Eagles sending two to state

By PAUL DUNLAP

Journal Sports Editor

MANKATO -- After winning the Section 2-3A title at 171 pounds last season, New Ulm High's Andy Bernard was seeded fourth at 189 this time around.

He obviously wasn't happy about it.

Bernard decisioned Mankato East's Joey Barr 5-4 in the championship match Saturday night, becoming the only Eagle wrestler to bring home a class title from the section individual tournament at Mankato West High School.

"The No. 4 seed didn't make me happy, but basically (No.) 1 and (No.) 4 are the same," Bernard said following his win. "You still have to win the matches no matter where you're seeded."

Bernard fought stalling much of the match against the second-seeded Barr before a takedown with a little over a minute left gave him a lead he would not relinquish.

"I lost to (Barr) 3-1 in the regular season, and I just didn't want to see the same thing happen," he said. "I just knew I had to keep shooting single (leg takedowns), front head (locks), and he was going to lose."

"Andy was able to control the inside and keep the pace up," coach Dar Arndt said. "He kept pounding away, the referees agreed that there was some stalling, and that actually made it a better match when Barr finally had to start wrestling. He played into our hands, because our style is to be aggressive."

Bernard advanced to the finals by sticking top seed Dennis Kline of Wayzata at 3:12 earlier in the day.

"I wrestled (Kline) twice last year, and pinned him both times," Bernard said. "I knew I was going to win ... I just didn't know how."

Teammate Nate Gieseke, at 119 pounds, will also be representing NUHS at state, taking second to Willmar's Mike Jensen.

Gieseke started the day with a resounding 10-4 decision over Buffalo's Dan Ruter before two takedowns in the first period had him scratching back against Jensen in the title match. Gieseke responded with a third-period reversal, but couldn't overcome the deficit in a tough 7-5 loss.

"I just had to work my stuff," Gieseke said. "I knew (Jensen) had a good firemans carry that I had to stay out of, and I seemed to pick it up a little bit at the end. I don't know ... it just didn't work out."

Third-place finishes for New Ulm went to 130-pound senior Sky Royston and 135-pound sophomore Matt Wenninger. Royston ended the day with a three-point third period in a 4-3 win over Buffalo's Mike Baker, while Wenninger compiled reversals in each of the first two periods and a third-period takedown in a 6-2 win over the Bison's Nate Brunn in his third-place match.

Wenninger then found out he had a chance at state, and tangled with West's Victor Solis in a true-second match. The Eagle sophomore was ahead 3-1 entering the third period, but Solis came through with an escape and takedown in the third to get the win and the right to advance.

"Wenninger just did a great job for us," Arndt said. "But it was just too bad that Royston didn't get a shot at true second. The top seed was his only loss, and he came off the mat not knowing there was an upset (in the title match)."

Seventh grader Chris Koob, at 103 pounds, and 125-pound freshman Dan Mielke each placed fifth in the tournament. Koob ended his first varsity season with 22 wins as he outlasted Wayzata's Brett Brokaw 2-1, and Mielke finished with a six-point flourish in the third period en route to his 11-5 decision over Hutchinson's Adam Schiller.

Two more Eagles -- seniors Dylan Kapolczynski (145 pounds) and Tony Ruch (152) -- ended their varsity careers with last-second losses in their fifth-place matches.

Willmar's Lee Rooda came through with a takedown with :03 left to defeat Kapolczynski 5-3, and Eden Prairie's Drew Petersen had a disputed escape in the final second of an 8-7 decision over Ruch.

"We had a lot of breaks that didn't go our way today," Arndt said. "We still placed eight wrestlers (out of 13) despite that."

Senior heavyweight Andy Howk won his first wrestleback match of the day, defeating West's Blake Klinger 7-1, before falling to Prior Lake's Rob Bennett on a pin at 1:42.

Bernard and Gieseke will compete at the state Class 3A individual tournament beginning Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

"This was a wonderful weekend for us," Arndt said. "We graduated so many seniors from last year that people didn't know what to expect. Well, I've got news for you -- the Eagles are just fine."