“Quite possibly, this was three of the final four teams in the section,” NUA head coach Kevin Briggs said. “It was a good showing for us today. We’re a tough, solid, physical team, we just need to improve a little bit with our quickness, particularly in the neutral position. The kids know that, and we’ll keep harping.”

New Ulm was especially strong in the lower weights, winning all but two matches up through 145 pounds on the night.

“United’s tough, top to bottom,” coach Briggs said. “We grinded out a few wins there, pretty impressive. But sometimes if we can’t match their pace, that’s where we’re getting beat. Overall tonight, we won a lot of huge matchups against two quality teams. There’s always something to improve on, and this team’s going to get better, and we’ll see what happens in the section.”

NUA’s Alex Portner had a milestone win on the night, taking home his 100th career win in his first matchup against United’s Gavin Mortenson at 133.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm Area’s Isaiah Friese grapples with United’s Gabe Lowry during a heavyweight bout of a wrestling triangular Tuesday at New Ulm High School.

“It means a lot because of all the hard work I put in, and it’s finally paid off,” Portner said.

NUA opened against United, with Chase Wilson winning by a 17-6 major decision over Matthew Bothun at 107. Chael Johnson followed that up with a pin against Griffin Johnson early in the second period at 114, then Regan Johnson had a tight match against fourth-ranked Eli Olson at 121. Both scored just an escape in the first three periods, and Regan Johnson had an escape in the second period of overtime. Eli Olson earned a reversal and a 3-point near fall in the third period of OT, and while Regan Johnson got a reversal of his own, it wasn’t enough to earn the upset.

Brayden Miller had another close match against Brayden Tjaden at 127, with both wrestlers earning a takedown and an escape in the first period for a 4-4 tie. Miller managed an escape and a takedown, but Tjaden scored a reversal before the end of the second period to put the score at 8-6. Tjaden earned another reversal to tie the match at 8, but Miller got a reversal of his own, and a point for stalling wasn’t enough as Miller came away with the 10-9 win.

Portner added to the NUA lead with his 100th win, with both he and Mortenson scoring an escape before overtime. Mortenson scored another escape in the second period of overtime, but Portner got a reversal in the third period to win 3-2.

“I wrestled him a week ago at the [Redwood] Riot,” Portner said. “I was in the exact same position, we both had one point going into overtime. I just found a way to win. I found the move and I got the reversal.”

Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm Area’s Chase Wilson picks up United’s Matthew Bothun at 107 during a wrestling triangular Tuesday at New Ulm High School.

Kane Johnson followed that up with a 14-3 major decision over Holland Schacherer at 139, his 125th career win, to give NUA a 20-3 lead, then Elijah Rieser had a matchup against third-ranked Ben Gunlogson at 145. Rieser earned the first takedown, and while Gunlogson had an escape, Rieser had an escape in the third period before two more takedowns, broken up by an escape from Gunlogson, for a 10-2 major decision.

Tegan Kral lost his matchup against Aiden Olson at 152 after an illegal slam led to an injury default, and Braxton Kieker fell by a 6-5 decision to Kameron Sather at 160 as United cut the lead to 24-12. But Candon Briggs got the ball rolling again for NUA with a pin in 2:20 over Alex Perez at 172. Dirk Haynes earned another pin in 1:54 over Bentleigh Bothun at 189, and Lane Ruch earned an 11-0 major decision over Bryan Rhode at 215. Isaiah Friese finished out the match with a pin over Gabe Lowry at heavyweight in 1:36 for a 46-12 win.

In the match against Martin County, Chael Johnson had the only match in the first five with a pin against Brock Jagodzinske in 1:30 as Wilson, Regan Johnson, Cohen Kieker and Portner all accepted forfeits for a 30-0 lead. Kane Johnson earned a 12-2 major decision over Brock Stauffer, and top-ranked Pierce Rohman defeated Rieser in an 18-4 major decision to give Martin County its first points, 34-4. Torrey Paplow followed that up with a technical fall over Kral to put the score at 34-9, but Braxton Kiecker, after a scoreless first two periods, got a cradle pin against Kaedin Lange in 5:32. Candon Briggs pinned Austin Newcomb in 1:32, and Haynes had a pin over Keyon Schutz in 1:47 at 189.

Ruch battled against Aaron Becker at 215. Ruch earned an escape and a takedown in the second period, but Becker scored a reversal to put the score at 4-2. Becker had a takedown in the third period to take a 5-4 lead, but with just 25 seconds to play, Ruch scored a reversal of his own to come away with a 6-5 win.

Ranked heavyweight DJ Miller defeated NUA’s Tilken Fruhwirth by fall to wrap up the night.

NUA travels to Waseca for a triangular on Thursday.