The quest for a state title begins today for many area athletes.

Friday, March 02, 2001

The quest for a state title begins today for many area athletes.

As far as number of participants, no one is better represented than the Hayfield wrestling team. Five wrestlers from the No. 10 ranked team in the state will wrestle for individual titles. The Hayfield squad is especially strong at the lighter weights.

The Vikings’ Steven Emerick (23-14) will represent the team at 103 pounds. He will wrestle fellow freshman David Cunningham (30-8) of Meadow Creek C/ACA in the preliminary round.

Hayfield junior Joe Gunderson (27-7) tackles Todd Traen (27-6) at 112 pounds.

Viking freshman Shane Masching (28-6) will face one of the favorites in the 119-pound class, senior Aaron Solberg (34-2) of Meadow Creek C/ACA.

Senior Jason Masching (29-6), at 145 pounds, has the unusual task of meeting a wrestler with a losing record – junior Thomas Borst (16-21) of Waterville-Elysian-Morristown. With a win in the preliminaries, Masching’s next probable opponent would be Seth Bullerman (33-2) of Adrian in the quarterfinals.

Hayfield senior Ryan Hegna (30-4) got a rough draw at 160 pounds but he should be up for the challenge against formidable opponent Tony Schlaak, an unbeaten senior (31-0) from NRHEG.

Austin High School will send four wrestlers on to the state in Class AAA.

Undefeated freshman T.J. Parlin (29-0) begins in an impressive 112-pound bracket with four wrestlers having a total mark of 89-10. Parlin will face senior Dan Briseno (15-3) of Saint Paul Como Park in the preliminary round. The AHS freshman was the Section champion at his weight class this year and was third at state in the 103-pound class last season.

Spencer Wolner’s task is not any less difficult. The Packers’ junior, a runner-up at Sections, will meet Matt Svihel (22-2) of Totino Grace. Svihel was sixth at 112 pounds last year.

The overachieving Drew Oesterle (19-11) also has a tough draw. The AHS senior, second at Sections, will go against Brian Hackenmueller (30-5) of Elk River.

The Packers’ Chad Mentel (32-1) may have drawn a good preliminary match. The AHS senior will face senior Matt Schmitt (25-11) of St. Paul Central. With a victory, though, Mentel will probably meet similarly once-beaten senior Chad Conner (29-1) of Osseo in the quarterfinals. Mentel was fifth in this weight class at state last year.

Southland sends two wrestlers on to state with a chance of advancing.

Sophomore Adam Landherr (29-2) opens with what promises to be a very competitive match with junior David Eckstein (29-5) of Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity.

Sophomore Zach Stratton (33-5) drew a difficult preliminary opponent in once-beaten freshman Seth Beyer (25-1) of Martin County West.

Blooming Prairie sends a freshman and a senior on to state.

Freshman Luke Nelson (18-15) draws the unenviable task of facing unbeaten senior Matt Jones (30-0) of Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial.

Blooming Prairie senior Rob Meyerhofer (24-3) looks to end his high school career on a high note. The heavyweight meets senior Andy Larson (21-7) of Belegrade-Brooten-Elrosa in the preliminaries. With a win, his challenge becomes more difficult in a probable matchup with Ryan Rosin (32-1) of Nicollett.

In swimming and diving, Austin’s Beau Webber strives to continue his excellent season with a solid showing at state. The sophomore was runner-up for a Sectional title.

"He wants to improve," said AHS coach Lynn Gulbrandson. "He was 11th last year."

AHS hockey hunts title

In hockey, the Austin High School boys team goes for a Section 1AA crown at 7 p.m. against a team it has beaten twice this season, Rochester Century.

But Century has proven it is not the same team it was earlier in the year. The Panthers shut out Mayo, 4-0, in the one semifinal game while the Packers were handing Owatonna a 5-1 defeat.

An interesting aspect of this game will be AHS’ frontline against Century’s outstanding goaltending. The game is being played at the Rochester Recreation Center, Century’s home ice.

In girls basketball, AHS travels to Owatonna to take on the Section 1AAA No. 3 seed at 7 p.m.

The Packers split the regular season series winning 57-56 at home and losing 58-48 in Owatonna.

AHS completed the regular season with freshman Lisa Bue leading the team in scoring with an 11.7 average. Stephanie Eslinger was second at 7.6, Amy Kelly third at 7.4, Stacy Fisher fourth at 6.8 and Bridget Burzinski fifth at 6.5.

Burzinski led the team in assists with 4.1 a game and steals with 2.8. Bue was the leading rebounder at 6.4.