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Buc wrestlers down the Panthers

Gambell’s pin in the final match gives BEA the 37-31 victory

By Kevin Mertens - Staff Writer | Dec 29, 2024

The wrestling match between the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Panthers and the Blue Earth Area Bucs came down to the wire when the two teams met on Thursday, Dec. 19. BEA won when 285-pounder Chase Gambell pinned his opponent in the first period. Also picking up a win was Drake Engelby, pictured above, who won his match by a 12-1 major decision.

The wrestling meet between the host Blue Earth Area Buccaneers and the visiting New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Panthers was not decided until the final match of the evening when the two teams met on Dec. 19.

With the score tied 31-31 and only the 285-pound match to be decided, the Bucs’ Chase Gambell and the Panthers’ Cole Hutchens shook hands in the match which would determine the event’s victor.

The two wrestlers stayed on their feet and pushed each other around for the first 45 seconds of the match before Gambell scored a takedown and took Hutchens directly to his back.

With 57 seconds remaining in the opening period, the referee slapped his hand to the mat signaling a pin for Gambell which gave the Bucs a 37-31 victory.

The Panthers had begun the night by winning the first two matches to take an 11-0 lead.

Owen Schaak got the first win of the night for NRHEG when he used a combination of takedowns and near-falls to score a 20-2 technical fall over Jase Casey of BEA.

At 114 pounds, Grahm Jacobson won by a pin over the Bucs’ Nolan Sturtz 1:24 into the match.

Drake Engelby got the Bucs on the scoreboard with a 12-1 major decision over Charles Tufte in the 121-pound match. Engelby scored a takedown and a four-point near fall in the first period to take a 7-0 lead. Engelby added four more points to his total in the second period with another four-point near fall. His final point of the match came on a penalty point. With Engelby’s win, the Panthers’ lead now stood at 11-4.

The matches at 127 and 133 pounds both went to BEA courtesy of forfeits by NRHEG and gave the Bucs a 16-11 lead.

Avery Asmus picked up the win at 127 pounds and Timmy Nagel got the victory at 133 pounds.

BEA’s Colin Alfson scored the opening takedown in his 139-pound match against Eli Hendrickson but the Panthers’ wrestler recovered to score seven straight points and earn a 7-3 victory and cut BEA’s lead to 16-14.

The match at 145 pounds was a wild, back-and-forth affair. After scoring a takedown but then giving up a reverse, BEA’s Layden Bassett led NRHEG’s Khaiden Madson 3-2 after the opening period.

Madson outscored Bassett 5-2 in the middle period to take a 7-5 lead heading into the final period.

Bassett used three takedowns to outscore Madson 9-4 in the closing period and win the match by a 14-11 decision. Bassett’s triumph increased the Bucs’ lead to 19-14.

BEA increased their lead to 31-14 when Colton Tolzman pinned Adrian Naser in 1:47 in the 152-pound match and Will Weerts put Noah Weller’s shoulders to the mat in 1:14 at 160 pounds.

A 15-0 technical fall by NRHEG’s Harbor Cromwell over Tristan Tungland gave the Panthers five more points and made the score 31-19.

Two more pins by the Panthers tied the score at 31-31.

Wyatt Larson got the first of the two falls in the 189-pound match by pinning Johnathan Nelson at 1:18.

Ryan Schlaak’s pin of Jacob Gambell in 3:13 at 215 pounds tied the score at 31-31 and set the stage for Chase Gambell’s winning pin at 285 pounds.

The Bucs will return to the mat on Jan. 3, 2025 when they go on the road to face St. James Area in a dual meet.