Perham eliminates TRF in Section 8AA wrestling

by Scott DCamp Sports Editor Thief River Falls’ quest for a third section championship match appearance in the past four years came to an end Friday night with a 37-24 loss to Perham at Minnewaska Area in Glenwood. “The boys wrestled well, we just didn't have enough horses to get it done,” said Thief River Falls Head Coach Kenny Geiser. “All year that has kind of been our MO. I also think a few of the guys were a little stagnant as we didn't have too many matches the last couple weeks, so it was tough for them.” Friday night’s section semifinal was a rematch of the Prowlers’ first dual of the season. Thief River Falls faced Perham on Dec. 7 at the Bemidji Triangular, with the Yellowjackets defeating the Prowlers 51-20. The Prowlers are a much different team than they were at the start of the season, with six wrestlers weighing in at a lighter weight class for Friday night’s section match. The Yellowjackets, the number one seed in the east half of Section 8AA, were still favored over the Prowlers, who were seeded second in the west, but the match-ups were a little more favorable for the Prowlers in the second meeting. The Yellowjackets took an early 3-0 lead in the dual with Dresdan Wegscheid beating Lincoln Davis 6-5 at 107 pounds. The Prowlers got on the board and took their first lead with wins by fall from Brian Berg, who pinned Peyton Trout at 114; and Damian Kazmierczak, who pinned Alex Adams in 13 seconds at 121 pounds. Trailing 12-3, the Yellowjackets battled back with a 7-1 win by Isaac Adams over Nick Svir at 127; Chandler Mickelson with a win by fall over Aiden Eidelbes at 133; and Jonny Ramos with a win by fall over Elias Motta at 139. Down 18-12, the Prowlers hoped to get back in the match with a win or two from the middle of the lineup. Instead, the Yellowjackets extended their lead. At 145, Tiegan Detloff defeated Landen Larson by 14-6 major decision. At 152, Carson Beyer edged Ethan Lane 5-4; and at 160, Carson Zeise gave the Yellowjackets a 28-12 lead with a 9-2 win by decision over Brennen Johnson. The Prowlers began their final rally with a pair of first period wins by fall from Griffin Lundeen and Riley Poissant. Lundeen pinned Tryston Larson at 172 and Poissant pinned John Steeke to put the Prowlers right back in the dual. The Prowlers trailed 28-24 with two matches to go and they called on a familiar face to play the hero. In a 2020 section semifinal match between the two teams, eighth grader Kehan Nelson pinned Perham’s Josh Mellma in the third match of the dual. Nelson’s surprise win by fall helped the Prowlers overcome a 10-0 deficit and upset the top-seed Yellowjackets 38-32. Tasked with repeating history four years later, Nelson came close to throwing Perham’s Hudson Hackel in a headlock. Later, on the mat, he came close to catching Hackel out of position with a standing roll attempt. Nelson, who weighs in close to 30 pounds under the upper limit for 215 pounds, was unable to recreate history as Hackel won the match by fall late in the second period. Hackel’s win clinched the dual for the Yellowjackets. Rounding out the scoring for the Yellowjackets was Cash Burke with a 5-0 win over Jaydin Lee at heavyweight. Perham 37, Thief River Falls 24 107 - Dresdan Wegscheid (Perham) over Lincoln Davis (Thief River Falls) Dec 6-5; 114 - Brian Berg (Thief River Falls) over Peyton Trout (Perham) Fall 2:20; 121 - Damian Kazmierczak (Thief River Falls) over Alex Adams (Perham) Fall 0:13; 127 - Isaac Adams (Perham) over Nick Svir (Thief River Falls) Dec 7-1; 133 - Chandler Mickelson (Perham) over Aiden Eidelbes (Thief River Falls) Fall 0:28; 139 - Jonny Ramos (Perham) over Elias Motta (Thief River Falls) Fall 2:53; 145 - Tiegan Detloff (Perham) over Landen Larson (Thief River Falls) Maj 14-6; 152 - Carson Byer (Perham) over Ethan Lane (Thief River Falls) Dec 5-4; 160 - Carsen Zeise (Perham) over Brennen Johnson (Thief River Falls) Dec 9-2; 172 - Griffin Lundeen (Thief River Falls) over Tryston Larson (Perham) Fall 1:51; 189 - Riley Poissant (Thief River Falls) over John Steeke (Perham) Fall 0:48; 215 - Hudson Hackel (Perham) over Kehan Nelson (Thief River Falls) Fall 3:57; 285 - Cash Burke (Perham) over Jaydin Lee (Thief River Falls) Dec 5-0.