Jackson County Central will get a chance to defend its Class A title when the team portion of the State Tournament opens on Feb. 28 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

The No. 1-ranked Huskies pinned their way through the competition for another title at the Section 2A team championships held Feb. 16 in New Richland.

In the first round of State competition, the No. 1-seeded Huskies (21-2) face unseeded Barnesville (23-1).

The winner faces either No. 5-seeded Chatfield (29-1) or No. 4 seed Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg (16-2).

JCC downed New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva 45-18, before dominating United South Central (USC) 49-19 in the finals.

“We knew going in we could win some matches in the lower weights. But, we didn’t have enough firepower to matchup and wrestle with a team like that,” says USC head coach Marcus Eytcheson.

The Rebels trailed only 13-12 after splitting the first six matches.

JCC then rattled off four straight pins, three in less than one minute, to take a commanding 37-12 lead.

Class A No- 4-ranked Dominic Alger got USC off to a 6-0 start by pinning Dalton Wagner in one minute, 49 seconds.

USC’s next win came at 120 pounds when senior Jacob Gonsalez upset No. 6-ranked Jordan Biehn, 7-2.

In a battle of rated wrestlers at 132 pounds, No. 1-ranked Eliot Jurries earned a 10-5 decision over No. 4-ranked Dylan Herman.

At 138, No. 8-ranked Derek Herman put three points on the scoreboard for the Rebels with a 10-5 win over Dylan Riggle.

The Rebels’ two other wins came at 182 with No. 7-ranked Colten Carlson getting a 12-4 major decision and 220-pounder Logan Sonnek winning a tough 7-5 decision.

Against BEA, the Rebels racked up a 33-0 lead with five pins and a decision in the first six matches.

“We were nervous after we lost the flip. That meant they could juggle some weights around,” says Eytcheson. “We had to get a huge lead because we were going to give up points in the middle and upper weights.”

Buc head coach Randy Wirtjes says his team wasn’t able to recover from the slow start.

“We’ve had a nice year, but just didn’t wrestle very well. Give them credit, they came out aggressive and earned the win,” says Wirtjes. Luke Schavey started a Buc rally with a pin at 145 pound in 1:54 and Kolt Gorg pinned his opponent in 1:15 at 152.

Buc coaches bumped David Franta up to 160, and the junior responded with a 9-1 major decision.

Senior Carter Hanson also moved up a weight.

The Class A No. 5-ranked 160-pounder added a 17-1 tech fall at 170, making the score 33-21.

But, No. 7-ranked Colten Carlson stopped BEA’s momentum by pinning Gus Phillips in 3:38 at 182.

The Bucs won the final three matches with No. 4-ranked Kysten Zierke earning a 10-4 decision at 195 pounds, 220-pounder Micah Twedt getting a pin in 3:45 and No. 8-ranked heavyweight Martin Granados getting a pin in 59 seconds. USC 39, BEA 36

106: Dominic Alger (USC) pinned Zach Buseman, 3:13. Algers is rated No. 4 in Class A.

113: Brett Byrne (USC) pinned Camden Bowers, 2:45.

120: Adam Knutson (USC) pinned Matt Goodrich, 4:33.

126: Jacob Gonsalez (USC) dec. Jordan Stelter, 7-4.

132: Dylan Herman (USC) pinned Mike Ankeny, 3:32. Herman is rated No. 4.

138: Derek Herman (USC) pinned Jesse Alleven, 2:34. Herman in rated No. 8.

145: Luke Schavey (BEA) pinned Matt Harpestad, 1:54.

152: Kolt Gorg (BEA) pinned Cory Ehlert, 1:15.

160: David Franta (BEA) major dec. Seth Olson, 9-1.

170: Carter Hanson (BEA) tech. fall Travis Brown, 17-1. Hanson is rated No. 5.

182: Colten Carlson (USC) pinned Gus Phillips, 3:38. Carlson is ranked No. 7.

195: Kysten Zierke (BEA) dec. Logan Sonnek, 10-4. Zierke is ranked No. 4.

220: Micah Twedt (BEA) pinned Isaac Hernandez, 3:45.

285: Martin Granados (BEA) pinned Joe Matthews, 0:59. Granados is rated No. 8.

Championship

|JCC 49, USC 19

106: Dominic Alger (USC) pinned Dalton Wagner, 1:49. Alger is rated No. 4.

113: Kyle Edlin (JCC) major dec. Adam Knutson, 13-3.

120: Jacob Gonsalez (USC) dec. Jordan Biehn, 7-2. Biehn is rated No. 6.

126: Cameron Henning (JCC) pinned Shawn Redman, 1:05.

132: Eliot Jurries (JCC) dec. Dylan Herman, 10-5. Jurries is ranked No. 1 and Herman No. 4.

138: Derek Herman (USC) dec. Dylan Riggle, 10-5. Herman is rated No. 8.

145: Paden Moore (JCC) pinned Matt Harpestad, 0:39. Moore is ranked No. 2.

152: Luke Norland (JCC) pinned Seth Olson, 1:15. Norland is ranked No. 1.

160: Keegan Moore (JCC) pinned Cory Ehlert, 0:36. Moore is rated No. 3.

170: Darick Vancura (JCC) pinned Travis Brown, 0:25. Vancura is ranked No. 1.

182: Colten Carlson (USC) major dec. Nate Guggisberg, 12-4. Carlson is ranked No. 7.

195: Tanner Menke (JCC) pinned Isaac Hernandez, 0:28.

220: Logan Sonnek (USC) dec. Jack Ziemer, 7-5.

285: Nathaniel Horn (JCC) pinned Joe Matthews, 1:25.