Joe Drennan
Sports EditorWith Bob Dettmer back in command of his team, the Rangers wrestling team started the season with a commanding victory over Park (Cottage Grove) and a third place finish at the St. Francis Tournament.
The Rangers opened their season with a 55-19 victory over the Wolfpack of Park (Cottage Grove).
ìItís always good to get that first match under your belt,î Dettmer said. ìMany times the athletes are not sure where their conditioning is and they have first match jitters and all those components that go with competition. Itís good to get that out of the way with success.î
The Rangers defeated the Wolfpack as Derek Peterson pinned his opponent, Matt Marone. Luke Opsahl was also a winner. Other wins came at the 112 weight class as Clayton Harrison beat Tyler Unger 16-0 on a technical foul, at the 130 weight class Tony Brown won by a fall over Tyler Wittezand in 2:58, John Denney won by technical foul over Jake Ruteledge in the 135 weight class. In the 140 weight class, Patrick Taylor beat Dave Bebau, by a fall in 5:57, Jimmy Underahl beat Damian Dancies at 145, and Jordan Kolbow defeated Mike Star by a fall in 1:23 at the 152 weight class. Andy Ramirez beat Kule Knop in 1:30, and Ryan Turry won the 171 weight class by forfeit.
After beating Park (Cottage Grove), the Rangers participated in the St. Francis Tournament that featured Anoka, St. Francis, Cooper, Fridley, Lakeville, Virginia, and Minneapolis Roosevelt. The Rangers finished in third place with 188‡ points, behind first place Anoka and second place host St. Francis.
ìIt was a really good tournament with some really tough teams there,î Dettmer said. ìAnoka and St. Francis are good teams and we did very well against some of their wrestlers.î
The Rangers had five of its 14 varsity wrestlers place in the tournament.
ìHaving the guys place definitely adds to the points of your team score,î Dettmer said.
Eric Morris was the runner-up at the 119 weight class. John Denney was the champion at 135, Patrick Taylor was the runner-up at 140, and Jimmy Underahl was the champion in the 145 weight class. Jordan Kolbow was a runner-up at the 152 weight class, Luke Opsahl placed third at 103, Clayton Harrison placed fourth at 112, and Matt Joyer placed sixth at the 125 weight class. Tony Brown was a fifth place finisher at 130, Andy Ramirez placed third at 160, Ryan Turry was a fifth place finisher at 171, and Phil Osterbauer placed fourth in the 189 weight class. Jake Brown took third in the 215 weight class, and Derek Peterson placed fifth as a heavyweight.
ìThe first few competitions gives the coaching staff a chance to see what we need to look at techniques wise and we can implement that into our practice plan,î Dettmer said. ìThe wrestlers can see where they stand conditioning wise and mental toughness and put that into practice this week.î
The Rangers next meet is today at Mounds View. The match begins at 6 p.m. The Rangers will travel to Rochester to take part in the Minnesota Christmas Tournament this weekend at the Regional Recreation and Sports Center in Rochester. Matches begin at 2 p.m. on Friday and 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
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