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The tournament only had five teams, instead of six, with Grand Rapids dropping out at the last minute. The Bulldogs lost to Becker 38-30 in the opening round, beat a fill-in team of junior varsity wrestlers from Foley and Becker 59-12, and defeated Hibbing, rated second in the state in Class AA, for third 36-25.

Against Hibbing, the Bulldogs overcame a 12-0 deficit with five consecutive wins from 119 to 145, building a 21-12 lead. Sophomore Jack Mueller got a pin at 130 during that stretch, and senior Justin Reeck won a close match 11-9.

Then the Dogs, rated #7 in the state, sealed the win with pins from ninth grader Joel Kerzman at 152, junior Pat Utsch at 189, and a decision from senior Marty Engen at 215.

Coach Virg Vagle noted that Mueller, Reeck, Kerzman, and Utsch scored key points for the Bulldogs in their upset of Hibbing. "In addition to the guys we really count on for wins, these four guys really delivered against Hibbing," he said.

Two matches against Hibbing pitted state-rated wrestlers. Engen, a defending state champion rated #1, decisioned senior Skip Johnson, rated #4, 13-7 at 215. Hibbing got the upper hand in the other match as senior Ethan Osterhodt, rated #1, decisioned Paynesville senior Ryan Glenz, rated #3, 6-3 at 171.

Against the junior varsity team, the Bulldogs won 11 of the 14 weights and won 59-12. Recording pins for Paynesville were freshman Sean Glenz at 130, senior Josh Kerzman at 160, Ryan Glenz at 171, senior Brad Person at 215, and junior Derek Burris at 275. The Bulldogs also won three weights by forfeit.

Paynesville, seeded third, lost to Becker, seeded second, in the first round, 38-30. Becker jumped out to a 10-0 lead, and the Bulldogs cut that to 10-9 with a decision by senior Pat Noonan at 119 and a pin by Sean Glenz at 125. Becker, though, won five of the next six matches, with the Bulldogs' only win being a decision by senior Adam Christian at 135.

After the 160 match, Becker led 32-12. The Bulldogs got two pins and a forfeit in the last four weights - with Ryan Glenz pinning at 171, Engen winning by forfeit at 189, and Person pinning at 275. Becker, though, moved Jeremy Pederson, rated #2 in the state at 189, up to 215, where he recorded a pin to seal the victory.

This week, the Bulldogs wrestled at LPGE on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Next week, they will wrestle at Melrose on Tuesday, Dec. 10.

Paynesville 36, Hibbing 25
103-Will Johnson (H) pinned Andrew Christian, 2:00; 112-Travis Timmerman (H) pinned Cory Christenson, 1:30; 119-Pat Noonan (P) won by forfeit; 125-Sean Glenz (P) dec. Eric Mattson, 9-2; 130-Jack Mueller (P) pinned Chris Mattson, 1:58; 135-Adam Christian (P) dec. Pat Kapella, 10-3; 140-Justin Reeck (P) dec. Kyle Downs, 11-9; 145-Glen Lawcheer (H) maj. dec. Matt Kerzman, 13-4; 152-Joel Kerzman (P) pinned Josh Nyhus, 3:12; 160-Danny Vitali (H) dec. Josh Kerzman, 8-2; 171-Ethan Osterhodt (H) dec. Ryan Glenz, 6-2; 189-Pat Utsch (P) pinned Jake Slinger, 3:16; 215-Marty Engen (P) dec. Skip Johnson, 13-7; HWT-Elliott Osterhodt (H) dec. Brad Person, 5-0.

Paynesville 59, Foley JV 12
103-Andrew Christian (P) won by forfeit; 112-Nick Houle (B) pinned Cory Christenson, 2:37; 119-Pat Noonan (P) won by forfeit; 125-Jack Mueller (P) dec. Zack Rajkowski, 14-7; 130-Sean Glenz (P) pinned Tim Holmgren, 3:01; 135-Adam Christian (P) tech. falled Matt Coleman, 18-3; 140-Justin Reeck (P) dec. Mike Fousville, 6-2; 145-Nic Kotsmith (F) dec. Matt Kerzman, 4-2; 152-Jeff Linn dec. Joel Kerzman, 8-5; 160-Josh Kerzman (P) pinned Bernard Fitzpatrick, 3:26; 171-Ryan Glenz (P) pinned Derek Stubush, 1:30; 189- Marty Engen (P) won by forfeit; 215-Brad Person (P) pinned Josh Schmidt, 5:01; HWT-Derek Burris (P) pinned Luke Youngs, 0:47.

Becker 38, Paynesville 30
103-Robert Koranda (B) pinned Andrew Christian, 1:25; 112-Russ Lumley (B) maj. dec. Cory Christenson, 13-0; 119-Pat Noonan (P) dec. Jon LaVoi, 7-2; 125-Sean Glenz (P) pinned Jason Shierts, 5:26; 130-Kent Backes (B) pinned Jack Mueller, 1:09; 135-Adam Christian (P) dec. Josh Saba, 9-3; 140-Jon Koranda (B) pinned Justin Reeck, 4:45; 145-Eric O'Brian (B) dec. Matt Kerzman, 5-3; 152-Jevon Foley (B) dec. Joel Kerzman, 5-0; 160-Jadian Foley (B) maj. dec. Josh Kerzman, 21-9; 171-Ryan Glenz, (P) pinned Yari Yeusin, 2:37; 189-Marty Engen (P) won by forfeit; 215-Jeremy Pederson (B) pinned Derek Burris, 3:26; HWT-Brad Person (P) pinned Lex Johnson, 4:21.