Reller, Peichel, Osterman win section title

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

A bevy of Hornets will swarm the Xcel Energy Center on Friday when the Class A individual state wrestling tournament gets underway. A total of seven Frazee wrestlers advanced to state with three Hornets crowned as individual champions at the Section 8A tournament in Crookston. 

The seven Hornets advancing to state include section champions Ashton Reller at 107 lbs., Cash Osterman at 139 lbs. and Bailey Peichel at 145 lbs., as well as section runner ups Christian Peichel at 114 lbs., Liam Hamm at 133 lbs., Blake Sonnenberg at 160 lbs. and Cade Nagel at 215 lbs. 

The state tournament kicks off on Friday morning and will wrap up on Saturday night in St. Paul, Minn.

Section tournament

Ashton Reller, who was the top seed in the Section 8A tournament, captured first place at 107 lbs. after defeating Wyatt Peterson of BGMR by a 12-0 major decision in the semi-finals, before defeating second seed Kiptyn Thompson of Fosston-Bagley by a 2-1 decision in the finals. 

Reller, who is 33-11 on the season, broke a scoreless tie when he started the third period in the down position. He earned a reversal just 15 seconds into the period to take a 2-0 lead. He surrendered a point for stalling in the third period to cut the lead to 2-1, but held on for the championship.

Cash Osterman took first place in the 139 lbs. tournament after picking up a pin and major decision in the opening two rounds of the tournament. In the championship the third seeded Osterman defeated top seeded Shane Thompson of Fosston-Bagley by a 4-1 decision. 

Osterman trailed 1-0 heading into the third period. He started the period on the down position, but quickly earned an escape. He got a takedown to make the score 4-1 and rode Thompson for the remainder of the period to secure first place. 

At 145 lbs. senior Bailey Peichel captured the third individual championship for the Hornets as he secured a 12-7 decision in the semi-finals, before earning a hard-fought 4-1 decision over second seeded Zach Thompson of Fosston-Bagley. The two wrestlers finished the tournament with a combined 76-6 record. 

Peichel trailed just about the entire match after Thompson took a 1-0 lead just nine seconds into the second period. Peichel tied the match up at 1-1 just eight seconds into the third period after picking the down position. He secured a three-point takedown as time was expiring to secure a 4-1 win to improve to 38-2 on the season. 

Christian Peichel advanced to state with a second place finish at 114 lbs. The third seed in the tournament, Peichel secured a pin in just 13 seconds in the quarterfinals, before defeating second seed Eli Phrakonkha of Fosston-Bagley by a 7-6 decision in the semi-finals. Peichel took an early lead in the first period when he got a takedown just 11 seconds into the match. Phrakonkha secured an escape to cut the score to 3-1. It remained that way until the third period when Phrakonkha started in the down position. The Frazee eighth grader earned a four-point nearfall to take a 7-1 lead. Phrakonkha earned an escape and secured a takedown with just three seconds remaining to cut the score to 7-6 in favor of Peichel.

In the championship, Peichel fell to top seeded Chase Hauck of Barnesville by a 10-6 decision to force the Frazee wrestler into a true second match. In the true second match, Peichel picked up a pair of takedowns in the first period and held on for an 8-6 lead after Anton Anderson of United North Central earned an escape and a pair of points for stalling by Peichel in the third period. 

Frazee 10th grader Liam Hamm will be making a trip to state after securing second place at 133 lbs. The second seed in the tournament, Hamm secured a tech fall over third seed Gabe Demere of MAWA in the semi-finals, before falling to Ian Phrakonkham of Fosston-Bagley by a 5-3 decision in the championship. In the true second match, Hamm wasted little time to secure a tech fall win over Owen Lund of BGMR as he was by a 16-0 tech fall just 21 seconds into the third period to advance to state. 

At 160 lbs., Blake Sonnenberg punched his ticket to state with a tech fall win over Isaac Olson of BGMR in the semi-finals. The second seeded Sonnenberg fell
to top seeded Zach Davidson of United North Central by a 12-3 major decision.

The loss dropped Sonnenberg into the true second match where he would go on to defeat Dylan McMullen of MAWA by a fall at the 5:15 mark of the match to secure second place and advance to state. 

Cade Nagel punched his ticket to state after winning a 13-1 major decision over Bergen Howard of FEBE in the semi-finals of the 215 lbs. weight class. The second seeded Nagel fell to top seeded Eli Roiko of United North Central by a tech fall in the championship match to finish in second place. Since Howard earned third place Nagel did not need to wrestle for true second.

Tanner Moe took third place at 189 lbs. after he defeated James Flynn of FEBE by a tech fall in the semi-finals. He fell to top seeded Blake McMullen of MAWA by a 4-1 decision to fall into the true second match. Trailing 3-0 heading into the final period, Moe was able to get on the board when Riley Livingston of United North Central was called for stalling. He then quickly secured a takedown to make the score 4-4 with just 54 seconds remaining in the period. Unfortunately, Livingston secured a reversal to take a 6-4 lead and was later called for stalling with four seconds remaining to make the score 6-5 in favor of the UNC wrestler. 

State tournament

Ninth ranked Ashton Reller, who is 33-11 overall, will kick off his state tournament against Liam Sommer of Kenyon-Wanamingo, who enters the tournament with a record of 40-5 overall. Sommer is currently the second ranked wrestler in the state. The winner of the match will take on either fifth ranked Brody Herbst of LCWM, who is 33-14 on the season, or Brody Brunkow of West Central Area, who is 25-17 on the season, in the second round. 

Christian Peichel, who is 24-20 on the season, will kick off his state tournament against sixth ranked Issac Guzman of Canby, who is 27-6 on the season, in the opening round of the state tournament. The winner will take on either third ranked Vincent Schmid of Mille Lacs, who is 47-2 on the season, or second ranked Kayden Eller of Jackson County Central, who is 36-5 on the season, in the second round. 

Liam Hamm, who is 30-16 on the season, will open his state tournament against 10th ranked Carson Othoudt of LCWM, who is 36-10 on the season. The winner of the match will take on either ninth ranked Adam Devlaeminck of Minneota, who is 35-2 on the season, or eighth ranked Reggie George of Osakis, who is 33-4 on the season. 

Cash Osterman, who is 34-13 on the season, will open his state tournament against 10th ranked Colton Wilson of LeSueur-Henderson, who is 19-2 on the season. The winner of the match will take on either Brady Murphy of WEJW, who is 31-8 on the season, or sixth ranked Owen Grunchow of West Central Area, who is 36-9 on the season. 

Third ranked Bailey Peichel, who is 38-2 on the season, will open his state tournament against Cannon Wacek of WERA, who is 27-7 on the season. The winner will take on either fifth ranked Quintin Bethaser of Lewiston-Altura/Rushford-Peterson, who is 35-10 on the season, or Johan Alcantara Lund of MNC, who is 31-5 on the season.

Blake Sonnenberg, who is 31-16 on the season, will square off against ninth ranked Chase Bade of  St. Clair/Mankato Loyola, who is 33-8 on the season, in the opening round of the state tournament. The winner of the match will take on either 152 lbs. second ranked Colbe Tappe of Staples-Motley, who is 39-3 overall, or Atley Strack of SIEA, who is 13-27, in the second round. 

The final Hornet wrestler to hit the mat will be senior Cade Nagel, who will take his 33-12 record against second ranked Caleb Kurtti of Goodhue, who is 40-2 on the season. The winner of the match will take on either fifth ranked Jacob Williams of Aitkin, who is 38-0 on the season or Charlie Witzel of STAG, who is 24-4 on the season. 

107- 1st place- Quarterfinal – Ashton Reller (Frazee) 33-11 received a bye () (Bye); Semifinal – Ashton Reller (Frazee) 33-11 won by major decision over Wyatt Peterson (Badger-GB-MR) 16-18 (MD 12-0); 1st Place Match – Ashton Reller (Frazee) 33-11 won by decision over Kiptyn Thompson (Fosston-Bagley) 31-9 (Dec 2-1)

114- 2nd place- Quarterfinal – Christian Peichel (Frazee) 24-20 won by fall over Robbie Henry (Badger-GB-MR) 8-13 (Fall 0:13); Semifinal – Christian Peichel (Frazee) 24-20 won by decision over Eli Phrakonkham (Fosston-Bagley) 18-12 (Dec 7-6); 1st Place Match – Chase Hauck (Barnesville) 23-8 won by decision over Christian Peichel (Frazee) 24-20 (Dec 10-6); 2nd Place Match – Christian Peichel (Frazee) 24-20 won by decision over Anton Anderson (United North Central Warriors) 9-15 (Dec 8-6)

121- Quarterfinal – Cleighton Hoban (Mahnomen-Waubun) 31-17 won by tech fall over Caleb Ratz (Frazee) 14-19 (TF-1.5 4:46 (16-1)); Cons. Round 1 – Brant Cox (Barnesville) 22-16 won by tech fall over Caleb Ratz (Frazee) 14-19 (TF-1.5 4:18 (15-0))

127- 5th place- Quarterfinal – Sam Roiko (United North Central Warriors) 24-10 won by fall over Ethan Royer (Frazee) 5-17 (Fall 0:36); Cons. Round 1 – Ethan Royer (Frazee) 5-17 received a bye () (Bye); Cons. Semi – Brock Grabow (Barnesville) 14-18 won by fall over Ethan Royer (Frazee) 5-17 (Fall 4:38); 5th Place Match – Ethan Royer (Frazee) 5-17 won by fall over Brandon Miller (Mahnomen-Waubun) 9-31 (Fall 3:41)

133- 2nd place- Quarterfinal – Liam Hamm (Frazee) 30-16 received a bye () (Bye); Semifinal – Liam Hamm (Frazee) 30-16 won by tech fall over Gabe Demere (Mahnomen-Waubun) 22-12 (TF-1.5 4:20 (21-0)); 1st Place Match – Ian Phrakonkham (Fosston-Bagley) 36-4 won by decision over Liam Hamm (Frazee) 30-16 (Dec 5-3); 2nd Place Match – Liam Hamm (Frazee) 30-16 won by tech fall over Owen Lund (Badger-GB-MR) 10-10 (TF-1.5 4:21 (16-0))

139- 1st place- Quarterfinal – Cash Osterman (Frazee) 34-13 won by fall over Tate Pauna (Barnesville) 15-24 (Fall 1:33); Semifinal – Cash Osterman (Frazee) 34-13 won by major decision over Creed Koll (United North Central Warriors) 28-12 (MD 11-0); 1st Place Match – Cash Osterman (Frazee) 34-13 won by decision over Shane Thompson (Fosston-Bagley) 38-5 (Dec 4-1)

145- 1st place- Quarterfinal – Bailey Peichel (Frazee) 38-2 received a bye () (Bye); Semifinal – Bailey Peichel (Frazee) 38-2 won by decision over Gage Vold-Vedbradten (Fertile-Beltrami) 8-4 (Dec 12-7); 1st Place Match – Bailey Peichel (Frazee) 38-2 won by decision over Zach Thompson (Fosston-Bagley) 38-4 (Dec 4-1)

160- 2nd place- Quarterfinal – Blake Sonnenberg (Frazee) 31-16 received a bye () (Bye); Semifinal – Blake Sonnenberg (Frazee) 31-16 won by tech fall over Isaac Olson (Badger-GB-MR) 23-19 (TF-1.5 4:26 (16-0)); 1st Place Match – Zach Davidson (United North Central Warriors) 16-1 won by major decision over Blake Sonnenberg (Frazee) 31-16 (MD 12-3); 2nd Place Match – Blake Sonnenberg (Frazee) 31-16 won by fall over Dylan McMullen (Mahnomen-Waubun) 25-21 (Fall 5:15)

189- 3rd place- Quarterfinal – Tanner Moe (Frazee) 31-17 received a bye () (Bye); Semifinal – Tanner Moe (Frazee) 31-17 won by tech fall over James Flynn (Fertile-Beltrami) 22-9 (TF-1.5 4:17 (20-5)); 1st Place Match – Blake McMullen (Mahnomen-Waubun) 29-3 won by decision over Tanner Moe (Frazee) 31-17 (Dec 4-1); 2nd Place Match – Riley Livingston (United North Central Warriors) 32-10 won by decision over Tanner Moe (Frazee) 31-17 (Dec 6-5)

215- 2nd place- Quarterfinal – Cade Nagel (Frazee) 33-12 received a bye () (Bye); Semifinal – Cade Nagel (Frazee) 33-12 won by major decision over Bergen Howard (Fertile-Beltrami) 14-8 (MD 13-1); 1st Place Match – Eli Roiko (United North Central Warriors) 32-4 won by tech fall over Cade Nagel (Frazee) 33-12 (TF-1.5 2:58 (17-2)); 2nd Place Match – Cade Nagel (Frazee) 33-12 won by no contest over Bergen Howard (Fertile-Beltrami) 14-8 (NC)