Wrestling Dominates Lakeville South in Home Opener
Apple Valley earned a convincing victory over Lakeville South on Friday.
Apple Valley defeated Lakeville South 55-8 on Friday, earning a resounding victory in their first home dual of the season.
The Eagles started out hot, with eighth grader Maverick Whitethorn (106) and sophomore Regan Schrempp (113) both winning by fall in the first two matches. The Cougars forfeited the 120-pound match, giving the Eagles a 18-0 lead after only one and a half minutes of wrestling.
Apple Valley eighth grader Maverick Whitethorn pins South’s Peyton Hermann.
Apple Valley’s only two stumbles came at the 126 pound class, where AVHS freshman Cade Sundgaard lost 11-1 in a major decision to South’s Ryan Cripe, and at 145, where LSHS junior Jacob Rathke defeated another freshman, Demetrius Seals, by a score of 12-2, earning the Cougars’ other major decision.
Head coach Josh Barlage was pleased with how his underclassmen and JV wrestlers competed, saying, “It’s always good for those guys to get some experience […] in a tough, physical sport like wrestling, you never know when your number’s going to get called. For some of those guys it was tonight, and they got a little bit tougher today.”
After the loss at 145, the Eagles cruised through the remaining middle and upper weights. Senior captain Nate Larson fought South’s Willie Bastyr for a 2-0 decision, and junior Devin Roberts was able to battle through a second period shoulder injury to pick up a 10-2 major decision.
Apple Valley junior Devin Roberts (right) faces off with Jaden Dukes of Lakeville South.
A highlight of the evening came for Apple Valley senior Tony Watts, who earned his 150th career victory with a second period pin of Brendon Bischof. Junior Michael Mattison also won by fall at 182. After sophomore Tony Anger picked up the Eagles’ seventh pin of the night, both teams declared they were “open” at both 220 lbs. and 285 lbs (meaning they had no one to wrestle), keeping Apple Valley senior and world champion Gable Steveson off the mat.
AVHS junior Michael Mattison shakes hands with sophomore Will Stone after defeating Stone by fall.
Despite the big win, Barlage appreciated the opportunity to keep the starters fresh and give some much-needed experience to the backups. “We always look forward to competition because it gives us time to showcase the improvements we’ve made, and to perform. Maybe not the closest dual we’ve had, but there were some good battles, and our guys are continuing to get better every week.”
