Win at 189 Blake Petrich had his W-DC opponent, Nolan Johnson, on his back in a cradle hold on the way to a pin in 3 minutes, 14 seconds. (Staples World photo by Kelley Kossan) The Staples Motley wrestlers took on two teams this week in dual meets held in the Staples gym, earning wins over both Wadena- Deer Creek and Barnes- ville.

The Cardinals defeated the rival Wolverines 51-13, and finished off the Trojans 52-15. The Cardinals were scheduled to host the Don Dravis Dual Tournament Saturday, but it was cancelled due to rain and icey roads.

The Cardinal wrestlers came out strongagainst the Wolverines on Jan. 19. Starting with a major decision by Blake Miller at 103, the Cardinals won 11 of the 14 matches. Jordan Heldman put down his opponent in just 1:41 with a fall. Brady Killian returned to the mat after being out with an ankle injury, and showed some great technique, pinning his rival in 3:29. Taylor Bendson won his match 9-5, while Jordan Bendson put his opponent on his back for a fall in 3:15. The next two wrestlers, Chandler Trout and Dylan Shequen, despite some tough competition by two of W-DC’s best athletes, both won their matches; Shequen with a tech fall and Trout with a decision. Blake Petrich had a fall, while both Ryan Detloff and David DeYonge won their matches with decisions.

Hosting the boys from Barnesville Thursday night, the Cards won 10 and lost four matches, with three SM starters out of the lineup. Taylor Bendson was on the bench due to a calf injury and Petrich and Shequen sat because they were in danger of going over the 36 match limit for the regular season. Fill-ins for the Cards stepped up, doing a great job. Travis Weite filled in at 145 and fought hard, but came up one takedown short, losing

the match, 9-8. Gavin Kadlec, who filled the 171 pound class, didn’t fool around and pinned his competitor in just 1:14. Cody Drone won his match at 189 by a score of 15-4. Miller, Jordan Bendson, and Trout

all recorded falls.

Coach Dan Bjerga said, “Heldman and Duberowski

wrestled two very smart matches to upset their opponents 3-1 and 1-0, respectively. Pogreba, who wrestled up a weight class against one of Barnesville’s tougher wrestlers, managed to control his opponent and hold him to just seven points. Although he lost the match, giving up just three team points is considered a win in my book.”

Coming up this week for the boys is a triangular on Thursday in Parkers Prairie, where they will also be wrestling against the Cowboys from Breckenridge along with the Panthers. The next day they will face the wrestlers from Pierz in a dual meet. The Don Drav- is Tournament cannot be made up due to scheduling conflicts.

“The team is wrestling very well right now,” Bjerga said “The things that we work on in the practice room have really started to show on the mat. I think the wrestlers are starting to see their hard work and dedication pay off. Our goal is to focus on the weeks ahead and continue to improve each and every match into the section tournament.”

Wrestling Results

Staples Motley 51, Wadena- Deer Creek 13

103: Blake Miller (SM) maj. dec Josh Lawson 13-1

112: Mitch Steffens (WDC) pinned Tyler Pogreba 3:04

119: Jordan Heldman (SM) pinned Devin Barthel 1:41

125: Brady Killian (SM) pinned Zack Bernu 33:29

130: Dylan Kylander (SM) win by forfeit

135: Jordan Rentz (WDC) dec Sam Duberowski 4-1

140: Jacob Wegscheid WDC) maj. dec Ryan Kobliska 10-2

145: Taylor Bendson (SM) dec. Derrick Rude 9-5

152: Jordan Bendson (SM) pinned Jacob Ludovissie 3:15

160: Chandler Trout (SM) dec. Aaron Uselman 15-9

171: Dylan Shequen (SM) tech fall Isaac Lustila 4:27

189: Blake Petrich (SM) pinned Nolan Johnson 3:14

215: Ryan Detloff (SM) dec. Tony Reurink 7-2

Hwt: David DeYonge (SM) dec. Tyler Wohlwend 8-4

Staples Motley 52, Barnesville 15 103: Blake Miller (SM) fall Stuart Brandt 5:03

112: Jordan Heldman (SM) dec. Seth Hirsch 3-1

119: Hans Peppel (B) dec. Tyler Pogreba 7-0

125: Hunter Olson (B) dec. Brady Killian 8-5

130: Sam Duberowski (SM) dc. Jacob Bashor 1-0

135: Andy Stout (B) fall Dylan Kylander 2:47

140: Brandon Flickinger (SM) win by forfeit

145: Trevor Nelson (B) dec Travis Weite (SM) 9-8

152: Jordan Bendson (SM) fall Matt Walters 0:42

171: Gavin Kadlec (SM) fall Cody Egge 1:14

189: Cody Drone (SM) maj. Kyle Johnson 15-4

215: Ryan Detloff (SM) win by forf.

Hwt: David DeYonge (SM) win by forf.