RF boasts two winners at Ellsworth Invitational

By Andrew Harrington
Posted 12/10/24

ELLSWORTH — The Ellsworth Invitational brought some top tier competition to town with all four Pierce County boys wrestling teams competing. River Falls’ Oliver Larson at 126 pounds and …

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RF boasts two winners at Ellsworth Invitational

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ELLSWORTH — The Ellsworth Invitational brought some top tier competition to town with all four Pierce County boys wrestling teams competing. River Falls’ Oliver Larson at 126 pounds and Jacob Hutchins at 190 pounds both took home individual titles in River Falls’ fifth place finish of 12 teams Saturday.

Spring Valley/Elmwood finished ninth, followed by Ellsworth in 11th and Prescott 12th. Though it was a tough challenge, each team had some bright spots and things to look forward to.

The Wildcats had a handful of top eight placements in addition to the champions, with Isaiah Black taking seventh at 106, Waylon Deaton in fifth at 120, Rieder Loomis in fifth at 132, Jonas Longsdorf in second at 138, Vinny Costablio in third at 144, Felix Wahlquist placing fourth at 165 and Chance Saumer taking fourth at 175.

“It was a tough tournament even though it was small, it’s always a tough one to start the year off with,” River Falls Head Coach Cam Loomis said. “We were pretty resilient throughout the day. We were scoring a lot of points that we kind of preach in practice is just to score and keep scoring, and I was happy with the effort throughout the day, and then we ended it really, really strong our last round.”

Larson, a sophomore, cruised into the finals with a pin and a tech fall before taking on a tough wrestler out of Holmen in Brock Needham. Larson left it all on the line to win 8-5 and take the win.

“He had a rough match Thursday and bounced back and looked like himself again,” Loomis said. “We look at him as a leader of the team and that’s kind of what he showed on Saturday.”

Another sophomore in Hutchins also impressed Loomis, winning 19-9, 18-1 and 21-5 over three matches.

“He dominated everybody,” Loomis said. “He made huge jumps from his freshman year to his sophomore year. I don’t know if I’ve seen anything quite like the jump he made.”

Loomis was also impressed by Longsdorf’s day, picking up a pair of pins before losing 7-2 in the finals against Holmen’s Noah Henderson.

After their first couple competitions, the Wildcats are looking to get better from the bottom, taking back control to advantageous positions.

“Being able to score in all three positions: top, bottom and neutral,” Loomis said. “We do a really good job on getting turns while we’re on top and we’re really good on our feet, but we’ve got to be more consistent when we’re on bottom getting our escape.”

SV/Elmwood

Spring Valley/Elmwood showed up against some of the top teams, with a second-place finish from junior Jack Steinmeyer at 215 leading the way. Other placements were Dane O’Meara in sixth at 113, Austin Krentz in seventh at 132, Sam Schmitt in fourth at 138, Shahrokhan Kaker in eighth at 144, Doost Kaker in seventh at 157, Asher Turner in third at 165 and Tyler Vanasse in fifth at 285. The eight placers were all the team’s varsity entrants in the event, and they also took home JV titles in the 106 (Cooper Prosser) and 175 (Robby Duffy) brackets.

“I'm very proud of the team's performance,” Head Coach Gable Frandsen said. “We battled every match and never gave up. When your athletes are giving it their all and are staying focused, as a coach, that is all that you can ask for.”

The team was one of the smallest in enrollment at the tournament, and they still found a way to showcase what they are capable of this season.

“Throughout the year, the team will focus on improving mindset, conditioning and technique,” Frandsen said. “We will review film, make small adjustments and get ready for our next competition.”

Ellsworth

Ellsworth’s top placement came from senior Austin Peterson taking second at 106, but the Panthers also saw placements from Noah Walker taking fourth at 113, Hunter Bench at eighth at 113, Parker Lampman in eighth at 120, Henry Penn in sixth at 144, Matthew Lundstrom in sixth at 157, Blake Nelson in fifth at 175, Breken Young in seventh at 215 and Jeremiah Johnson placing eighth at 285.

“I think we wrestled well. We battled really well and our kids fought,” Head Coach Carson Huppert said. “We lost some matches that we would like to get back that we will learn from.”

Peterson’s run was a good sign for the year individually, winning 16-0 and winning by a pin before falling in the finals 16-9 to highly ranked wrestler Reid Ihrke out of Plainview Elgin Millville.

Despite placing second to last as a team, Ellsworth had a significant number of placements individually, marking a good sign for the Panthers.

“I think everyone probably would have liked to place a little bit higher than they did, but, like I said before, that’s what we learn from,” Huppert said.

Prescott

Prescott had one top eight finisher in Carter Larsen, finishing seventh place at 165 pounds.

“I saw a lot of improvement,” Prescott Head Coach Ian Ruble said. “We saw a lot of kids kind of go a little deeper into the water. They decided to wrestle and put themselves in some more advantageous spots.”

Ruble said the grit was more evident at the tournament than it was at their opening meet previously. He gave credit to Larsen for placing at a tough tournament as a sophomore.

Getting the early challenge that they did, Prescott has seen what they need to improve at and now has a blueprint.

“It’s a really great way to see what you’re bad at,” Ruble said.

They are looking to capitalize on the new scoring system with three-point takedowns, working on scoring from positions on their feet. Bonus points are always vital in duals and tournaments, and the new scoring allows wrestlers to take advantage.

Ellsworth Invitational, Ellsworth Panthers, Spring Valley/Elmwood, River Falls Wildcats, Prescott Cardinals, wrestling