Eagles seeded eighth in section tournament

Photos by Tasha Geiser
Bode Roberts was one of two champions for the New York Mills Eagles at the Park Region Conference Tournament.

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Bode Roberts and Blake Unger captured first place at the Park Region Conference Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 3. Roberts won the 215 lbs. bracket by a major decision, while Unger took first place at 189 lbs. after securing a 1-0 decision in the finals. 

Blake Unger captured first place at the Park Region Conference Tournament on Feb. 3 in Osakis.

In their final dual of the regular season the Eagles fell to Border West by a score of 53-21. The loss drops NY Mills’ record to 9-11 overall in duals as they now turn their attention to the section team tournament, which will get underway this week. 

The Eagles received the eighth seeded in the section tournament and will host ninth seeded Otter Tail Central on Tuesday night. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals of the section tournament and will take on top seeded Osakis on Friday night at Wadena-Deer Creek High School. The quarterfinals, semi-finals and finals will all be wrestled on Friday with the champion advancing to the state tournament. 

Creed Mursu picks up nearfall points in the Park Region Conference Tournament on Feb. 3.

Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville received the fourth seeded and will take on fifth seeded Border West in the quarterfinals, while second seeded Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie will take on seventh seeded Pelican Rapids and third seeded West Central Area will take on sixth seeded Wadena-Deer Creek.

Elijah Geiser picks up some nearfall points during his match at the Park Region Conference Tournament recently.

Feb. 3

Bode Roberts and Blake Unger took first place and Creed Mursu finished in second as the NY Mills Eagles competed at the Park Region Conference Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 3. In all, eight Eagles placed in the top five overall in the eight team tournament. 

“Mursu, Unger and Roberts all wrestled well in the finals with Bode dominating a quality wrestler for his second Park Region Conference title,” said head coach Eric Niemi. “Our dual line-up is lean right now, but our individual wrestling continues to show how competitive we can be.”

Roberts improved to 29-3 overall when he secured a pin over Ethan Meyer of Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville in the semi-finals in just 24 seconds. In the finals, Roberts secured a 13-0 major decision over Braden Shamp of Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie to capture first place in the tournament. 

Blake Unger took first place and improved to 29-9 overall when he secured a pin in the quarterfinals and won by medical forfeit in the semi-finals. In the finals, Unger won a nail biting 1-0 decision over Alex Line of Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville to capture first place at 189 lbs. 

Mursu advanced to the championship match of the 121 lbs. bracket with a 14-5 major decision over Zackery Bruder of Osakis in the semi-finals. He fell to Isaac Grabow of Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie in the finals by an 11-3 major decision to take second place. 

Elijah Geiser took third place when he secured a pin over Mason Christianson of Otter Tail Central in the third place match at the 5:37 mark of the bout. He secured a thrilling 8-7 decision over Drew Sudbeck of Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville in the consolation semi-finals to advance to the third place match.

Grady Roberts also captured third place after he worked his way through the consolation bracket with a 9-2 decision over Ryan Peterson of United North Central in the consolation semi-finals and a 5-3 decision over Zach Bosman of Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie in the third place match. 

“Elijah and Grady had strong tournaments that will really help them in the section and next season as well,” said Niemi. “We have a very good conference right now so placing eight out of eight wrestlers with four top three finishes was a good day.”

As a team the Eagles finished in fifth place with a team score of 110 points. Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie won the tournament with a score of 178 points, while Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville took second with 163 points. 

114- 5th place- Quarterfinal – Cooper Rife (United North Central Warriors) 16-15 won by decision over Carlyle Tumberg (New York Mills) 8-17 (Dec 7-2), Cons. Round 1 – Carlyle Tumberg (New York Mills) 8-17 received a bye () (Bye), Cons. Semi – Ashton Pastian (Osakis) 26-12 won by major decision over Carlyle Tumberg (New York Mills) 8-17 (MD 18-5), 5th Place Match – Carlyle Tumberg (New York Mills) 8-17 received a bye () (Bye)

121- 2nd place- Quarterfinal – Creed Mursu (New York Mills) 23-13 received a bye () (Bye), Semifinal – Creed Mursu (New York Mills) 23-13 won by major decision over Zackery Bruder (Osakis) 22-18 (MD 14-5), 1st Place Match – Isaac Grabow (Bertha-Hewitt- Verndale -Parkers Prairie) 29-6 won by major decision over Creed Mursu (New York Mills) 23-13 (MD 11-3)

145- 3rd place- Quarterfinal – Fordyce Johnson (United North Central Warriors) 12-1 won by tech fall over Elijah Geiser (New York Mills) 13-19 (TF-1.5 4:03 (15-0)), Cons. Round 1 – Elijah Geiser (New York Mills) 13-19 received a bye () (Bye), Cons. Semi – Elijah Geiser (New York Mills) 13-19 won by decision over Drew Sudbeck (LPGE-Browerville Wolves) 19-13 (Dec 8-7), 3rd Place Match – Elijah Geiser (New York Mills) 13-19 won by fall over Mason Christianson (Ottertail Central Bulldogs) 16-13 (Fall 5:37)

152- 5th place- Quarterfinal – Tucker Hagen (Osakis) 21-20 won by decision over Austin Geiser (New York Mills) 21-17 (Dec 9-6),  Cons. Round 1 – Austin Geiser (New York Mills) 21-17 won by decision over Kylan Benning (Wadena-Deer Creek) 5-12 (Dec 8-1), Cons. Semi – Evan Bartholomaus (Red Rock Central) 28-8 won by decision over Austin Geiser (New York Mills) 21-17 (Dec 10-4), 5th Place Match – Austin Geiser (New York Mills) 21-17 won by decision over Tayden Soma (Ottertail Central Bulldogs) 2-9 (Dec 7-4)

160- 5th place- Quarterfinal – Joe Mann (New York Mills) 13-21 won by fall over Levi Evavold (Ottertail Central Bulldogs) 9-11 (Fall 3:16), Semifinal – David Revering (Bertha-Hewitt- Verndale -Parkers Prairie) 33-4 won by fall over Joe Mann (New York Mills) 13-21 (Fall 1:36), Cons. Semi – Dylan Recknor (LPGE-Browerville Wolves) 9-14 won in sudden victory – 1 over Joe Mann (New York Mills) 13-21 (SV-1 2-0), 5th Place Match – Joe Mann (New York Mills) 13-21 won by fall over Levi Evavold (Ottertail Central Bulldogs) 9-11 (Fall 2:35)

189- 1st place- Quarterfinal – Blake Unger (New York Mills) 29-9 won by fall over Landon Leitch (Ottertail Central Bulldogs) 1-2 (Fall 0:53), Semifinal – Blake Unger (New York Mills) 29-9 won by medical forfeit over Eli Roiko (United North Central Warriors) 23-4 (M. For.), 1st Place Match – Blake Unger (New York Mills) 29-9 won by decision over Alex Line (LPGE-Browerville Wolves) 21-10 (Dec 1-0)

215- 1st place- Quarterfinal – Bode Roberts (New York Mills) 29-3 received a bye () (Bye), Semifinal – Bode Roberts (New York Mills) 29-3 won by fall over Ethan Meyer (LPGE-Browerville Wolves) 7-17 (Fall 0:24), 1st Place Match – Bode Roberts (New York Mills) 29-3 won by major decision over Braden Shamp (Bertha-Hewitt- Verndale -Parkers Prairie) 22-13 (MD 13-0)

285- 3rd place- Quarterfinal – Matthew Wegscheid (Wadena-Deer Creek) 12-7 won by fall over Grady Roberts (New York Mills) 12-12 (Fall 5:44), Cons. Round 1 – Grady Roberts (New York Mills) 12-12 received a bye () (Bye), Cons. Semi – Grady Roberts (New York Mills) 12-12 won by decision over Ryan Peterson (United North Central Warriors) 21-13 (Dec 9-2), 3rd Place Match – Grady Roberts (New York Mills) 12-12 won by decision over Zach Bosman (Bertha-Hewitt- Verndale -Parkers Prairie) 6-5 (Dec 5-3)

Thursday

NY Mills won two of the final three matches wrestled on Thursday night, but couldn’t overcome an early deficit as they fell to Border West by a score of 53-21. 

Creed Mursu got the Eagles on the scoreboard at 127 lbs. when he secured a 1-0 decision over Tucker Hennessy. 

Austin Geiser secured a second win for the Eagles at 152 lbs. when he won by a fall over Owen Deal at 1:39. 

Blake Unger and Bode Roberts secured a pair of quick pins at 189 lbs. and 215 lbs. to end the scoring for the Eagles. 

Border West 53 New York Mills 21

107- Sykora, Drew (BW) over Forfeit (NYM) Forfeit

114- Martig, Brock (BW) over Forfeit (NYM) Forfeit 

121- Rikimoto, Zach (BW) over O`Dea, Elijah (NYM) Fall 4:37 

127- Mursu, Creed (NYM) over Hennessy, Tucker (BW) Decision 1-0 

133- Olson, Trig (BW) over Wallgren, Finn (NYM) Tech Fall 16-0 

139- Hennessy, Gunner (BW) over Forfeit (NYM) Forfeit 

145- Olson, Jude (BW) over Geiser, Elijah (NYM) Fall 3:35 

152- Geiser, Austin (NYM) over Deal, Owen (BW) Fall 1:39 

160- Peterson, Ben (BW) over Simpson, Weston (NYM) Fall 1:30 

172- Nachbor, Brody (BW) over Mann, Joe (NYM) Fall 2:47 

189- Unger, Blake (NYM) over Murphy, Alexander (BW) Fall 0:58 

215- Roberts, Bode (NYM) over Groebner, Tyler (BW) Fall 1:52 

285- Adelman, Noah (BW) over Roberts, Grady (NYM) Fall 1:09  

Friday

NY Mills brought its regular season to a close on Friday night at the Albany Purple Pride Invite.

The Eagles finished in seventh place with a team score of 53 points, while New London-Spicer won the nine team tournament with 199 points.

Individually, Creed Mursu led the way for the Eagles as he placed second at 121 lbs. Mursu opened the tournament with a pin in the quarterfinals, before winning an 8-4 decision over Carson Nelson of New London-Spicer in the semi-finals. 

In the finals, Mursu dropped a heart breaker to Jack Hamak of St. Cloud by a 6-5 decision to finish in second place. 

Blake Unger also placed second in the tournament when he secured a 6-0 decision over Zach Gruber of Albany in the quarterfinals and a 9-0 major decision over Larkun Kurth of Hutchinson in the semi-finals.

In the finals, Unger fell to Payton Scott of Pequot Lakes/Pine River-Backus by pin at the 2:31 mark of the match to finish in second place. 

114- Quarterfinal – Dylan Doherty (Zimmerman) 10-15 won by decision over Carlyle Tumberg (New York Mills) 8-19 (Dec 2-0), Cons. Semi – Gil Andreas Rafols (St Cloud Crush) 11-21 won by decision over Carlyle Tumberg (New York Mills) 8-19 (Dec 9-2)

121- 2nd place- Quarterfinal – Creed Mursu (New York Mills) 26-14 won by fall over Zander Spitzmueller (Zimmerman) 18-20 (Fall 3:29), Semifinal – Creed Mursu (New York Mills) 26-14 won by decision over Carson Nelson (New London-Spicer) 18-15 (Dec 8-4), 1st Place Match – Jack Hamak (St Cloud Crush) 23-9 won by decision over Creed Mursu (New York Mills) 26-14 (Dec 6-5)

127- Quarterfinal – Jeremiah Nelson (New London-Spicer) 25-13 won by fall over Finn Wallgren (New York Mills) 0-9 (Fall 0:53), Cons. Semi – Blake Iverson (Albany) 6-29 won by decision over Finn Wallgren (New York Mills) 0-9 (Dec 7-2)

145- 4th place- Quarterfinal – Elijah Geiser (New York Mills) 14-22 won by fall over Jackson Olsen (Pequot Lks-Pine River-B) 1-3 (Fall 2:38), Semifinal – Cody Tews (Hutchinson) 18-23 won by fall over Elijah Geiser (New York Mills) 14-22 (Fall 5:22), 3rd Place Match – Jake Rosenow (Becker) 8-22 won by fall over Elijah Geiser (New York Mills) 14-22 (Fall 4:34)

152- 6th place- Champ. Round 1 – Austin Geiser (New York Mills) 23-19 received a bye () (Bye), Quarterfinal – Everett Halvorson (New London-Spicer) 23-13 won by decision over Austin Geiser (New York Mills) 23-19 (Dec 7-4), Cons. Round 1 – Austin Geiser (New York Mills) 23-19 received a bye () (Bye), Cons. Semi – Austin Geiser (New York Mills) 23-19 won by decision over Rylan Plumley Champagne (New London-Spicer) 11-9 (Dec 3-2), 5th Place Match – Noah Neuman (St Cloud Crush) 13-17 won by decision over Austin Geiser (New York Mills) 23-19 (Dec 5-3)

172- Prelim – Carter Coauette (Crookston) 37-2 won by tech fall over Joe Mann (New York Mills) 13-24 (TF-1.5 5:45 (21-6)), Prelim – Maverick Kotschevar (Albany) 9-20 won by fall over Joe Mann (New York Mills) 13-24 (Fall 2:31)

189- 2nd place- Quarterfinal – Blake Unger (New York Mills) 32-10 won by decision over Zach Gruber (Albany) 5-21 (Dec 6-0), Semifinal – Blake Unger (New York Mills) 32-10 won by major decision over Larkun Kurth (Hutchinson) 11-20 (MD 9-0), 1st Place Match – Payton Scott (Pequot Lks-Pine River-B) 35-10 won by fall over Blake Unger (New York Mills) 32-10 (Fall 2:31)

215- 6th place- Quarterfinal – Paxton Goddard (Pequot Lks-Pine River-B) 9-18 won by fall over Ashton Lehmann (New York Mills) 5-9 (Fall 1:00), Cons. Semi – Ashton Lehmann (New York Mills) 5-9 received a bye () (Bye), 5th Place Match – Arik Killinger (Zimmerman) 9-16 won by fall over Ashton Lehmann (New York Mills) 5-9 (Fall 5:47)