Blue Earth Area’s wrestling head coach wasn’t there to see the return of the team’s 195-pound standout Thursday night.

Kysten Zierke sparked a 38-30 comeback win over the St. Peter Saints in a dual held in Blue Earth.

The Bucs were trailing 30-22 when the Class A No. 7-ranked Zierke pinned his opponent in 1:18.

Senior Micah Twedt followed with a 10-1 major decision at 220 pounds to give BEA a 32-30 lead.

That set the stage for heavyweight Martin Granados.

“They gave me the lead and I didn’t want to let the team down. I just wanted to keep going after him and not stop,” says Granados. “It was crazy.”

The Buc sophomore scored the first two points in the match before getting a pin in 1:45 to secure a team victory.

Long-time assistant coach Dave Pfaffinger was filling in for head coach Randy Wirtjes.

Pfaffinger breathed a sigh of relief, saying the Saints are a good, tough squad.

“I knew we were going to be pushed like we couldn’t believe. At our lower weights we’re young and inexperienced. Every single point we could save and earn was going to make the difference. It turned out to be huge tonight,” he says.

BEA spotted the Saints 21 points before Mike Ankeny won on a 7-2 decision at 132 pounds.

Jesse Alleven won on a forfeit at 138 and Luke Schavey’s 10-6 win at 145 cut into the Saints lead to make the score 21-12.

At 152, David Franta earned a 17-2 tech fall in 3:13 and No. 5-ranked 160-pounder Carter Hanson gave his team its first lead at 22-21 with a 15-0 tech fall in 5:19.

The Saints took a nine-point lead into the final three matches when the Bucs forfeited at 170 and Ashton Bartlett earned a 9-2 decision over No. 9-ranked 170-pounder Gus Phillips in the 182 match.

BEA 38, St. Peter 30

106: Joey More (St. Peter) pinned Zach Buseman, 1:30.

113: Shaun Timmerman (St. Peter) pinned Camden Bowers, 1:42.

120: Chris Pettis (St. Peter) pinned Wyatt Tungland, :49.

126: Collin Thompson (St. Peter) dec. Jordan Stelter, 7-3.

132: Mike Ankeny (BEA) dec. Cody Kurth, 7-2.

138: Jesse Alleven (BEA) wins by forfeit.

145: Luke Schavey (BEA) dec. Steven Pettis, 10-6.

152: David Franta (BEA) tech fall Bailey Kurth, 17-2, 3:13.

160: Carter Hanson (BEA) tech fall Kyle Bosacker, 15-0, 5:19.

170: Dylan Connor (St. Peter) wins by forfeit.

182: Ashton Bartlett (St. Peter) dec. Gus Phillips, 9-2.

195: Kysten Zierke (BEA) pinned Anthony Putz, 1:18.

220: Micah Twedt (BEA) maj. dec. Travis Brock, 10-1.

285: Martin Granados (BEA) pinned Nick Milliman, 1:45.

BEA 63, Waseca 21

The Buc wrestling team used three pins and six forfeits for an easy 63-21 South Central Conference victory in Waseca on Friday, Jan. 11.

Adam Legred gave BEA an early 3-0 lead with a 5-2 win over Noah Schmidt at 106 pounds.

Three straight forfeit wins and pins by 132-pounder Mike Ankeny in 56 seconds and Jesse Alleven in 23 seconds increased the Bucs lead to 33-0.

Bluejay Tristan Hoy put three points on the scoreboard for his team with a 4-1 decision over Luke Schavey at 145 pounds.

Again, the Bucs received three consecutive forfeit wins, David Franta at 152 pounds, Class A No. 5-ranked Carter Hanson at 160 and Class A No. 9-rated Gus Phillips at 170.

Waseca picked up 12 points, with Dylan Winegar recording a pin at 182 and Class AA No. 8-ranked 220-pound Jacob Claybaugh pinning his opponent in 3:31.

Heavyweight Martin Granados closed out the scoring for the Bucs, needing just 54 seconds to pin Sam Sierra.

106: Adam Legred (BEA) dec. Noah Schmidt, 5-2.

113: Camden Bowers (BEA) won by forfeit.

120: Alec Huber (BEA) won by forfeit.

126: Jordan Stelter (BEA) won by forfeit.

132: Mike Ankeny (BEA) pinned Sergio Garcia, 0:56.

138: Jesse Alleven (BEA) pinned Jackson Julian, 0:23.

145: Tristan Hoy (WAS) dec. Luke Schavey, 4-1.

152: David Franta (BEA) won by forfeit.

160: Carter Hanson (BEA) won by forfeit.

170: Gus Phillips (BEA) won by forfeit.

182: Dylan Winegar (WAS) pinned Chris Ramos, 2:46.

195: Double forfeit.

220: Jacob Claybaugh (WAS) pinned Micah Twedt, 3:31.

285: Martin Granados (BEA) pinned Sam Sierra, 0:54.

Bucs go 4-1 at dual tourney

Blue Earth Area wrestling team won four times and lost once at Estherville-Lincoln Central duals held Jan. 12.

Posting 5-0 records were Class A No. 5-ranked at 160 pounds Carter Hanson, Class A No. 9-rated at 170 Gus Phillips and heavyweight Martin Granados.

Going 4-1, were Jordan Stelter at 126 and 152-pounder David Franta.

Mike Ankeny was 3-2 at 132 pounds and Jesse Alleven also was 3-2 at 138.

BEA’s lone loss came to perennial power Linn-Mar 48-18, after opening with a 52-16 win over host ELC.

The Bucs also beat Sioux City Heelan 65-12, Spirit Lake Park 43-32 and Forest City 40-31.