-5) of Paynesville Area. *UPDATE: against Eisenbraun in the semis, No. 3-seeded Spanier built a 5-1 lead with a reversal and back points in the third period. He ultimately won by a 6-3 decision to get into the championship!
At 285, Bryce Feuerhake (26-17) had a first-round bye and then won his quarterfinal match by a 5-3 decision over sophomore Gavin Noyes (21-14) of Canby. In the semifinals, Feuerhake will take on No. 1-seeded and No. 10-ranked senior Jackson Esping (8-0) of Minneota. **Update: Feuerhake lost a 4-3 decision to finish in fourth place.
More to come.
**Here's a video that features the 106 and 113 pound matches with Louie Tensen and Brett DeRoo in the finals:
UPDATES from the FINALS:
106: Louie Tensen will go for 5th place against Benson's Max Nygaard. It's time to get ready for the Parade of Champions.
113: Brett DeRoo took third place in his bracket! He won by a 15-0 tech fall late in the second period in the third-place match.
120: Ethan Mueller will go for fifth place.
126: Ryan Jensen won the championship with a 3-0 decision in the finals.
132: Walker Bents won a 5-1 decision in the finals to win the championship.
138: Tyler Jensen is going for third place here. *Update: Tyler Jensen lost an 11-8 decision to finish in fourth place here.
152: Blaine Fischer will face Minnewaska Area senior Jacob Blair (30-5) in the championship. *UPDATE: Fischer won by pin with 42 seconds remaining in the third period to claim the 152-pound title and advance to state.
160: Maximus Hanson will face K-M-S senior Coy Gunderson (42-3) in the championship. Hanson is the No. 1 seed, while Gunderson is the No. 2 seed. *UPDATE: Hanson lost a nailbiter by a 4-3 decision; he will have to win a true second match in order to punch a spot to the state tournament.
170: Talen Kampsen finished in fifth place in this bracket with a final win by injury default. He finishes his junior campaign with a 16-21 overall record.
182: No. 1-seeded Carson Gilbert will wrestle Paynesville Area freshman Peyton Hemmesch (29-5) in the championship. **Update: Gilbert lost a 4-2 decision after three overtime periods. With the first three periods complete, the score was tied at 1-1.
**Gilbert's match ended right at 17:00.
220: No. 3-seeded Ethan Spanier will wrestle top-seeded senior Jaxon Behm (36-4) of A-C-GC in the championship match.
285: Bryce Feuerhake will go for third place in this bracket and will face K-M-S junior Jason Jones (28-19). *UPDATE: in the third-place match, Feuerhake lost by a 4-3 decision to Jones to finish in fourth place at heavyweight.
**True second match updates...
At 160, Maximus Hanson won an 8-0 decision to seal a trip to state!
At 182, Carson Gilbert will wrestle in a true second match for a state trip. *UPDATE: Carson Gilbert won a tech fall in the true second match over A-C-GC's Logan Straumann.
Awards are set to follow at about 18:20 tonight from Minnewaska Area high school.
Now it's time for open gym.
THANK YOU to Paul Gruber Farms and Bucky's Bar of Elrosa for their support of this blog post!
Step III: BACK-TO-BACK! Wrestlers advance to the state tournament! (VIDEO)
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team won their second straight Section 5A championship today with a 45-17 win over No. 2-seeded and No. 5-ranked Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. A huge crowd of Jaguar fans made the short trip to Benson high school to cheer them on throughout the entire afternoon. It was fantastic!!!!
A-C-GC finishes a superb season with a 29-7 overall record. Their bid for state came up short in the section finals.
The Jaguars (19-1) will compete at the state team tournament on Thursday, March 3 at Xcel Energy Center. State tournament seeding will be posted on Tuesday, February 22. I'm trying to see who else won section titles to advance to state in Class 1A. Stay tuned.
**Here's Coach Mueller talking about the two huge wins following the section finals at Benson:
Click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website for additional coverage of today's action (short link): https://bit.ly/3LHMi0Z.
In Section 4A, Kimball Area blazed its way through three opponents like a hot knife through butter to advance to state. They are the defending state champions. The Cubs beat Norwood-Young America 78-0 in the quarterfinals and then leveled Eden Valley-Watkins 70-7 in the semis. In the Section 4A finals, Kimball Area defeated No. 2-seeded Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 55-8.
Dover-Eyota, who was seeded No. 3 for the playoffs, has won the Section 1A championship. Today at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, they beat No. 1-seeded Chatfield 33-30.
In Section 2A, top-seeded Maple River/United South Central advances to state after beating No. 2-seeded Medford 42-22 in the section finals at St. Clair high school.
In Section 3A, Jackson County Central blasted No. 3-seeded Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 60-6 to claim the championship and clinch a repeat trip to the state tournament.
Royalton, runners-up in the Central Minnesota Conference, defended their top seed while repeating as Section 7A champions with a 40-23 win over No. 3-seeded Holdingford. I'm missing just the Section 6A and Section 8A results. Now it's time to set aside wrestling for the evening and take the family to Open Gym at the high school! Keep this on your calendar: the Section 5A individual tournament is next Saturday, February 26 at Minnewaska Area high school.
In Section 6A, West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville won the championship to advance to the state tournament. WCA/A/BE won 66-12 over New York Mills in the semifinals and then 48-21 against Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie in the finals, which were held at NYM high school today. This is their first state tournament trip since 2017, when they placed fourth.
I saw this late on Saturday night: the River Lakes Stars girls' hockey team avenged two regular season losses to Fergus Falls and defeated the Otters 3-1 in the Section 6A championship on Saturday to advance to the Class 1A state tournament. River Lakes includes B-B-E in their varsity hockey co-op, although it does not have B-B-E girls on its varsity roster at this time. I was unable to find the boys' hockey varsity roster. Fergus Falls beat River Lakes 1-0 in Richmond on November 30 and then 5-1 on its home ice on December 21 to sweep the Central Lakes Conference series. The Otters were co-champions of the CLC with Brainerd/Little Falls. River Lakes takes a 16-12 record into the state tournament.
Fergus Falls (19-6-2) was the number one seed and was ranked No. 8 in the latest Let's Play Hockey rankings. The Stars were the No. 2 seed in Section 6A. They advance to state unseeded and will face top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Warroad (23-3-1) in the quarterfinals on Wednesday this week at 6 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
THANK YOU to Paul Gruber Farms for supporting this blog post!
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team looks to defend their Section 5A championship from last season when they compete in the Section 5A tournament this week. The top-seeded Jaguars (16-1) will host a quarterfinal pod at the B-B-E high school on Thursday this week. Looming large in the other pod is No. 2-seeded Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City (27-6), who hosts the rest of the section quarterfinal round Thursday night. The No. 3 seed is Minnewaska Area (11-8).
Here's the Thursday night schedule this week:
6 p.m. - No. 8-seeded BOLD and No. 9-seeded Benson square off in Belgrade in a wrestle-in round match.
30 minutes after the 6 p.m. match - the Jaguars face the winner of the 6 p.m. match; also taking place at the same time in Belgrade will be a quarterfinal match between No. 5-seeded Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (10-9) and No. 4-seeded Minneota (13-7).
The quarterfinal winners on Thursday then head to the Section 5A Final Four round, which is Saturday, February 19 at Benson high school. The semifinal matches start at 12:30 p.m.
Reporting results from Long Prairie-Grey Eagle high school today...site of the Section 5A individual wrestling tournament... (More updates are being posted later in the evening)
Late in the afternoon, the only result I can see is from the 106-pound bracket. Unfortunately, eighth-grader Brett DeRoo lost by fall (5:34) to sophomore Nick Ankeny (19-6) of Minnewaska Area in the opener. In his first wrestleback match, DeRoo faces senior Hae Wah (12-17) of Benson to stay alive in the bracket.
DeRoo has a 23-9 record.
**Evening UPDATE: in his first wrestleback match, DeRoo won by fall (1:44) to stay alive at 106 pounds! DeRoo now faces No. 2-seeded and sophomore Connor Flan (23-5) in the next wrestleback match. Flan was upset in the semifinals by seventh-grader Trey Gunderson (31-3) of K-M-S in a loss by an 8-3 decision.
Added on Thursday night...this is video I wish I would've posted earlier this week, but I've been too busy. This is exciting action shot during the 220-pound match against LPGE/Browerville last Saturday at West Central Area high school in Barrett:
In the 220-pound match, with the outcome of the team result hanging in the balance, Mark Jenniges earned a takedown with about 20 seconds left in the second period. He then had a 3-2 lead that stood through the final buzzer!
Back to today's individual section action...
I just saw that at 132 pounds, sophomore Wyatt Engen lost for just the third time this season, falling by a 15-6 major decision in today's section opener to junior Omar Zamora (13-13) of Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville. Engen, now 28-3, faces freshmen Gaven Cimbura (9-16) of Osakis in the wrestlebacks.
In his opener today at 138 pounds, junior Tyler Jensen improved to 31-2 this season with a win by fall (3:46) over sophomore Preston McGee (9-17) of Benson. In the semifinals, Jensen will face senior Abel Chaparro of Quad County. Chaparro won by fall (4:19) in the opener over eighth grader Jett Olson of Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg.
Lots to do, so I'll be more brief in future updates here...
At 145 pounds, Blaine Fischer won by fall (2:56) in his opener. He faces senior Hunter Wilts (17-16) of K-M-S in the semifinals.
At 152 pounds, Maximus Hanson won by fall (5:31) and now faces senior Max Reichmann (17-4) of Minnewaska Area in the semifinals.
At 160 pounds, Dylan Kampsen won by fall (0:49) and now faces junior Dalton Friedrichs (15-5) of Minnewaska Area in the semifinals.
At 170 pounds, Talen Kampsen lost by fall (3:48) in his opener. He now faces sophomore Hunter Ridler (14-14) of Quad County in the wrestlebacks.
At 182 pounds, senior Cooper Wold won by fall (4:42) in his opener. He faces senior Richard Jones (30-3) of K-M-S in the semifinals.
At 195 pounds, Carson Gilbert won by fall (1:37) in his opener. He faces No. 2-seeded senior Bergen Pesta (21-7) of LPGE/B in the semifinals.
At 285 pounds, junior Bryce Feuerhake won a 4-2 decision over sophomore Jason Jones (13-19) of K-M-S. Feuerhake (8-13) faces top-seeded and senior Jakob Swalla of Minnewaska Area in the semifinals.
If I didn't mention other Jaguars, it's because they had first-round byes.
More to come.
In the boys' basketball playoff game, the Jaguars hold a 64-17 lead at halftime. *Update: new information in a new blog post from the boys' basketball game.
*Back to wrestling at LPGE...
At 106 pounds, DeRoo's season is a wrap...he lost by an 11-5 decision to Flan in wrestlebacks. Final season record: 24-10.
At 120 pounds, Ryan Jensen won by fall (1:34) in his semifinal match. He faces sophomore Chase Magaard (31-3) of K-M-S in Saturday's championship match.
Wyatt Engen has won two wrestleback matches today to advance to Saturday's third-place match of the 132-pound bracket. He won by fall (1:18) and then by a 6-3 decision.
At 152 pounds, Maximus Hanson lost to Minnewaska's Reichmann by a 7-6 decision in the semifinals. In Hanson's wrestleback that followed, he won by fall (3:24) over BOLD's senior Jesse Manderscheid. Hanson will face Benson's senior Adam Koosman (24-10) in the third-place match on Saturday.
At 160 pounds, Dylan Kampsen won by an exciting 5-3 decision over Minnewaska's Friedrichs in the semifinals. Kampsen (26-8) now faces top-seeded and senior Mason Gode (30-0) of LPGE/Browerville in Saturday's championship match.
At 170 pounds, sophomore Talen Kampsen lost his wrestleback match by a 9-3 decision to Quad County's Hunter Ridler (15-15). Kampsen finishes the season 9-14 overall.
At 182 pounds, Cooper Wold gave a valiant effort but lost by a 13-5 major decision to K-M-S's Richard Jones in the semifinals. Unfortunately, Wold then lost by fall (0:24) in the wrestlebacks to Quad County's Nolan Hildahl. He finishes a stellar senior season with a 22-13 record. His wins played a huge part in B-B-E's Central Minnesota Conference and Section 5A titles this season.
At 195 pounds, eighth grader Carson Gilbert gave the performance of his life against No. 2-seeded and senior Bergen Pesta in the semifinals. Pesta won by a 3-1 decision in overtime to land a championship berth. Gilbert then defeated freshmen Collin Johnson of K-M-S in the wrestlebacks by fall (2:27) to advance to Saturday's third-place match. In that upcoming match, Gilbert will face Minnewaska Area senior Dylan Koubsky (8-10).
At 220 pounds, Mark Jenniges improved to 25-7 on the season with a thrilling win by a 1-0 decision in his semifinal match against LPGE/Browerville's senior Joseph Middendorf. In his upcoming championship match on Saturday, Jenniges will face senior Alden Syltie (27-6) of Benson.
At 285 pounds, Bryce Feuerhake lost by fall (3:32) in the semifinals to top-seeded and senior Jakob Swalla (25-1) of Minnewaska Area. Feuerhake then lost by fall (1:16) to Quad County's Austin Sweep (13-17) to finish his season 8-15 overall.
That's a wrap for today's wrestling action. I don't have any information on Saturday, other than the Jaguars compete again at LP-GE high school. At stake will be either third-place medals or a berth in the state tournament.
It's 3 to 3 after two weights are in the book against No. 1-ranked and two-time defending state champion Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville. This is a battle!!!!
More to come.
**And now it's 15-3!!!! Four weights wrestled.
Quite a battle!!! The excitement builds.
The No.2 -ranked B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team has a 27-12 lead...now 27-17 through 170 pounds!!
THE JAGUARS WON!!!!!! They have a 33-20 lead through 220 pounds. They advance to STATE!
Mark Jenniges gave the performance of his life and came from behind after trailing 2-0...at 220 pounds he won a 3-2 decision!!
FINAL SCORE:B-B-E 33, LPGE/Browerville 23. That win is in the book.
It's 2:45 and the state quarterfinal match will start in about 20 minutes or so. Stay tuned.
*And remember, you can also listen to the match on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood.
UPDATE: the second match won't start until shortly after 3 p.m. Stay tuned.
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team has advanced in the postseason!!
They are 1-0 in the Section 5A playoffs after winning 40-20 in tonight's Section 5A semifinal. State-ranked Minnewaska put up a good fight. They were ranked No. 7 in the final Guillotine state poll of the season that was released earlier today. B-B-E continues to hold the No. 2 state ranking.
Tonight's match had a thrilling start, with 106-pounder Brett DeRoo winning in a fourth overtime period. That is what is called an "ultimate tiebreaker" period. The official score was a 2-2 tie, and that match lasted approximately 11 minutes! Good grief!
B-B-E built a 33-0 lead through 145 pounds. They clinched the playoff win when senior Dylan Kampsen won an 11-0 major decision at 170 pounds. At that point, they led 37-7.
Earlier in the season, B-B-E defeated Minnewaska 30-25 when the Lakers were ranked No. 5 and the Jaguars were ranked No. 3.
Minnewaska Area finishes another fine season on the mats with a 21-7 overall record.
As soon as I have Saturday's schedule I will get it posted.
**UPDATE: the Jaguars (27-3) will wrestle in the section championship at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Their opponent will be the two-time defending state champions: Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville. **That match will be carried on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood.
This is the sixth time in school history that the Jaguars will compete in a section wrestling championship match. The years are 1998, 1999, 2015, 2017, 2020 and now 2021.
We don't know who is coming out of Section 6A for the other part of Saturday's action; that section has their opening rounds tomorrow night.
I don't have an exact score, but I heard that the Wolves took apart Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg in the other sections semifinal tonight. That match was at Browerville high school.
Section 5A opening-round wrestling scores on March 10:
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 53, Benson 22
Minnewaska Area 60, Paynesville Area 7
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville 49, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 14
Here's video from the opening matches tonight:
More to come. It is snowing like mad out there! The trip home on Highway 55 from Belgrade was tricky. For now, spring is a memory again.
Members of the B-B-E wrestling team who are ranked individually in the Top 10 of their respective weights are Ryan Jensen, Walker Bents, Tyler Jensen, Blaine Fischer and Maximus Hanson. Out of that group, the Jaguars won four of five matches tonight.
Minnewaska Area has two wrestlers ranked individually, and they are both tough as nails: No. 1-ranked and senior Tyson Meyer at 182 pounds and No. 1-ranked and also a senior Jakob Swalla at heavyweight.
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team earned the No. 2 seed for the upcoming 10-team Section 5A tournament. The playoff rankings and bracket was released yesterday by section officials. B-B-E is 15-3 overall and 5-1 against section opponents.
The Jaguars will host a wrestle-in qualifier to the Round of Eight that features No. 7-seeded Benson and No. 10-seeded Ortonville. That match starts at 6 p.m. at the B-B-E high school next Tuesday, February 11. The winner of Benson-vs.-Ortonville will face the B-B-E Jaguars in the section quarterfinals right after that 6 o'clock match at the same location.
Benson, the No. 7 seed, is 3-10 overall and 3-4 against section opponents. Ortonville, the No. 10 seed, is 3-16 overall and 0-6 against section opponents.
The Section 5A Final Four is on Friday, February 14 at Minnewaska Area high school. The semifinal matches start at 6 p.m. that night.
Defending Section 5A champion and Class 1A state champion Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville has the No. 1 seed. They hold a 27-3 overall record.
Minnewaska Area, 21-5 overall, is the No. 2 seed. They are 4-1 against section opponents, with the one loss coming to the B-B-E Jaguars on January 16 in Sauk Centre.
Paynesville Area is the No. 4 seed and 12-15 overall; they are 4-4 against section opponents.
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, 10-12 overall, is the No. 5 seed. They lost 37-36 to Paynesville in Paynesville on January 3.
BOLD is the No. 6 seed. They hold a 7-14 overall record and a 5-3 mark against section opponents.
**Here's a fun Blast from the Past...back to the 2012-2013 season. It was a memorable but bittersweet season for the B-B-E wrestling program. In October 2012, head coach Rich Vos was killed in an accident. He was extremely excited about that wrestling season, and he felt his Jaguars had a legitimate shot at a state tournament trip. His assessment was not wrong, and the Jaguars ultimately went 1-1 in the section and lost 35-27 in the section semifinals hosted in Belgrade. B-B-E finished 14-5 overall in what was their best season of the century to that point. The team that defeated the Jaguars, Kimball Area, then lost 34-27 to Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in the section finals. A-C-GC went 2-1 at state that year, finishing in fifth place after losing 30-24 to Sibley East in the state quarterfinals. Click here (short link) for a blog post from the night of the section quarterfinals: https://bit.ly/2OsIRiD.
While I've got your attention...here's a web article posted online at the Bonanza Valley Voice website on the B-B-E Business Professionals of America team (short link) https://bit.ly/2UGIJA7. Coach Goodwin has done a remarkable job building up this group of students. They are on a good run with 10 students advancing to state! Bravo!!
At state today, No. 1-seeded LPGE/Browerville won 30-24 over unseeded Goodhue.
*Update! The LPGE/Browerville Wolves beat Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 31-22 in their semifinal match up.
And! In the finals, LPGE/Browerville capped off their truly incredible 2018-19 season with a 35-27 win over Kenyon-Wanamingo in the Class 1A state championship. Great job, what a day for them to represent Section 5A!
Later tonight state individual wrestling information will be posted for the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team members who are competing at state tomorrow.
B-B-E schools will start two hours late on Monday, February 25.
Further wrestling coverage will be posted here tonight. Video from yesterday's section tournament is being uploaded right now.
**Below, video from Canon Swanson's championship match:
The Minnesota individual state wrestling tournament will begin on Friday, March 1 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Action continues on Saturday with wrestlers still alive in the tournament. I haven't studied the brackets yet or even the schedule. The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team will have five student-athletes in action for the opening round. Coaches, student managers and fans will be quite busy!
I'm currently in the process of lining up business advertising to pay for state wrestling coverage. The goal is to get enough businesses on board to pay for at least a trip to Xcel on Friday.
Tonight I'm still dealing with the misery that winter is dishing out today! More to come.
THANK YOU to Coop's Corner of Belgrade for being one of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's super loyal business sponsors of B-B-E Jaguars sports coverage!!!
At Benson on Friday night, the Section 5A wrestling Final Four was held.
In one semifinal, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team lost 49-15 to top-ranked and top-seeded Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville. In the other semifinal, No. 2-seeded and No. 4-ranked Minnewaska Area defeated No. 3-seeded Benson 49-18.
In the section finals that followed, LP-GE/Browerville beat Minnewaska Area 37-25 to advance to state for the second year in a row.
In the Section 4A finals on Friday in Howard Lake, No. 3-ranked Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City beat No. 3-seeded Kimball Area 56-10.
In the Section 6A finals on Friday in Wheaton, No. 1-seeded and No. 11-ranked Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie beat No. 2-seeded Ottertail Central 45-12.
Numerous Class 2A sections will have team tournaments across the state on Saturday.
*Below, video from the end of the Maple Lake game:
**Wrestling fans! Remember, as published in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, the Section 5A individual tournament will be held on Saturday, February 23 starting at 9 a.m. at the Minnewaska Area high school.
Best of luck and many well-wishes are in order for our state-ranked B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team!
They are set for a trip to the Section 5A Final Four round coming tonight at 6 p.m. at the Benson high school. At stake is the program's fifth trip to the section finals, which would take place at 8 p.m. tonight at the same location against either Minnewaska Area or Benson.
No. 3-seeded Benson defeated No. 6-seeded Paynesville Area 41-19 in their quarterfinal match on Wednesday night.
Before any thought of the section finals can take place, the Jaguars (10-6) have to knock off top-seeded and top-ranked and defending Section 5A champion Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville. The Wolves are 22-1 overall, but I feel confident the Jaguars will come out firing on all cylinders and give our fans plenty to cheer for!
To recap: the section semifinals start at 6 p.m. in Benson, and both semi matches will take place concurrently.
The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's sports department is still in the planning stages of what the weekend will look like starting tonight. Updates will be posted here as often as possible (in a new blog post).
Stay tuned! And while you're at it...may you ##ConquerEveryDay
Osakis won their playoff opener 52-24 tonight over No. 10-seeded Ortonville in the Section 5A quarterfinals.
Through three weight classes, B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team is trailing 7-3 to Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg in their quarterfinal match.
Through 170 pounds: B-B-E has a 34-13 lead.
At 182, Mark Jenniges won a 5-2 decision over Ethan Peters. That handed the Jaguars the team win!
Final score: B-B-E 46, K-M-S 19. The Jaguars improve to 10-6 overall in duals.
Next: the Section 5A semifinals on Friday, February 15. The match will begin at 6 p.m. at the Benson high school. Their opponent will be top-seeded Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville (21-1).
More updates will follow here on Thursday morning.
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team blasted host Paynesville Area to kick off the dual campaign of the 2018-19 season.
Final: B-B-E 49, Paynesville 27. Both teams won by pin, from 145 to 285. Eight pins in a row, with each team getting four each.
They will face Kimball Area later tonight on the mats in Paynesville.
**Here's video from the 138-pound match. B-B-E's Taiton Lindner had a performance for the ages against state-ranked Shawn Rue. Rue hit the mat in this match looking for a pin and six team points; he settled for a 4-0 decision and just three team points.
*Update: the Jaguars won 52-30 in their second dual of the night! It was an exciting way to finish the triangular! Kimball Area is in Section 4A, but it's still huge in terms of Central Minnesota Conference standings.
B-B-E heads to Barrett tomorrow (West Central Area high school) for the 14-team Grant County Invitational (9:30 a.m.). More will be posted later tonight, including light video highlights.
At Swanville tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team dismantled the host Bulldogs in their season opener by a 67-30 score after leading 37-10 at halftime. It was a magnificent way to break in three new starters and a totally revamped lineup on the heels of graduating eight seniors. Five players scored eight or more points, with Evan Wiener leading the way with 15 points on terrific six-of-10 field goal shooting, three assists and eight rebounds.
Swanville falls to 0-3; they were led by senior guard Austin Lemke's 14 points. The Bulldogs shot just 28 percent on field goals (11-of-39) and had 20 turnovers compared to 54-percent field goal shooting for B-B-E and just 11 turnovers. Next: the Jaguars host Ortonville on Tuesday, December 11 in the home opener.
**Don't forget: as announced in recent Bonanza Valley Voice issues, the B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team will host their home comp on Thursday, December 20. Action begins at 6 p.m. at the B-B-E elementary school. Come out and show your support!
