Mat Willner takes little time putting his opponent to his back before getting a pin. To see more photographs of this event, log on to http://cu.faribaultcountyregister.com

Blue Earth Area wrestlers defeated conference rival St. James 45-21 Thursday night at St. James.

The Bucs, ranked No. 8 in Class A, improved their conference record to 4-0 and 20-1 overall for the season.

BEA held a 15-9 lead after the Saints picked up a decision at 130 pounds and their fans had every reason to believe the hometown team would get another win at 135.

But, the Bucs Bryce Werner pulled off an 8-3 upset win over Ethan Hildebrandt, rated No. 1 at 125 pounds in the latest Class A rankings.

Werner’s win put his team ahead 18-9.

BEA won five of the next seven matches to seal the victory.

Mat Willner needed only 1:27 to keep his season record perfect at 24-0. He entered the match ranked No. 6 at his weight class in Class A.

BEA 45, St. James 21

103: Travis Hagedorn (BEA) dec. Isaac Carreon, 6-2.

112: Jake Wirtjes (BEA) pinned Justin Miest, 1:26.

119: Matt Tucholke (SJ) pinned D.J. Gronewald, 5:31.

125: Joe Franta (BEA) pinned Zach Romsdahl, 3:08.

130: Giovanni Alvarado (SJ) dec. Carter Hanson, 5-1.

135: Bryce Werner (BEA) dec. Ethan Hildebrandt, 8-3.

140: Eli Eggen (SJ) dec. Collin Nienhaus, 2-1.

145: Sinjin Bell (BEA) pinned James Woratschka, 2:10.

152: Dan Eckhardt (BEA) pinned Matt Westman, 3:48.

160: Sam Koch (SJ) pinned Cody Klinksiek, 1:38.

171: Tayler Swanson (SJ) dec. Cody Eckhardt, 8-3.

189: Taylor Andrews (BEA) dec. Matt Dahl, 3-1.

215: Mat Willner (BEA) pinned Dylan Wright, 1:27.

285: Jake Lee (BEA) forfeit.

BEA 58, St. Peter 3

Blue Earth Area wrestlers remained perfect in the South Central Conference defeating St. Peter 58-3 Friday night, Jan. 23, in Blue Earth.

The Bucs won 13 of 14 matches to improve their conference record to 3-0 and 19-1 for the season. While outcome of the meet was never in doubt, the crowd hung around to watch the marquee match of the night.

Buc heavyweight Jake Lee, ranked No. 3 in Class A, faced the Saints’ Brandon Zabel, undefeated and ranked No. 5 in Class AA.

The match proved to be a crowd pleaser, especially for the hometown fans.

After a scoreless first period, Lee took a 1-0 lead with an escape to start the second frame and maintained the slim edge going into the final period.

From the down position Zabel tied the match with an escape. Lee took the lead with a takedown with 27 seconds left in the final period.

But Zabel’s escape with 15 seconds remaining cut the lead to 3-2. Lee put the match away with another takedown with just seven seconds on the clock to make the final score 5-2. The Buc senior heavyweight improved his season record to 22-1.

At 215 pounds, BEA’s Mat Willner remained undefeated at 23-0 by pinning his opponent in just 1:05. He is currently ranked No. 6 at his weight class in Class A.

BEA 58, St. Peter 3

103: Travis Hagedorn (BEA) maj. dec. Hunter Rretzlaff, 13-4.

112: Nick Rydell (SP) maj. dec. Jake Wirtjes, 12-1.

119: D.J. Gronewald (BEA) pinned Dakota Haslip, :55.

125: Joe Franta (BEA) dec. Andy Bushell, 7-4.

130: Carter Hanson (BEA) pinned Ashton Bartlett, 4:56.

135: Bryce Werner (BEA) dec. Brian Zabel, 8-3.

140: Collin Nienhaus (BEA) dec. Andrew Doherty, 5-0.

145: Sinjin Bell (BEA) forfeit.

152: Dan Eckhardt (BEA) dec. Jim Wilkins, 3-0.

160: Tyler Johnsrud (BEA) dec. Tyler Chouinard, 9-8.

171: Cody Eckhardt (BEA) pinned Ricky Felty, 4:57.

189: Taylor Andrews (BEA) pinned Jared Shandy, 3:10.

215: Mat Willner (BEA) pinned Paul Bense, 1:05.

285: Jake Lee (BEA) dec. Brandon Zabel, 5-2.