The Packer wrestling team picked up two pins, two forfeits and some hard fought wins as they beat Winona 44-27 on ‘shooting to takedown cancer night’ in Ove Berven Gym Thursday.

Brandon Edgar and Aiden Wilson each picked up first period pins for Austin (4-9 overall, 2-4 Big Nine) and Eli Kaercher picked up his first home varsity win with a 7-4 decision at 220 pounds.

Kaercher, a sophomore, took a 4-1 lead in the first period and he held off Winona’s Foster Zittel in the the last two periods.

“It was a good match and it felt like everything was working,” Kaercher said. “Conditioning helped a lot. I felt like I had a lot more energy than he did. It’s really tough [wrestling 220 as a sophomore], but I think by the time I’m a senior, it’ll really help out.”

Austin junior Kole Igou had a big win for the Packers at 171 pounds. Igou was facing Winona’s Chris Wisted, who had beaten Igou last season, but Igou had the advantage Thursday as he won 15-4.

Igou took a 9-2 lead into the third period and he wrestled within himself and avoided making a big mistake.

“I’ve been wanting to wrestle him for a really long time and I knew it was going to be a tough match,” Igou said. “I knew it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. I didn’t try to jump the gun on anything. I just wanted to work with the things I knew.”

Igou is now 15-1 on the season and he credits practice workouts with teammates Mitch Tebay and Brandon Cotter to helping him improve.

Austin interim head coach Jer Osgood was pleased with how Igou and Kaercher wrestled in the win.

“Eli did a good job of staying in position and not making any mistakes,” Osgood said. “Kole’s worked hard in the practice room and it’s paying off. He’s improving and he’s a leader in the room. Kole did a very nice job of dictating the match and not backing down tonight.”

The Packers helped raise nearly $500 for cancer research on the night.

“I thought it was an excellent turnout,” Osgood said. “I have to give credit to the parents of the wrestlers who put this together and I thought they did a fantastic job.”

AUSTIN RESULTS

106: Christopher Romero (A) 10-2 maj. dec. over Jake Mueller (W)

113: Jack Vaselaar (W) pinned Danny Albarran (A) (1:56)

120: Aiden Wilson (A) pinned Aron Franzwa (W) (1:31)

126: Tristan Drazkowski (W) pinned Juan Rodrigues (A) (1:31)

132: Phillip Zynda (A) won by forfeit

138: Chase Pomeroy (W) 7-3 dec. over Nathan Brinkman (A)

145: Brandon Edgar (A) pinned Tristan Penic (W) (1:25)

152: Brandon Cotter (A) won by forfeit

160: Braden Eggum (A) 13-7 dec. over Jake Timm (W)

171: Kole Igou (A) 14-5 maj. dec. over Chris Wisted (W)

182: Mitch Tebay (A) won by forfeit

195: Mason Henke (W) pinned Pedro Ceballos (A) (4:28)

220: Eli Kaercher (A) 7-4 dec. over Foster Zittel (W)

285: George Weege (W) pinned Caleb Wahlen (A) (:36)