Four Gators Punch Tickets to State

Four Gators punch tickets to state

By: Ryan Bergeron

After coming up short of punching a ticket to state wrestling tourney as a team, the Gators would have to shift their focus, having only one way to advance to state— the Section 8A Individual Tournament at Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton High School in Glyndon, February 19 and 20. In a weekend with plenty of tears and cheers, four Gators-- Owen Novacek (120-pound section runner-up), Nick Kaml (145-pound section champion), Cody Olson (160-pound section runner-up), and Ely Novacek (285-pound section runner-up)--advanced to the Minnesota State High School League State Wrestling Tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, February 25-27.

“Individual sections is always a fun time of year, but it is also can be full of highs and lows and we definitely had both,” Gator Head Coach Todd Bergeron said. “As a coach it is always fun to see your kids reach their goals but on the other end of the spectrum it is very tough to see careers come to an end. We have several seniors and I am very proud of this group and the hard work they have put in. I know our remaining four wrestlers will head down to the cities and get after it.”

Leading the way, Kaml brought home the first individual section title for the Gators since Devin Dostal and Tomm Ingle in 2013, according to a BGMR Wrestling History document. Kaml achieved this feat in come-from-behind fashion against an opponent he lost to earlier in the season. Kaml reached the finals with a first period pin and major decision over Frazee’s Tanner Eischens.

In the finals, Kaml, ranked eighth in the state, would face a familiar opponent in United North Central’s Tom Tellers, a 2015 state placer and second-ranked wrestler, according to the latest Guillotine Wrestling rankings. At the Wadena-Deer Creek Invite, the first tournament for the 2015-16 Gators, Kaml fell to Tellers 7-3.

This time around, Kaml surrendered the first period takedown and trailed 2-1 heading into the second period. Riding out Tellers the entire second period, Kaml scored an escape to tie the match at two in the third, setting up a down-to-the-wire finish. Allowing Tellers to get in on a shot, Kaml worked out of it and scored the takedown with less than 30 seconds left, drawing the Gator crowd to cheers. A senior, Kaml rode out Tellers the rest of the way to capture the 145-pound Section 8A title and advance to his second state tournament.

Three other Gators may not have section titles but still advanced to the state tourney. One of those Gators, Owen Novacek, ranked tenth in the latest state polls, advance to the finals with a technical fall and a 12-5 win over Mahnomen-Waubun’s Mike Bisek. These victories set Novacek into a match-up with an opponent he faced three times throughout the season-- Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton’s Matthew Pollock. Novacek defeated Pollock in the first two meetings, but fell in the latest one.

In this section final match-up, Novacek trailed 3-1 in the third period before scoring a takedown at the edge of the mat to tie the match. Electing to give Pollock the escape with under a minute to trail 4-3, Novacek tried for the winning takedown but wouldn’t get it, falling 4-3. Not having faced the third-place finisher-- United North Central’s Ben Johnson--in the tourney yet, Novacek would have to wrestle a true-second match for the second straight year, losing the first time around by pin. Novacek flipped the script, getting out to an early lead and pinning Johnson 45 seconds into the second period to capture his first state tourney berth.

Senior Cody Olson knew he would advance to the state tourney before stepping to the mat for his championship match. The third seed in his weight class, Olson defeated Fertile-Beltrami’s Chris Moser with a third period pin to set up a semifinal match with second-seeded Toby Hintzman of United North Central. Jumping out to a 4-1 lead, Olson surrendered a third period escape and stall point to hold just a 4-3 lead late, but hung on by the same score to advance to the finals.

In the finals, Olson faced seventh ranked and 2015 state placer Justin Dravis of Park Rapids Area to catch and pin him 30 seconds into the second period. Both wrestlers Olson defeated in the tournament advanced into the third place match, meaning that no matter what had happened in the championship or the third place match, Olson would not have to wrestle a true-second match and advance to his first state tournament.

A senior, Ely Novacek secured another Gator state bid and the first of his career. He advanced to the 285-pound finals with a first period pin and second period pin over Park Rapids Area’s Chris Baxter. This advanced Novacek into a championship match-up with Frazee’s Tanner Tappe, an opponent he had wrestled twice during the season. Defeating him in overtime the first time and falling by pin in the team tourney a week prior, Novacek allowed Tappe to pin him again, this time 33 seconds into the third period. Since Baxter finished third, Novacek automatically finished second to advance to the state tourney.

Not advancing to their respective finals, two Gators battled back from semifinal losses and into true second matches, but would come up short to finish third.

The first, Avery Augustson (106) defeated Mahnomen-Waubun’s Sam Olsen 6-4 in the third-place match, giving him the opportunity to face Frazee’s Michael Miller, an opponent Augustson lost 14-5 a week prior. Trailing 4-1 in the third period, Augustson would get out front of Miller and run a g-roll, scoring a takedown and almost taking Miller to his back. Augustson later surrendered an escape and, with less than ten seconds remaining, a takedown to fall 7-3.

The other true second match opportunity featured the Gators’ Seth Dostal (182). Dostal defeated Mahnomen-Waubun’s Nick Podlak 9-8 in the third-place match, giving him the chance to wrestle Fertile-Beltrami’s Wyatt Beauchane. Dostal would get caught and thrown to his back in the first period, falling by pin at 1:15 mark.

Three other Gators finished third, but would not get a true-second match, including Isaak Isane (126), Devin Dostal (152), and Devin Pries (195), each falling in narrow semifinal matches.

A senior, Isane led his semifinal match 2-1 late in the third period, but surrendered an escape to Mahnomen-Waubun’s Shawn Neisen to fall 3-2. The next day, Isane won by pin to advance into the third place match, giving him career victory number 100. He pinned Roseau’s Ben Olson to finish his high school career.

Another senior, Devin Dostal faced Park Rapids Areas’ Cody Dravis, an opponent he defeated 5-3 in the team section tourney a week before, in the semifinals. This time around, both wrestlers threw each other in a back and forth, action-filled affair. Dostal eventually fell 15-11, but responded by punctuating his high school career with two pins.

In his semifinal match, Pries faced Jake Worms, an opponent he faced three times during the season, winning the first go around, but losing the last two. In the fourth match-up, Pries would get to an early lead, but allow Worms to come back and take a 7-3 lead. Pries scored a reversal in the closing seconds to fall 7-5. He ended his tournament with a first period pin and second period technical fall.

Bryce Bergeron (113), senior Trevor Undeberg (138), and Dominik Vacura (170) each finished fourth. In his final year, Undeberg also experienced a narrow semifinal defeat. Tied at three late in the third period with Park Rapids Area’s Jared Sunram, a 2015 state qualifier and an opponent he defeated 5-3 at this year’s Prowler Invite, Undeberg surrendered the winning takedown to fall 5-3.

Rounding out the Gator placing, Nash Sovde (132) and Ethan Novacek (220) finished fifth, meaning all 14 Gators wrestlers finished fifth or higher in the section tournament.

Gator brothers Isaak and Tyler Isane also brought home a special honor, the Marilyn and Dean Fox Award, given to individuals in the wrestling community having gone through adversity in their lives. After their names were announced, the entire crowd gave the brothers and sister Jenessa a standing ovation as they accepted the award.

Competing in the first state tournament to seed the top eight wrestlers, the four Gators’ first round state tourney match-ups are set. At 120, Owen Novacek (31-11) will face Spectrum’s Esteban Tiegan (8-0). At 145, Nick Kaml (36-5), seeded fourth in his weight class, will battle Pierz’s Jalen Jansen (25-11). At 160, Cody Olson (15-16) will face Minneota’s Leo Buysse (24-3). At 285, Ely Novacek (33-8) will battle Pipestone’s Blake Wolters. First round individual Class A action begins from the Xcel Energy Center on Friday, February 26 at 1 pm.