In what was a playful rebuttal to an earlier celebration he saw from JCC earlier in the dual, Haynes’ pin was also the boost his team needed during the Big South Conference Wrestling Championship dual. Haynes’ quick pin answered a JCC pin moments earlier and set the Eagles up for what ended up being a Big South title win as the Eagles ended up winning 39-20.

The Eagles’ win moved them to 19-0 on the season and avenged a loss to the Huskies two years ago in the Big South title dual.

“It’s nice to get back at them,” Haynes said. “They got us two years ago and it’s nice to get back at them and get some revenge.”

Haynes got a quick takedown in the first 30 seconds of his match and was able to turn it into a pin in 42 seconds, giving his team a 32-17 lead in what was becoming a tight dual. After showing off the New Ulm on his singlet and shaking his opponent’s hand, Haynes let out a yell in celebration as he joined his teammates.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm Area’s Elijah Rieser, right, shakes hands with his Jackson County Central opponent Isaac Rodriguez following Rieser’s decision win at the Big South Conference Wrestling Championship dual Thursday night at New Ulm High School.

“I had to let them know it’s our year, show them who we are,” Haynes said.

NUA head coach Kevin Briggs said the dual was a good environment to be in to get ready for the section tournament next week, but he wanted his wrestlers to enjoy the win.

“I just told them I was proud of them and told them to look around,” coach Briggs said. “We keep picking each other up, being good teammates, good things are going to happen.”

Chase Wilson opened the night out strong for NUA, earning an 8-4 decision over the No. 8-ranked Class A wrestler at 107 in Payten Sorbel. Wilson got the first points of the night on a takedown with 25 seconds left in the first period and ended up holding on late for the win.

Regan Johnson gave NUA a 7-0 lead on the night when he defeated Colten Gossen by a 12-3 major decision at 114.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm Area’s Emerson Johnson, right, controls Jackson County Central’s Karsin Janssen during a heavyweight match at the Big South Conference Wrestling Championship dual Thursday night at New Ulm High School.

At 121, NUA’s Brayden Miller was in control of Jacob Peterson early on, holding a 9-2 lead after the first period. Miller got an escape to go up 10-2 in the second, but Peterson was able to surprise Miller with a takedown and pin in 3:34 to have JCC down 7-6.

Alex Portner put the Eagles up 12-6 on the night with an 18-3 tech fall in the third period over Mathias Liepold at 127 pounds, while Kane Johnson earned a 16-1 tech fall with 15 seconds left in the third period over Dezmynd Tupper at 133 to put NUA up 17-6 on the night.

At 139, fans got a battle of ranked wrestlers when NUA’s Elijah Rieser, the No. 9-ranked 139-pounder in Class AA, took on Isaac Rodriguez, the No. 7-ranked Class A wrestler at 133.

Rieser got a takedown in the first period but was unable to do anything with it as Rodriguez worked his way back to his feet seconds later to make it 3-1. A reversal by Rieser in the second period and another escape by Rodriguez made it 5-2 after two. Another escape by Rodriguez and denied takedown by Rieser late in the third was enough to give Rieser a 5-2 decision and NUA a 20-6 lead overall.

“I expected a good match from him,” Rieser said. “He’s a good kid, I’ve wrestled him a couple times before last year and the year before. I guess I just went out there and tried to control his ties, control the match and do my stuff, not focus on what he does, but do what I do.”

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm Area’s Chase Wilson, right, wrestles Jackson County Central’s Payten Sorbel during a 107-pound match at the Big South Conference Wrestling Championship dual Thursday night at New Ulm High School.

At 145, NUA’s Tegan Kral had a tough time against Kyler Thier, the No. 5-ranked wrestler in Class A at 139. Thier was able to earn four takedowns in the first two periods and end the match with a 17-2 tech fall in the third, having JCC down 20-11 in the dual.

After a scoreless first period to dual’s 152-pound matchup, Braxton Kiecker tacked on another 6 points for NUA. After Kiecker secured a 3-point near fall in the second, he turned it into a cradle pin in 3:01 over Dallas Gossen to put the Eagles ahead 26-11.

At 160, NUA’s Candon Briggs started the match against Class A’s No. 10-ranked 160-pounder Evan Bartholomaus aggressively, but Bartholomaus was able to earn a takedown and lead 3-0 after one. An escape in the second period gave Bartholomaus a 4-0 lead heading into the third, and he was able to get the pin in 4:19 to have the Huskies down 26-17.

After Haynes’ big pin, NUA’s Cole Voges held his own against Carson Kolander, but Kolander earned a 5-0 decision to have JCC down 32-20. At 189, NUA’s Lane Ruch, ranked 10th at 189 in Class AA, put the dual away for good after surviving an early takedown in the first.

Ruch earned an escape after that and a takedown of his own to lead 4-3 after one. Another escape and single-leg takedown by Ruch put him up 8-3. Another escape and takedown with 30 seconds left put Ruch up 12-3 as he hung on for the 12-3 major decision, giving NUA a 36-20 lead.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau The New Ulm High School pep band performs ahead of the Big South Conference title match between New Ulm Area and Jackson County Central on Thursday at New Ulm High School.

NUA heavyweight Emerson Johnson took on Karsin Janssen to end the night. After a scoreless first period, Johnson earned a takedown in the second, which was enough to get the win in the end as a scoreless third followed, giving him a 3-0 decision and NUA the 39-20 win.

As the Eagles remain unbeaten on the season with the win and JCC falls to 12-3, Haynes said he and his teammates are confident but not getting ahead of themselves heading into the postseason.

“I think we all know where we’re at,” Haynes said. “We’ve got a chance to make a good run here and be a really successful team. But as coach Briggs always says, we can’t be complacent and we’ve got to keep working hard because it’s not gonna come easy.”