Johnson takes 4th for NUA at state
Pollard finishes career with sixth-place medal
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By Ari Selvey
aselvey@nujournal.com
ST. PAUL -- Two New Ulm Area wrestlers placed on the second day of the Class AA State Individual Wrestling Tournament on Saturday, with Kane Johnson taking fourth place at 127 and Wyatt Pollard finishing sixth at 172.
NUA's other wrestler that made it to the second day, Alex Portner, took a tight loss to Hutchinson's Judah Perrault at 121, with Perrault scoring a reversal in the second period for the match's only points.
Johnson matched up with Grand Rapids' Asher Brenden at 127 in the first round of the day in the consolation bracket. Johnson got a point after an illegal hold in the first, then, after a scoreless second period, Johnson earned a takedown to secure the 4-0 decision.
Pollard followed that up with a match with Martin County's Maddex Faber at 172 in the consolation bracket. After a scoreless first, Pollard escaped in the second to go up 1-0. Pollard nearly got a one-legged takedown, but just ran out of time as the match entered the third. Pollard quickly got his takedown in the third, going up 4-0, and an escape from Faber didn’t lead to any more scoring as Pollard took the win.
In the consolation semifinals, Johnson faced off with Minneapolis Edison's Vicente Lopez Marsh. Johnson initially started down after an escape and a takedown from Lopez Marsh in the second period, but Johnson managed a reversal to turn the tide. Johnson scored a 3-point near fall and a 2-point near fall to take a 7-4 lead going into the third. Johnson scored an escape to go up 8-4, and while Lopez Marsh took down Johnson one more time, Johnson held on for the 8-7 decision.
"Right away at the beginning of the match, I got down 4-0," Johnson said. "But I knew it wasn't over from there. I wrestled that guy a few times before, and we split 1-1. So I knew it was just going to be a great match and a dogfight from our feet, because we're both great on our feet. After I got that reversal, I just kept trying to sit on it, and I just wanted to stay on top."
Pollard matched up with Mora's Carter Gmahl in the consolation semifinals. Gmahl scored a takedown in the first period, then an escape in the second. Gmahl added a point for stalling and another takedown for an 8-0 lead going into the third. There, two more takedowns locked up a 15-5 major decision for Gmahl.
Johnson advanced to the third-place game, where he met Cannon Falls' Adam Parish. The two looked evenly matched through two periods, with neither scoring a point. However, in the third period, Parish managed to score an escape, and that ended up being the lone point of the game as Parish took the 1-0 decision.
In the fifth-place game, Pollard took on Becker's Owen Kock. Both had a few good shots in the first period, but no scoring came of it as Pollard started up in the second. Kock scored an escape, then took down Pollard and put him on his back, getting the pin in 2:27.