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Seniors Nathan Glenz and Jeremy Sogge, juniors Marty Engen and Ryan Glenz, and eighth grader Sean Glenz qualified for state by placing in the top two at the Section 5AA individual tournament at New London-Spicer High School on Saturday night.

Sogge (125), Nathan Glenz (135), and Engen (189) won section titles while the Glenz brothers, Ryan (171) and Sean (112), took second. Nathan Glenz and Sogge earned their third trips to state as individuals.

Sogge (at left) placed third at 119 in Class A in 2000 and second at 125 in Class AA in 2001. (The Bulldogs moved back to Class AA this year.)

Engen, Ryan Glenz, and Sean Glenz are making their first trips to state as individuals.

Eleven of the 13 Bulldog wrestlers placed in the two-day section tournament, which started on Friday night and ended on Saturday afternoon. Juniors Pat Noonan (119) and Adam Christian (130) and senior Jeremy Fuchs (145) took third for Paynesville. Senior Max Meagher (160) was fifth, and juniors Justin Reeck (140) and Brad Person (275) were sixth.

The individual portion of the state tournament for Class A starts on Thursday at noon at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Section 5AA Results
103-Cory Christenson (P)...lost by pin to Tyler Polzin (Glencoe-Silver Lake), 5:47...lost by pin to Shanahan (Watertown-Mayer), 3:18...Did Not Place;
At right: 112-Sean Glenz (P)...maj. dec. Plantenburg (Albany), 12-3...dec. Trever Roediger (New London-Spicer), 5-2... lost to Ben Anderson (Annandale/Maple Lake), 7-5...Second Place;
119-Pat Noonan (P)...maj. dec. Lane Dumas (Rockford), 13-2...lost 15-6 to Jake Ziegler (Litchfield)...maj. dec. Marshall Sager (Dassel-Cokato), 12-3...dec. Burns (W-M), 8-3...Third Place;
125-Jeremy Sogge (P)...tech. falled Josh Jenson (G-SL), 22-6...pinned Joe Schoolmeesters (L), 1:00...tech. falled Scott Schlangen (A), 15-0...First Place;
130-Adam Christian (P)...dec. Barten (Delano), 11-8...lost to Joe Bushette (L), 8-1...pinned Kris Doll (A), 3:57...pinned Nathan Bruch (G-SL), 2:42...Third Place;
135-Nathan Glenz (P)...pinned Brandon Christenson (NL-S), 0:52 ...dec. Stephen Pilgrim (A/ML), 10-8 ...dec. Justin Meyer (Melrose), 10-9 ...First Place;
140-Justin Reeck (P)...pinned Reiner (W-M), 1:29... pinned by Erik Flowers (L), 4:42... pinned Chris Goebel (M), 1:40...dec. Nathan Pilgrim (A/ML), 10-2 ...lost to Brett Salmen (D-C), 11-6...lost to Travis Roediger (NL-S), 13-4...Sixth Place;
145-Jeremy Fuchs (P)... lost to David Lindberg (A/ML), 5-2...won by injury default over Joel Werner (L)...dec. Kohls (W-M), 3-2...dec. Eric Vasko (G-SL), 3-2...Third Place;
152-Josh Kerzman (P) ...lost to Milber (R), 16-7... dec. Harold Buschman (M), 7-5...lost to Levi Peterson (D-C), 11-5...Did Not Place;
160-Max Meagher (P)...maj. dec. Louie Pirrotta (NL-S), 11-1...lost to Adam Goebel (A), 18-8...pinned by Randy Lieser (Rocori)...won by injury default over Cory Schlaak (L)...Fifth Place;
171-Ryan Glenz (P)...maj. dec. Tom Ogden (A/ML), 14-1...dec. Motzko (W-M), 8-3...lost to Matt Imdieke (M), 11-4 ...Second Place;
189-Marty Engen (P) ...pinned Greg Roth (Rocori), 1:06 ...maj. dec. Luke Hauan (D-C), 14-2... dec. Bryar Johnson (L), 6-0...First Place;
HWT-Brad Person (P)...pinned by Calvin Hennen (A), 4:15...dec. Andy Kleinfehn (M), 8-2...lost to Justin Olsen (A/ML), 4-2...pinned by Luke Buffington (NL-S), 1:21...Sixth Place.

State Tournament Schedule
The state wrestling tournament will be held at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul starting on Thursday morning and ending on Saturday night.

Nathan Glenz

The schedule for Paynesville's five individuals is as follows:

Thursday, Feb. 28
12 noon - Class AA individual preliminaries
2 p.m. - Class AA quarterfinals

Friday, March 1
4:30 p.m. - Class AA wrestlebacks
7:30 p.m. - Class AA championship semifinals and consolation quarterfinals

Saturday, March 2
10 a.m. - Class AA consolation semifinals
1:30 p.m. - Class AA fifth, third, and first place matches

State pairings
Pairings for the state tournament have been drawn up by the Minnesota State High School League. Here's what Paynesville's five state entrants face:

112: Sean Glenz (29-11) faces Clint Campbell (34-0), a senior from Stewartville, in the first round at state. Campbell placed third in state a year ago at 112 and is rated second in Class AA by The Guillotine, behind Litchfield's Matt Forster, who did not compete in the individual sections.

125: Jeremy Sogge (35-2) faces Matt Larson (32-10), a sophomore from Stewartville, in the first round. A quarterfinal match against Logan Brincefield (33-0) of Wadena-Deer Creek looms. Brince-field won a state title last year at 119. He is rated second in the state at 125, while Sogge is third.

On the other half of the 125-pound bracket is top-rated Blue Earth senior Jeff Pfaffinger (35-0), who is seeking his fourth state title. He handed Sogge one of his two losses this season.

135: Nathan Glenz (29-5), ranked eighth in the state, hits Wadena-Deer Creek's Louie Vandermay, a junior with a 31-7 record, on Thursday. In the quarterfinals Glenz would likely face Ryan King of Grand Meadow/Leroy-Ostrander /Kingsland. King (35-1), a senior, won a state title at 130 last year.

At right: 171: Ryan Glenz (33-7) faces Tad Hickman (25-12), a senior from St. Michael-Albertville, in the opening round. Glenz, ranked fifth in the state, has beaten four of the wrestlers in the 171-pound weight class this year: Becker's Jeremy Pederson, Melrose's Matt Imdieke, Minnewaska's Jacob Bryce, and Sauk Centre's Ethan Vogt, whom he defeated three times. Imdieke, though, beat Glenz twice, as well.

189: Marty Engen (36-1), ranked third in the state, faces Orono senior Dan Ketcham (23-14) in the first round. A match against second-ranked Colby Bruns of Marshall (28-5) looms in the quarter finals. Undefeated Joe Facchinni (23-0) of Nashwauk-Keewatin/ Greenway and Kevan Meiners (37-0) of Caledonia could face each other in a quarterfinal in the other half of the bracket. All four of the top-rated wrestlers at 189 are juniors.

Coach of the Year
Assistant coach Steve Fuchs was selected as the junior varsity Coach of the Year in Section 5AA this season. Fuchs, a former Bulldog standout who was the school's first individual state champion, is in his 16th season as an assistant coach for the wrestling team.

Awards banquet
The wrestling team will hold an awards banquet to honor wrestlers in grades 7-12 on Sunday, March 3, at Hill Top Restaurant. Wrestlers, parents, and fans are invited to attend. The meal starts at 6 p.m. with awards to follow.