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The Luverne wrestlers had a busy stretch of competition on the road over the past week, facing some tough opponents.
The Cardinals started out losing a dual against the Dragons Jan. 10 in Adrian before competing in a triangular in Marshall Jan. 12, when they fell to Pipestone 54-24 and Marshall 58-14.
The Luverne boys’ wrestling team finished in Pipestone Jan. 14, competing in the Big South Conference Tournament and the girls’ team headed to Champlain Park for an all-girls tournament.
Luverne was scheduled to host a Triangular with Worthington and Windom Tuesday, Jan. 17, and they’ll travel to the Wabasso Invitational Saturday, Jan. 21.
Adrian 64, Luverne 5
The Luverne wrestling team lost 64-5 to a very tough Adrian team Tuesday, Jan. 10.
“Several matches were lost in the last seconds of the match,” head coach Jordan Kopp said.
“The kids wrestled well. The score doesn’t reflect their effort.”
In the meet the Cardinals gave up five matches by decisions, seven matches by pin and one by forfeit.
Luverne’s only win came from senior DJ Rock in the 170-pound weight class.
Match results are as follows by weight class:
106 – Eighth-grader Brody Kopp, loss by fall.
113 – Ninth-grader Bernie Rock, loss by 10-4 decision.
120 – Eighth-grader Matthew Gangestad, loss by 13-3 major decision.
126 - Sophomore Leif Ingebretsen, loss by 9-5 decision.
132 – Eighth-grader Josh Stroh, loss by fall.
138 – Eighth-grader Hudson Hough, loss by 2-0 decision.
145 – Ninth-grader Cameron McCrary, loss by fall.
152 – Sophomore Jaden Reisch, loss by fall.
160 – Senior DJ Rock, win by fall.
170 – Junior Cash Bonnett, loss by fall.
182 – Junior Sam Rock, loss by 2-1 decision.
195 – Junior Jacob Madison, loss by fall.
220 – forfeit
285 – Sophomore Masyn Akkerman, loss by fall.
Marshall Triangular
Luverne wrestlers participated in the Marshall Triangular Thursday, Jan. 12, with Marshall and Pipestone.
The Cardinals lost to Pipestone 54-24 and wrestled against a tough Marshall squad that beat them 58-14.
Both Pipestone and Marshall have several seasoned wrestlers with section or state experience compared with Luverne, whose roster is made up of underclassmen/women and only one senior.
“The kids wrestled well and we were short-handed with kids out. They still battled and got some big wins,” head coach Jordan Kopp said.
Pipestone 54, Luverne 24
Luverne met Pipestone in the first dual of the night.
The Cardinals won six weight classes by fall (pin) and lost eight matches by pin and two by decision.
Match results are as follows by weight class:
106 – Brody Kopp, loss by fall.
113 – Bernie Rock loss by 10-3 decision.
120 – Matthew Gangestad loss by fall.
126 – Leif Ingebretsen win by fall.
132 – Uriel Hernandez loss by fall.
138 – Hudson Hough loss by fall.
145 – Cameron McCrary loss by 5-3 decision.
152 – Luverne loss by forfeit
160 – DJ Rock win by fall.
170 – Cash Bonnett loss by fall.
182 – Sam Rock win by fall.
195 – Jacob Madison loss by fall.
220 – Luverne loss by forfeit.
285 – Luverne win by forfeit.
Marshall 58, Luverne 14
Luverne’s second dual was against the Marshall Tigers.
Luverne won four matches by decision and lost eight matches by fall and two by decision.
Match results are as follows by weight class:
106 – Brody Kopp loss by fall.
113 – Bernie Rock win by 4-2 decision.
120 – Matthew Gangestad win by 20-5 technical fall.
126 – Leif Ingebretsen loss by 17-1 technical fall.
132 – Hudson Hough loss by fall.
138 – Cameron McCrary loss by fall.
145 – Luverne loss by forfeit.
152 – Luverne loss by forfeit
160 – DJ Rock loss by 17-2 technical fall.
170 – Sam Rock win by 5-3 decision.
182 – Sam Rock win by fall.
195 – Jacob Madison loss by fall.
220 – Kane Akkerman loss by fall.
285 – Masyn Akkerman win by 2-0 dec.
Big South Conference Tournament
The Luverne boys’ wrestling team traveled to Pipestone to compete in the Big South Conference Tournament Saturday, Jan. 14.
Luverne was among 13 teams at the tournament, joining Blue Earth Area, Fairmont-Martin County West, Jackson County Central, Marshall, New Ulm, Pipestone, Redwood Valley, Saint James, St. Peter, Waseca, Windom-Mountain Lake and Worthington.
Because of injuries and illness, the Cardinals brought only six wrestlers to the tournament.
They were eighth-grader Matthew Gangestad at 120 pounds, sophomore Leif Ingebretsen at 126, eighth-grader Hudson Hough at 132, senior DJ Rock at 160, junior Sam Rock at 170 and sophomore Masyn Ackerman at 285.
Two LHS wrestlers placed in the Top 3 of their weight class for All-Conference honors. Sam Rock placed second and DJ Rock placed third.
Individual results for Luverne wrestlers:
120 weight class:
Matthew Gangestad placed sixth.
Quarterfinal - Dawson DeCamp (Marshall) won by fall over Matthew Gangestad.
Cons. Round 1 - Matthew Gangestad won by 8-6 decision over Dalton Larson (Worthington).
Cons. Semi - Ryan Moelter (St. Peter) won by fall over Matthew Gangestad.
5th Place Match - Dawson DeCamp (Marshall) won by fall over Matthew Gangestad.
126 weight class:
Leif Ingebretsen did not place.
Prelim - Aiden Holmberg (Windom-Mountain Lake) won by 5-1 decision over Leif Ingebretsen.
Quarterfinal - Carson Sturtz (Blue Earth Area) won by fall over Leif Ingebretsen.
132 weight class:
Hudson Hough did not place.
Prelim - Lucas Fuhr (Redwood Valley) won by fall over Hudson Hough.
Prelim - Deontre Torres (St. Peter) won by 15-2 major decision over Hudson Hough.
160 weight class:
DJ Rock placed 3rd. Quarterfinal - DJ Rock won by fall over Trey Rossow (Jackson County Central)
Semifinal - Tate Condezo (Marshall) won by 8-3 decision over DJ Rock.
Cons. Semi - DJ Rock won by fall over Kade Gaydon (Blue Earth Area).
3rd Place Match - DJ Rock won by fall over Taylen Travaille (St. Peter).
170 weight class:
Sam Rock placed second
Champ. Round 1 - Sam Rock received a bye.
Quarterfinal - Sam Rock won by major 8-0 decision over Joseph Connor (St. Peter).
Semifinal - Sam Rock won by 9-2 decision over Tucker Fiene (Marshall).
First Place Match - Dylan Withers (Jackson County Central) won by 5-3 decision over Sam Rock.
285 weight class:
Masyn Akkerman did not place
Champ. Round 1 - Masyn Akkerman received a bye.
Quarterfinal - Evan Thompson (New Ulm Area) won by fall over Masyn Akkerman.
Cons. Round 2 - Haadi Ahmed (St. Peter) won by 5-2 decision over Masyn Akkerman.
Champlain Park girls
The Luverne girls’ wrestling team trekked to Champlain Park to compete against female wrestlers from 26 different teams and had a stellar day.
Bernie Rock and CeCe Rock took first place. Andi Luitjens placed third, Zakada Bradley was fifth and Julia Hoogland sixth.