The Austin wrestlers beat Pine Island 38-25, but fell to Northfield 45-24 and Monitcello, which is ranked No. 22 in Class ‘AA’, 37-33 at the Farmington Invite Saturday.

“We struggled to get started in this tournament,” Austin head coach Bill Kinney said. “Our team entered the holiday break with a great deal of momentum, but we certainly didn’t pick up where we left off. I thought we had good workouts over the break, but we have a lot of work to do to get back to our pre-holiday form.”

The Packers were pinned 13 times in the tournament, including six times against Northfield.

“That is a problem we need to fix if we want to accomplish the goals we have set,” Kinney said.

The Packers had three All-Tournament wrestlers as Ethan Eggum, Michael Hirsch, and Brett Kraemer all went unbeaten in their three matches.

Hirsch, who is 11-1 on the season, had a big 9-6 win against Ben McPhail of Pine Island, who took fifth in the class ‘A’ state meet last year and is ranked No. 2 this season.

“Michael Hirsch had a very good day for us, beating two outstanding opponents and securing two pins,” Kinney said. “His match with Ben McPhail was very fun to watch.  I was hoping that they would send McPhail out against Mike. Michael dominated the match, leading 7-1 until late in the third period.”

Kraemer is now 8-5 and Eggum is 11-1 on the season.

“Brett Kraemer had his first undefeated tournament. He has wrestled very well for us this year. His leadership has been particularly valuable to our team,” Kinney said. 

“Ethan Eggum had an outstanding day on the mat with a pin, a major decision, and a hard-fought decision against one of Monticello’s best.”

Austin (3-3 overall, 2-1 Big Nine) hosts third-ranked Albert Lea Thursday at 7 p.m.

“It will be interesting to see if we can improve our effort on Thursday,” Kinney said.

RESULTS

Northfield    45    Austin 24   

103    Carson Canedy (N) pinned Jake Finnegan (A) 5:06

112    Brandon Canedy (N) dec. Colin Sheehan (A) 3-0

119    Luke Schwalbe (N) pinned Erick Power (A) 2:28

125    Matt Jaeckels (N) pinned Thao Doan (A) 1:13

130    Adam Woitalla (N) pinned Dylan Diekmann (A) 2:55

135    Brandon Holtorf (A) dec. Tyler Malecha (N) 4-2

140    Tristan Faust (N) pinned Zach Sauer (A) 1:13

145    Howie Underwood (A) pinned Logan Canedy (N) 4:45

152    Ryan Turnacliff (N) dec. Bryce Zahradnik (A) 6-5

160    Ethan Eggum (A) pinned Lucas Halden (N) :28 

171    Jordan Maniglia (N) dec. Brett Newell (A) 13-10

189    Michael Hirsch (A) pinned Derrick Jacobs (N) 3:55

215    Brett Kraemer (A) dec. Andrew Turnacliff (N) 6-1

285    Rob Allen (N) pinned Thomas Herrera (A) 5:46 

Austin 38      Pine Island 25

 103    Sam McPhail (PI) pinned Jake Finnegan (A) 1:07

112    Colin Sheehan (A) major dec. Mitchell Kukson (PI) 12-1

119    Brandon Arndt (PI) pinned Erick Power (A) 5:37

125    Thao Doan (A) won by forfeit

130    Eric Newman (PI) pinned Dylan Diekmann (A) 1:50

135    Brandon Holtorf (A) dec. Taran Turner (PI) 9-2

140    Roman Nordland (PI) dec. Zach Sauer (A) 2-0

145    Howie Underwood (A) dec. Tyler Turner (PI) 4-0

152    Bryce Zahradnik (A) dec. Bryant Weis (PI) 7-5

160    Ethan Eggum (A) major dec. Aaron Bye (PI) 12-4

171    David Kriske (PI) major dec. Brett Newell (A) 17-6

189    Michael Hirsch (A) dec. Ben McPhail (PI) 9-6   

215    Brett Kraemer (A) pinned Corey Sobeck (PI) 4:42

285    Thomas Herrera (A) pinned Aaron Waletzka (PI) 1:13

Monticello  37     Austin 33

103    Eric Baurebis (M) pinned Jake Finnegan (A) 1:37

112    Colin Sheehan (A) pinned Cody Black (M) :30

119    Alex Amrich (A) pinned Mark Hickman (M) 5:02

125    Ryan Michaelis (M) pinned Thao Doan (A) :53

130    Jake Schmitz (M) pinned Dylan Diekmann (A) 1:24

135    Tyler Mergen (M) pinned Lucas Akkerman (A) 3:37

140    Ben Schwertz (M) major dec. Zach Sauer (A) 11-1

145    Randy Ascher (M) dec. Howie Underwood (A) 7-6

152    Bryce Zahradnik (A) won by forfeit

160    Ethan Eggum (A) dec. Sebastian Gardner (M) 8-6

171    Joe Jude (M) dec. Brett Newell (A) 9-3

189    Michael Hirsch (A) pinned Zach Bond (M) 1:23

215    Brett Kraemer (A) won by forfeit

285    Jacob Barker (M) dec. Thomas Herrera (A) 4-2