Trojan wrestlers open season with 1-4 record

New Prague High School's wrestling team won one match out of five last weekend, as they took part in a triangular at Watertown-Mayer and the six-team New Prague Invitational.

The Trojans are scheduled to travel to Hutchinson for a dual meet Thursday, Dec. 6, then will compete in the eight-team Northfield Duals on Friday, Dec. 7.

After five matches, the Trojans' Eric Grabosky has a perfect 5-0 record, while Aaron Redding and Alex Minette are both 3-0 and Evan Beranek is 1-0. Ryan Schmitz is 4-1 with a team-high three pins, while Roger Sirek and Natalie Rutt both have three wins.

Watertown-Mayer Triangular

Three teams from Section 2AA met in a triangular in Watertown, with the host Royals winning both their matches and St. Peter defeating New Prague in the other.

Saints 39, Trojans 33

New Prague never led in the opening match, but kept things close, losing in the final match.

The Trojans got pins from Kody Dolezal (125 pounds), Schmitz (145), Grabosky (160), Sirek (171) and Beranek (215). They added a decision by Morgan Parriott at 112 pounds.

Beranek's pin was a come-from-behind effort as he put a reversal and pinning combination on his man 20 seconds into the second period. However, he was injured in the match and didn't wrestle the rest of the weekend.

Schmitz, Grabosky and Sirek all had their pins in the first period.

St. Peter 39, New Prague 33

Nov. 30, at Watertown

103-Rydell (SP) dec. Rutt 8-4; 112-Parriott (NP) dec. Bushell; 10-3; 119-Aspelund (SP) pinned Stocker 2:40; 125-Dolezal (NP) pinned Keller 4:28; 130-Timmerman (SP) pinned Ritter 1:10; 135-Zabel (SP) dec. Pendergast 6-2; 140-Connor (SP) dec. Peterson 10-9; 145-Schmitz (NP) pinned Wilkins 1:49; 152-McLain (SP) pinned Ambroz 1:59; 160-Grabosky (NP) pinned Felty 1:23; 171-Sirek (NP) pinned Wilking 1:48; 189-Chounaird (SP) pinned Molitor 3:20; 215-Beranek (NP) pinned Sandford 3:40; 285-Zabel (SP) pinned Svoboda 3:46.

Royals 53, Trojans 13

New Prague faced the host school and won just three matches against the Royals.

New Prague opened with a 13-5 major decision by Rutt at 103 pounds. But they wouldn't win again until Schmitz got a pin at 145 pounds, making it 28-10. Grabosky won by decision at 160 pounds for New Prague.

Rutt's win was the first ever by a girl in a New Prague High School varsity match.

Watertown-Mayer 53, New Prague 13

Nov. 30, at Watertown

103-Rutt (NP) m dec. Elsenpeter 13-5; 112-Fleming (WM) dec. Parriott 8-2; 119-Stadnick (WM) dec. Stocker 12-9; 125-Henrich (WM) pinned Dolezal 1:26; 130-McCain (WM) m. dec. Pendergast 11-3; 135-Luebke (WM) pinned Busch 3:55; 140-Poikonen (WM) pinned Peterson 3:40; 145-Schmitz (NP) pinned Rosdahl 3:49; 152-Neaton (WM) pinned Ambroz :32; 160-Grabosky (NP) dec. Dalling 4-0; 171-Reinert (WM) tech fall Sirek 16-0; 189-Falde (WM) m. dec. Molitor 9-0; 215-Dickhuasen (WM) won by forfeit; 285-Ernst (WM) m. dec. Svoboda 16-5

New Prague Invitational

New Prague hosted five other teams for the annual Trojan Wrestling Invitational. The teams were divided into two pools of three teams. New Prague was in a pool with Sibley East and Cannon Falls, while the other pool consisted of Austin, Jackson County Central and St. Peter.

The idea was for the team with the best record in round-robin pool competition to advance to the championship match, while the second-best record in each pool would square off for third place and the other two teams playing for fifth.

However, the teams didn't cooperate, as all six teams went 1-1 in their pools. Seeds in the final round were determined by total point differential. Sibley East defeated St. Peter in the championship match, while Cannon Falls defeated Austin for third and Jackson County Central edged New Prague for fifth.

JCC, rated No. 5 in Class A, sat out a number of its top wrestlers, including four state-ranked wrestlers. Former Trojan Travis Rutt, rated No. 1 at 171 pounds, was one of those sitting out; however, another former Trojan Caleb Lines did wrestle.

Wolverines 44, Trojans 27

New Prague never led against Sibley East, dropping the first two matches. The Trojans scored pins from Redding (119 pounds), Grabosky (160), Sirek (171) and Molitor (215) and got a decision from Minette (135). Nik Peterson (140 pounds) staged a comeback in his match. After spotting his opponent a 13-3 lead, he fought back with a pair of takedowns and a pair of escapes in the third period, but came up short, losing 15-9.

Sibley East 44, New Prague 27

Dec. 1, at New Prague

103-Walters (SE) dec. Rutt 6-3; 112-Bates (SE) pinned Parriott 1:05; 119-Redding (NP) pinned Pasvogel 2:30; 125-Wiest (SE) pinned Dolezal 3:45; 130-Posivio (SE) m. dec. Pendergast 10-1; 135-Minette (NP) dec. Petzel 12-5; 140-Luskey (SE) dec. Peterson 15-9; 145-Zeiher (SE) pinned Schmitz 1:47; 152-McGuire (SE) m. dec. Cole 12-1; 160-Grabosky (NP) pinned Pichelmann 1:53; 171-Sirek (NP) pinned Lilienthal 2:47; 189-Pauly (E) pinned Radloff 1:12; 215-Molitor (NP) pinned Castillo 1:30; 285-Gardner (SE) pinned Svoboda 1:07

Trojans 38, Bombers 36

A come-from-behind pin by Molitor at 189 pounds put the match out of reach, giving New Prague a 38-24 lead with two matches left. The Trojans held on for a 38-36 win over Cannon Falls.

Molitor trailed 8-4 before getting a takedown and pin in the final minute of the match.

New Prague opened strong, getting pins from Natalie Rutt (103) and Parriott (112) and a technical fall from Redding, who used eight takedowns, a reversal and two near falls to score a 23-8 win.

The bombers won a pair of matches, then Minette scored a 12-7 decision at 135 pounds. Schmitz followed with a pin to make it 26-18.

At 160 pounds Grabosky won a battle of two state-ranked wrestlers. Grabosky,who is ranked No. 5 at 171, defeated Wade Gobin (No. 8, 160 pounds), 15-12. Sirek followed with an impressive 8-3 win at 171 pounds before Molitor wrapped up the win.

New Prague 38, Cannon Falls 36

Dec. 1, at New Prague

103-Rutt (NP) pinned Schatte :45; 112-Parriott (NP) pinned Thau 1:00; 119-Redding (NP) tech fall Otterness 23-8; 125-Rich (CF) pinned Dolezal :45; 130-Erlandson (F) pinned Pendergast 1:10; 135-Minette (NP) dec. Flodeen 12-7; 140-Brown (CF) pinned Peterson 1:33; 145-Schmitz (NP) pinned Gobin 2:43; 152-O'Reilly (CF) pinned Cole 2:34; 160-Grabosky (NP) dec. Gobin 15-12; 171-Sirek (NP) dec. Hoffman 8-3; 189-Molitor (NP) pinned Grimes 5:14; 215-Johnson (CF) pinned Radloff :28; 285-Martin (CF) pinned Svoboda 3:46

Huskies 42, Trojans 41

New Prague opened up a big lead, but couldn't hang on as Jackson County Central won the final four matches to take a 42-41 win.

The Huskies used mostly JV wrestlers at the lower weights. Natalie Rutt, who wrestled for JCC last season, opened with a 19-3 technical fall for the Trojans. After a Huskie pin at 112, the Trojans won four straight. Redding (119), Dolezal (125), Erick Pendergast (130) and Minette (135) all got pins to give New Prague a 29-6 lead.

New Prague also scored a pin from Schmitz (145) and a forfeit win by Grabosky (160). That gave the Trojans a 41-18 lead.

The Huskies scored three pins and a forfeit in the final four matches to take the win. Lines, the former Trojan who is ranked No. 3 at 189 pounds, won his match by forfeit.

Jackson County Central 42,

New Prague 41

Dec. 1, at New Prague

103-Rutt (NP) tech fall Edlin 19-3; 112-Hanson (JC) pinned Parriott 3:10; 119-Redding (NP) pinned Menke :22; 125-Dolezal (NP) pinned Michelson 1:40; 130-Pendergast (NP) pinned Burmeister 4:16; 135-Minette (NP) pinned Belz 1:56; 140-Hodnefield (JC) pinned Peterson 4:29; 145-Schmitz (NP) pinned Pygman :54; 152-Johnson (JC) pinned Cole :47; 160-Grabosky (NP) won by forfeit; 171-Ferguson (JC) pinned Sirek 2:54; 189-Lines (JC) won by forfeit; 215-Skow (JC) pinned Radloff :27; 285-Bnnister (JC) pinned Svoboda :33