Huskies Wrestlers Earn Trip Back to the State Tournament

For the 12th time in school history, the Owatonna wrestlers qualified for the state tournament Saturday. It's their first team appearance at state since 2013.

The top-seeded Huskies beat Northfield 48-19 in the Section 1AAA semifinals, coming back from a 13-3 deficit after a Raider pin at 126 pounds. Owatonna picked up four straight pins after that with Trevor Schroeder, Bryce Goodwin, Peyton Robb and Cade King all recording first-period falls. Robb's pin at 145 gave the Huskies the lead for good.

Brandon Moen, Griffin Thorn and Goy Tut added pins to cap the 48-19 victory.

In the finals, OHS lead wire-to-wire in beating Faribault 37-22. Landen Johnson, Kaden Nelson and Haden Fox all won by decision. Nelson's win came in overtime. The Falcons won the next two matches to pull within 9-7. Goodwin won by major decision at 138 pounds, followed by pins from Robb and King for a 25-7 Owatonna advantage.

Nick Staska and Moen had back-to-back pins at 170 and 182 to clinch the title, the Huskies' first since 2013 and their 12th overall. Owatonna has won the state title four times.

The state wrestling tournament is March 2-4 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The team tournament is a one-day event. Section individuals are February 24-25 at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester.

Also on Saturday, defending state A champion Kenyon-Wanamingo eliminated Westfield 48-16 in the Section 2A semifinals. The Knights edged Blue Earth Area 33-28 for the section title in a match that came down to heavyweight.

Zumbrota-Mazeppa captured the Section 1A crown with a 36-23 victory over Goodhue. Kasson-Mantorville completed its domination of Section 1AA with a 56-7 triumph over Albert Lea Area in the finals. The Komets' overall score in their three matches was 203-10.