Wrestling: Paynesville sophomore enjoys a nice OT comeback
Mar. 3—ST. PAUL — Peyton Hemmesch was not about to lose another overtime match at the state wrestling tournament.
Last season as a freshman, the Paynesville standout's season ended in wrestlebacks with a 7-5 overtime loss.
In the Class A 182-pound state quarterfinals Friday at the Xcel Energy Center, Hemmesch was tied 4-4 with Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville's Tate Twardowski after three periods.
"It was a nice comeback there from last year," the Bulldogs' sophomore said.
In the extra period, Hemmesch dove at Twardowski's legs along the sidelines. The referee's whistle blew. A few seconds later, two points were called in Hemmesch's favor, sealing a 6-4 decision by sudden victory.
"Thank God; I was tired," Hemmesch said with a smile.
He continued, "I made a goal for myself this year to for sure place, if not make the top four. I got that much closer and it felt amazing."
Immediately after his match, Hemmesch went into the stands and rooted on teammate Spencer Eisenbraun as he also went to overtime in the 285 quarterfinals. Eisenbraun ended up falling 2-1 to Adrian's Cameron Wieneke in a 2-1 ultimate tiebreaker.
In the state rankings, Hemmesch (34-6) sat sixth while Twardowski was third. Hemmesch ended up getting the higher seed, sitting in fourth. With the overtime result, Hemmesch felt vindicated.
"It was nice to prove that I could keep that seed," said Hemmesch, who'll face top-seeded Anthony Sykora (47-1) in the semifinals Saturday.
Along with Hemmesch, six other area wrestlers reached the Class A semifinals.
Leading the group are the trio of top seeds in Benson's Thomas Dineen at 195, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg's Trey Gunderson at 120 and BOLD's Austin Kiecker at 152.
A two-time state champion, Dineen (47-0) opened with a first-period fall on Royalton/Upsala's Kaden Holm, followed by a 6-1 decision over United North Central's Shawn Hendrickson. He'll face Red Rock Central's Vander Mathiowetz in the semis. The two met in the regular season, with Dineen winning by 5-3 decision.
Gunderson (53-0) made short work of his opponents through the first two rounds. He pinned Tracy-Milroy-Balaton/Westbrook-Walnut Grove's David Schuh in 1:33 in the opening round. That was followed up by a 36-second fall over Pelican Rapids' Jed Carlson. Hoping to win his second consecutive state championship, Gunderson takes on St. Clair's Simon Kruze in the semis.
Kiecker (33-1) won by fall in his opening match over Caledonia/Houston's Isaac Blocker. He got into the semis following a 6-5 decision over Medford's Garron Hoffman. He'll face Crosby-Ironton's John Paul Fitzpatrick in the semis.
Fresh off a fourth-place finish in the Class A state tournament, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa has a pair of semifinalists in Maximus Hanson (46-1) at 170 and Ethan Spanier (39-5) at 220. Hanson takes on Medford's Tate Hermes. Spanier faces off with Jackson County Central's Caleb Vancura.
Minnewaska eighth-grader Miles Wildman (39-2) is the area's youngest semifinalist. He went 2-0 with back-to-back decisions. In the semis, he'll face Chatfield's Javier Berg.
The state experience from last season sticks with Conlan Carlson. As a freshman, he made a run to the Class AAA 126 finals.
Carlson is chasing that feeling again.
"That was one of the coolest experiences I've ever felt," Carlson said. "Just wrestling in front of all those fans and hearing the roar of the fans when a big move happens. I'm just ready for the experience again and ready to just let it fly and hopefully have a good ending to this year."
Competing at 138, Carlson (39-4) got through Day 1 unscathed. He pinned Forest Lake's Dayton Dale in 1:52 in the opener. In the quarterfinals, he trailed Shakopee's Connor Warren 3-2 after the first period.
"I wasn't expecting it," Carlson said about the deficit. "It was a slap in the face. But I got it going after that."
He went on to beat Warren with a 13-4 major decision.
"It was good for me to battle some adversity there," Carlson said. "It should be good for these later rounds. I'm feeling good and I think I'm peaking at the right time."
He'll take on St. Michael-Albertville's Parker Janssen in the semis. The two met at the Minnesota Christmas Tournament in Rochester. Janssen beat Carlson 4-2 in overtime.
"I've made a lot of adjustments," Carlson said, "so I'll be ready for him this time."
Even with an ailing right shoulder, Tate Link carries on.
The starting running back on Dassel-Cokato's football team, Link suffered the injury during Week 2. He went on to rush for 2,190 yards and 32 touchdowns on 300 carries.
He's also a top wrestler for the D-C/Litchfield Charging Dragons, carrying an undefeated record into state.
Even as he tweaked the hurt shoulder in the Class AA 182 quarterfinals against Morris Area/Hancock/Chokio-Alberta's Hunter Gibson, Link, a senior, gritted his teeth and finished the job. He advanced to the semis with a 10-5 decision.
"This is the best I've ever wrestled all year long," said Link, who is 33-0. "Usually I'm feeling kind of nervous. But right now I feel there's nothing that can stop me."
He opened the tournament with a 14-1 major decision over Aitkin's Jacob Williams.
Link is hoping to improve his fourth-place finish from state last season. He'll face Simley's Travis Smith in the semifinals. Smith is ranked first in the state while Link is third.
"I remember making a promise last year that I was going to make the finals," Link said. "That didn't happen and that drove me all summer. That carried over into football season. I didn't want to be the guy that loses. It played a huge role in my success in football and wrestling."
120
Cavin Carlson, Willmar (38-4): Carlson maj dec Keiichi Kong, Apple Valley, 15-2; Jacob Aho, Forest Lake, dec Carlson, 10-5; Carlson won by forfeit over Gabriel Cohn, St. Thomas Academy.
132
Sully Anez, Willmar (32-10): Anez maj dec Kellen Burger, Rochester Mayo, 15-2; Lincoln Vick, Waconia, dec Anez, 5-2; Anez dec Caden Grenier, Mounds View, 8-2.
138
Conlan Carlson, Willmar (39-4): Carlson pinned Dayton Dale, Forest Lake, 1:52; Carlson maj dec Connor Warren, Shakopee, 13-4.
170
Braeden Erickson, Willmar (38-5): Erickson dec Jack Ferguson, Shakopee, 7-1; Treytin Byers, Cambridge-Isanti, dec Erickson, 10-6; Erickson maj dec Calvin Brinkman, Irondale, 8-0.
182
Steven Cruze, Willmar (21-10): Dylan Peper, Rochester Mayo, pinned Cruze, 2:43.
195
Zander Miska, Willmar (20-20): Tyson Hentges, St. Michael-Albertville, dec Miska, 4-2.
106
Ben Gunlogson, United (40-3): Joel Friedrichs, W-M/ML, maj dec Gunlogson, 11-0; Gunlogson pinned Robby Sherk, Park Rapids, 3:37.
113
Isaiah Nelson, NLS (39-10): Nelson dec Kyler Sherk, St. Francis, 6-1; Logan Schwanz, Hutchinson, dec Nelson, 5-3 (OT); Noah Schaefer, Zumbrota-Mazeppa, dec Nelson, 4-2.
120
Victor Franco, D-C/Litchfield (12-3): Franco maj dec Shane Schwab, South St. Paul, 14-1; Tegan Sherk, St. Francis, pinned Franco, 4:45; Franco dec Nolan Campbell, Rock Ridge, 8-2.
126
Daniel Gunlogson, United (36-6): Gunlogson maj dec Isaac Williams, Scott West, 9-0; Calvin Singewald, Cannon Falls, dec Gunlogson, 3-1; Vance Barz, Sauk Rapids, dec Gunlogson, 6-4.
132
Kameron Sather, United (35-9): Nathan Nelson, Mora, dec Sather, 13-8.
138
Zander Clausen, United (38-7): Cooper Rowe, Mound-Westonka, tech fall Clausen, 16-0; Clausen dec Chase Becker, Pierz, 5-3.
170
Holt Larson, United (36-4): Hayden Schaefer, Mahtomedi, tech fall Larson, 15-0.
182
Tate Link, D-C/Litchfield (33-0): Link maj dec Jacob Williams, Aitkin, 15-5; Link dec Hunter Gibson, MAHACA, 10-5.
195
Parker Bothun, United (31-31): Corbin Knapp, PL/PRB, dec Bothun, 4-2.
285
Brady Rhode, United (38-6): Rhode tech fall Clayton Danielson, Grand Rapids, 16-0; Carter Geerts, Byron, dec Rhode, 5-0; Rhode pinned Owen Swedberg, Totino-Grace, 3:14.
106
Roman Roberg, Paynesville (22-12): Brady Murphy, WEM/JWP, pinned Roberg, 1:30.
Miles Wildman, Minnewaska (39-2): Wildman dec Ryder Antony, LCWM, 5-3; Wildman dec Beau Hudoba, Ogilvie, 9-2
120
Trey Gunderson, KMS (53-0): Gunderson pinned David Schuh, TMB/WWG, 1:34; Gunderson pinned Jed Carlson, Pelican Rapids, 0:37.
Chase Smith, Minnewaska (35-4): Simon Kruze, St. Clair, dec Smith, 4-2; Smith maj dec Braxton Lange, Caledonia/Houston, 8-0.
126
Brady Kiecker, BOLD (29-13): Eli Larson, Border West, maj dec Kiecker, 12-3; Dawson McGee, WHA/Nevis, dec Kiecker, 11-4.
132
Ryan Jensen, BBE (41-4): Jensen pinned Aiden Wolfe, Fosston/Bagley, 1:23; Bo Zwiener, Westfield, dec Jensen 4-3 (OT); Jensen pinned Mark Schiefelbein, Kimball, 0:52.
138
Wyatt Engen, BBE (37-7): Engen pinned Evan Schweisthal, Medford, 5:05; Cory Scanlan, Caledonia/Houston, dec Engen, 4-2 (OT); Engen dec Deagen Captain, BH/V/PP, 9-2.
145
Jett Olson, KMS (37-16): Logan Butzon, JCC, maj dec Jett Olson, 15-7; William Pilarski, Holdingford, dec Olson, 8-3.
152
Austin Kiecker, BOLD (33-1): Kiecker pinned Isaac Blocker, Caledonia/Houston, 4:42; Kiecker dec Garron Hoffman, Medford, 6-5.
160
Hunter Laage, BBE (22-26): Gavin Gust, Dover-Eyota, pinned Laage, 3:32; Byron Getchell, Maple River/USC, dec Laage, 3-1.
Jevon Williams, ACGC (37-4): Williams dec Logan Kuseske, Kimball, 5-0; Simon Snyder, New York Mills, pinned Williams, 5:30; Williams pinned Blake McMullen, Mahnomen/Waubun, 3:14.
170
Maximus Hanson, BBE (46-1): Hanson dec Sam Rock, Luverne, 9-2; Hanson dec Preston Mayfield, Frazee, 9-3.
182
Carson Gilbert, BBE (29-13): Kail Schott, Chatfield, dec Gilbert, 5-3; Gilbert maj dec Nick Slater, LCWM, 12-2.
Peyton Hemmesch, Paynesville (34-6): Hemmesch pinned Justin Koehn, BH/V/PP, 3:25; Hemmesch dec Tate Twardowski, LPGE/Browerville, 6-4 (OT).
195
Thomas Dineen, Benson (47-0): Dineen pinned Kaden Holm, Royalton/Upsala, 0:50; Dineen dec Shawn Hendrickson, United North Central, 6-1.
220
Terrell Renne, ACGC (28-13): Jordan Kroll, Barnesville, dec Renne, 7-3.
Ethan Spanier, BBE (39-5): Spanier dec Cashmere Hamilton-Grunau, Minneapolis North, 8-6; Spanier pinned Jordan Kroll, Barnesville, 2:27.
285
Spencer Eisenbraun, Paynesville (32-5): Eisenbraun maj dec Mason Marx, N-K/G, 9-1; Cameron Wieneke, Adrian, dec Eisenbraun, 2-1 (UTB); Eisenbraun pinned Jakob Duske, HLWW, 2:11.
