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Wrestling is just a slice of MN/WI State tournaments

By Brandon Paulson, 03/01/20, 11:45PM CST

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Photo By MN/USA Wrestling David Peterson

The High School State Tournament is full of emotions for wrestlers, parents, and fans. Jubilation, excitement, misery, nervousness, sadness, and sometimes there are emotions that can't be put into words. 

At this years MN State HS tournament a wrestler coming off the mat fell straight forward on his face and stopped breathing. CPR was performed for over 5 minutes to revive him. The stands went quiet for what seemed to me was 20 minutes. As a person in the stands, it seemed that the defibrillator machine wasn't restarting his heart, so he was dying.  My wife and I were in tears in the stands as we stood in astonishment.  Of course, this brought me back to losing our own Curtis LeMair as passed in his sleep of an enlarged heart his freshman year of college. On occasion there was clapping, but no movement. As the Xcel Center stood up and clapped, as he was being carried out in a stretcher, my thoughts were reserved.  I thought he must have brain damage, as he wasn't breathing and it was possible that his heart was stopped for an extended period of time. It was like a fairy tale movie when he raised his hand and gave a "thumbs up" as he left the stadium.  Hoots and hollers erupted, and more tears flowed, but this time in jubilation. The wrestling Dr. , Doc Berg, saved the day. Doc is the dad of PINnacle, and Simley, wrestler Cael Berg, and has given his time to the wrestling community for many years. As a parent myself, I discussed with my wife, how hard it must be for Doc Berg to be the Dr. on the floor with his son wrestling. A few minutes later, Doc was attending to a injured wrestler, while his son was on the mat. He is a selfless human being, that doesn't want any of the attention given to him, but deserves to be recognized.

In Wisconsin, Kole Marko, St. Croix Falls, and the Wisconsin wrestling community suffered a tremendous loss the day before Sections as 2 St. Croix Falls wrestlers passed away from a car accident. Kole has been through much heart ache, and our heart ached for him as he has to deal with this grief.  Kole went on to win a State title, and hope he was able to feel joy in the moment. 

After these "bigger than wrestling" moments, we still have wrestling that needs to be talked about. These wrestlers have dedicated their lives to the sport they love, and deserve the recognition. This is not about PINnacle wrestling, this is about the wrestlers and what they have accomplished. 

As in years past, one of the best moments for me is the sportsmanship that occured on most occasions between PINnacle wrestlers. These guys show respect for each other, before, and after, trying to crush each others dreams. The semifinals seemed to have endless match-ups between teammates(see stats below), and I was proud of the love shown. 

Some highlights-
- Sokol looked like a Spartan as he just tore through the competition
- I can't believe B.Berge and G.Nelson are in 9th and 10th grade. A great HS rivalry, with 2 awesome wrestlers, and 2 awesome kids. 
- 106 and 113 was filled with guys that have been practicing together since they were young. Awesome to see them make the next step
- Tyler Wells got a TD before the clock operator started the clock
- Cash Raymond with a pass off the head to a TD in the final 15 to make the finals
- Bryce Fitzpatrick improvement over the last 2 years has been astounding, and he came away with a State Title!
- Watching 2 PINnacle guys battle in the blood round is misery. It happened a lot, and it hurt every time
-Wester vs Hogue at team semis was a great battle
- Paxton Creese knows how to put on a show
- Joey Thompson is fast
- Joey Novak is about as unassuming as you can get on the mat, but is an incredibly hard person to wrestle
- Roman Rogotzke looked like he was having a good time on the mat, doing whatever he wanted
- Pierson Manville showed great character, not only coming back strong from a loss, but also showing his love for the sport in process.

Congrats to the coaches, and teams, in the State Team Tournament. I don't think people understand how much time these coaches put in. We are extremely grateful to all coaches who trust their wrestlers to us.
- St. Michael vs Stillwater vs Shakopee for the team title. These 2 duals were teammate vs teammate. 22 out of 26 wrestlers in the semifinal between STMA vs Stillwater, and 21 out of 26 wrestlers in the final, were PINnacle participants.

Mack Reiter and I are stats guys. This year, he did most of the statistics. Here are a few of the stats from the MN and WI State Tournaments from wrestlers that have participated in PINnacle in the HS Post Season, HS Preseason, and HS During Season class this past year
- 116 State Entrants(new record)
- 17 State Champions, 31 Finalist, 72 placers(new record)
- Juniors(25) had more placers than Seniors(18), and Freshman(13) had more placers than Sophomores(12)
-7 PINnacle vs PINnacle finals
- Dominant weights include 5/6 placers at 106AAA, 120 AAA, and 182AAA. 4/6 placers at 160AAA, 126AAA, and 113AAA
- Not including HWT in AAA, PINnacle had 44/78 placers, 56%
- Tyler Wells scored 74 points in under 16 minutes
-Ryan Sokol went to the 2nd period....once
-Ballantyne wins his 4th, Thompson and Berge now with 3 Titles

Here are all that competed at the MN/WI State Tournament and results

MN and WI High School State Results      
           
First Name Last Name School Weight Class Place
Tyler Wells Princeton 106 AA 1st
Jore Volk Lakeville North 106 AAA 1st
Brayden Sonnentag Cadott 106 D3 1st
Joey Thompson Totino-Grace 120 AA 1st
Chase DeBlaere Simley 126 AA 1st
Reid Ballantyne Stillwater 132 AAA 1st
Cael Berg Simley 138 AA 1st
Ryan Sokol Simley 145 AA 1st
Trey Kruse Stillwater 145 AAA 1st
Kole Marko St Croix Falls 145 D3 1st
Hunter Lyden Stillwater 152 AAA 1st
Bryce FitzPatrick Mahtomedi 160 AA 1st
Carson Manville Shakopee 160 AAA 1st
Bennett Berge Kasson-Mantorville 170 AA 1st
Roman Rogotzke Stillwater 182 AAA 1st
Trett Joles Boyceville 182 D3 1st
Bennett Tabor Simley 220 AA 1st
Cash Raymond Simley 106 AA 2nd
Landon Robideau STMA 106 AAA 2nd
Zach Hanson Lakeville North 113 AAA 2nd
Paxton Creese Shakopee 120 AAA 2nd
Josiah Berg Boyceville 120 D3 2nd
Austin Gabbert Watertown Mayer 126 AA 2nd
Joey Novak New Prague 126 AAA 2nd
Ben Lunn Shakopee 132 AAA 2nd
Nick Novak New Prague 138 AAA 2nd
Charlie Stuhl Ellsworth 138 D2 2nd
Carl Leuer STMA 160 AAA 2nd
William Peters Chetek-Wey/Pr.F 160 D3 2nd
Gavin Nelson Simley 170 AA 2nd
Danny Striggow Orono 220 AA 2nd
Koy Buesgens New Prague 106 AAA 3rd
Calvin Lonnquist Wayzata 113 AAA 3rd
Matt Hogue Stillwater 120 AAA 3rd
Pierson Manville Shakopee 126 AAA 3rd
Logan Vaughan Kasson-Mantorville 132 AA 3rd
Cole Becker STMA 138 AAA 3rd
Zack Wells Princeton 145 AA 3rd
Ryder Rogotzke Stillwater 160 AAA 3rd
Max Ramberg Baldwin-Woodville 170 D2 3rd
Wyatt Lidberg STMA 182 AAA 3rd
Blaine Guthrie Baldwin-Woodville 182 D2 3rd
Joey Johnson Shakopee 195 AAA 3rd
Tommy Johnson Shakopee 220 AAA 3rd
Cael Robb Owatonna 106 AAA 4th
Parker Janssen STMA 113 AAA 4th
Colton Bornholdt New Prague 120 AAA 4th
Jerry Simes Dassel-Cokato-Litchfield 132 AA 4th
Ryan Scherber Buffalo 132 AAA 4th
Bryce Dagel Eden Prairie 145 AAA 4th
Adam Sylvester Totino-Grace 160 AA 4th
Tyler Raway Forest Lake 160 AAA 4th
Parker Venz Famington 182 AAA 4th
Jagger Schack Osseo 220 AAA 4th
Nolan Reiter Big Lake 106 AA 5th
Elijah Paulson Anoka 113 AAA 5th
Joe Montplaisir Zimmerman 120 AA 5th
Jed Wester STMA 120 AAA 5th
Javon Taschuk Stillwater 126 AAA 5th
Kieler Carlson Stillwater 138 AAA 5th
Jack Casey Shakopee 182 AAA 5th
Zachary Silvis Park 106 AAA 6th
Carter Ban Anoka 120 AAA 6th
Landen Parent Princeton 126 AA 6th
Brendan Howes Anoka 126 AAA 6th
Kyle Boeke Princeton 132 AA 6th
Alex Kowalchyk Coon Rapids 145 AAA 6th
Reid Lawrence Mahtomedi 152 AA 6th
Connor Thorsten Foley 160 AA 6th
Jaden Dukes Lakeville South 170 AAA 6th
Danny Reynolds Andover 182 AAA 6th
Josh Piechowski Stillwater 195 AAA 6th
Jack Nelson Mound-Westonka 106 AA DNP
Ethan Sylvester Totino-Grace 106 AA DNP
Tyson Charmoli St Francis 106 AAA DNP
Dylan Dauffenbach Stillwater 106 AAA DNP
Max Ricks Rogers 106 AAA DNP
Hunter Frost Farmington 113 AAA DNP
Spencer Johnson Sartell-Saint Stephen 113 AAA DNP
John Babineau Andover 120 AAA DNP
Landon Nebel Edina 120 AAA DNP
Taedon Nichols Luck/Frederic/Grant/Siren 120 D2 DNP
Eddie Simes Dassel-Cokato-Litchfield 126 AA DNP
Aiden Erickson Hastings 126 AAA DNP
Javan Kaufman Mounds View 126 AAA DNP
Isaiah Mlsna STMA 126 AAA DNP
Seth Nebel Edina 126 AAA DNP
Jared Spohn Sauk Rapids-Rice 126 AAA DNP
Charlie Dojan Irondale 132 AAA DNP
Travis Smith STMA 132 AAA DNP
Brandt Bombard North Branch 138 AA DNP
Aedon Oberdorfer St Paul Highland Park 138 AA DNP
Jacob Whitaker Anoka 138 AAA DNP
Dillon Browen Big Lake 145 AA DNP
Michael Loger Totino-Grace 145 AA DNP
Noah Kipp Eagan 145 AAA DNP
Andrew Sanders Minnetonka 145 AAA DNP
Austin Moscho Rocori 152 AA DNP
Bennett Bergmann Saint Croix Falls 152 D3 DNP
Kail Wynia Kasson-Mantorville 160 AA DNP
Brendan Dunagan Mounds View 160 AAA DNP
Peter Hansen Hudson 160 D1 DNP
Cole Ranweiler New Ulm Area 170 AA DNP
Hayden LeMonds STMA 170 AAA DNP
Mannix Morgan Mounds View 170 AAA DNP
Wyatt Nelson Forest Lake 170 AAA DNP
Chase Vought Farmington 170 AAA DNP
Antony Tuttle Stillwater 170 AAA DNP
Jacob Hansen Hudson 170 D1 DNP
Nate Kujawa Mahtomedi 182 AA DNP
Joey Lipinski St. Francis 182 AAA DNP
Hunter Gorecki Foley 195 AA DNP
Jacob Solheim Mounds View 195 AAA DNP
Aidan Winter Andover 195 AAA DNP
Nicholas Dauffenbach Stillwater 220 AAA DNP
Jade Trelstad Shakopee 285 AAA DNP