Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm Area's Elijah Rieser swipes for Hutchinson’s Judah Perrault's legs during the championship match of the Section 3AA Individual Wrestling Tournament at 139 Saturday at Hutchinson High School.

HUTCHINSON — New Ulm Area sent six wrestlers to the Class AA State Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Section 3AA Individual Wrestling Tournament on Saturday.

Alex Portner (127), Elijah Rieser (139), Candon Briggs (172) and Lane Ruch (189) all placed first in their weights at the section tournament, while Regan Johnson (114) and Kane Johnson (133) placed second to also qualify.

Portner, Regan Johnson and Kane Johnson all qualified for last year’s tournament, but Rieser, Briggs and Ruch are all making the trip for the first time.

Rieser, a senior, said qualifying for the first time was a payoff worth waiting for.

“I’ve been on the team for six years now,” he said. “So after all the work, all the late nights, early mornings, everything that I’ve put into it, it finally shows and pays off now, going to the state tournament. I’ve gone to watch the last couple of years, and seeing that atmosphere and wanting to be a part of it all, I’m finally there.”

Briggs had the closest championship match, earning a reverse in the third period for a 2-1 lead over Marshall’s Tyson Louwagie. Louwagie made a move to earn a reversal of his own, but Briggs held on just long enough for the win.

“Towards the end, I wasn’t really trying to turn him, not to force anything,” Briggs said. “But I was just trying to ride him, and he ended up slipping away for a little bit, and I got a stall call. There was 15 seconds left, he got up, I reached out to the leg and just held on for dear life.”

Briggs, another senior, knew just what he was going to do when the final whistle sounded.

“Since I know my dad [head coach Kevin Briggs] gets a little emotional, I was thinking if I qualify, I’m running and shaking the other coaches’ hands, smacking the assistant coaches hand, and then jumping and hugging my dad,” Briggs said. “I had been planning that out for a while now.”

Briggs said making the tournament as an individual meant something special to him.

“It’s surreal,” he said. “It feels so good. This sport hits me different than the other sports I’ve played. It’s an individual sport, it’s only you out there. So to make it myself, it’s so cool.”

Ruch took on Marshall’s Tyler Kraft in the finals. After a scoreless first, Kraft scored an escape in the second, but Ruch took him to the mat again for a 3-1 lead. Kraft escaped again, but Ruch scored an escape of his own as the match went into the third period. Kraft was unable to score another point as Ruch collected the win.

“I was just super excited,” Ruch said. “I beat that kid one time before, and I was ready to beat him again just to win the section. Just really excited.”

Ruch said making the tournament as a team was more important to him, but that didn’t mean that winning the section individually wasn’t something to be proud of.

“The team means so much to all of us,” he said. “But it’s still an exciting experience, a special experience.”

Rieser had a strong win in his championship match against Hutchinson’s Judah Perrault, earning three takedowns on the way to an 11-5 decision.

“I wasn’t thinking too much I guess,” Rieser said. “I was trying to stay in the moment and trying to take it as an opportunity to win another match and trying to do what I’ve been doing all season. Trying to work my match, do my stuff.”

Portner took an 11-4 major decision over Marshall’s Keynan Coequyt, starting off with a 7-0 lead after a pair of takedowns and an escape. Coequyt scored a takedown of his own in the third, but Portner added an escape and a takedown to wrap up the win.

Also for NUA, Chase Wilson placed fifth at 107, while Tegan Kral placed fifth at 145. Braxton Kiecker placed third at 152, and Dirk Haynes placed third at 215. Emmerson Johnson placed fifth at 285.

For Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial, Mason Adams finished first at 285, while Ryder Antony also qualified with a second-place finish at 121. Talan Osborne placed third at 160.

NUA begins the State Team Wrestling Tournament on Wednesday. The individual tournament begins on Thursday.

Additional photos will be available in Tuesday’s edition of The Journal.