Kean Hicks works to score an escape from his opponent.

The Blue Earth Area varsity wrestling team opened their season with a 44-21 victory over cross county rival United South Central on Friday, Nov. 30.

“I thought our conditioning was good and we wrestled well as a team,” BEA head coach Randy Wirtjes said. “I was also pleased with the way our junior varsity squad performed.”

The host Buccaneers built up a 28-0 lead before the Rebels were able to put their first points on the scoreboard.

Ty Peterson won the opening match for the Bucs at 113 pounds against Bryce Sonnek with a 9-0 major decision. Peterson scored a first period takedown and a two-point near fall to take a 4-0 lead. He added three more points in the second period and two more in the final period to claim the victory.

Davis Sunken increased the BEA lead to 10-0 with a second period pin of Ethan Elvebak in the 120-pound match. Leading 9-0 after one period, Sunken scored the pin 47 seconds into the second period.

Ty Peterson attempts to get his opponent’s shoulders flat to the mat.

The Bucs next 18 points came from forfeits. Caleb Beeler at 126 pounds, Jacob Beeler at 132 pounds and Jaxen Klinkner at 138 pounds were awarded six points each to build the Buccaneer lead to 28-0.

The match at 145 pounds featured the Rebels’ Blake Legred, the Class A runner-up at 126 pounds last year, against Max Ehrich for the Buccaneers.

Legred scored the only points of the first period with a takedown to take a 2-0 lead. He added three more points in the second period with an escape and a takedown. He closed out the match with one more third period point for a 6-0 decision to make the score 28-3 in favor of BEA.

The Bucs’ Koby Nagel scored a 59-second pin over Matt Beyer at 152 pounds to increase the Buccaneer lead to 34-3.

The Rebels’ Micah Hamson won the 160-pound match with a pin at the 3:08 mark to make the score 34-9 with the Bucs on top.

Dominic Whitlow utilizes the cradle while trying to pin his USC opponent. Whitlow would go on to win a 16-5 major decision in the 182-pound match.

Jacob Cory of USC won the 170-pound match with a second period pin over Logan Johnson. The win by Cory narrowed the Buccaneer advantage to 34-15.

Dominic Whitlow got the Bucs back on the scoreboard with a 16-5 major decision over Jacob Billings of the Rebels in the 182-pound weight bracket. Whitlow used a takedown and two, two-point near falls, to build a 6-0 lead after the first period.

Whitlow increased his lead to 12-1 in the second period. He scored a reversal and a two-point near fall before giving up an escape. He then scored another takedown to end the second period scoring. Each wrestler scored four points in the final period resulting in Whitlow’s 16-5 win. The major decision increased the Buccaneer lead to 38-15.

At 220 pounds, the Bucs’ Erik Anderson fell to Masyn Elvebak of the Rebels by a pin in 54 seconds.

In the final match of the evening, Nick Lawrence gained a win for BEA with a first period pin over Conner Ehlert of USC. Wrestling at 285 pounds, Lawrence scored his pin at 1:38 of the first period.

“We need to brush up on some things, we had some leads and then gave up pins,” Wirtjes noted. “Those are things we will work on.”