Tri-Valley Invitational

Sean McPadden working for nearfall points on Justice Verhey of Parker

Cody Bonte attempting to put Steven Schoenwald of Marion/Freeman to his back.

Tanner Donelan working to lock up a turn against Dylan Cotton of Marion/Freeman

Brady Bonte horsing Luke Myrabo of Canton over to his back.

The Blue Dragons traveled to Colton to wrestle with 15 other teams Saturday. The host team Tri-Valley won the tournament with 161 points while Garretson finished in fifth with 121. The team rebounded nicely from a poor outing in Beresford. We still have some things to work on with our younger wrestlers, but our older guys really stepped up. Thomas Howe, Tanner Donelan, Scott Howe, and Brady Bonte each made the finals of the tournament while Cody Bonte finished in third place. Thomas has been wrestling much better since the Christmas break. It has been pleasant to see him use the ability that he has. Our region at 103 is very difficult and he will need to continue wrestling aggressive to finish out the year. Tanner Donelan was able to wrestle two ranked wrestlers on the day, one of which being a two-time state finalist/one-time state champion. He was aggressive throughout and showed he is determined to finish his senior year on the top. Scott Howe avenged a loss to Dylan Kor of Pipestone Area in the semi-finals. Although he came up short in the finals, he has been wrestling extremely well with a lot of confidence. This will help him achieve his goals as he nears the end of his career. Brady Bonte was also in revenge mode on Saturday. He pinned his way through the tournament while doing so to two opponents whom had beaten him earlier in the season. As the third seed, I thought he was probably deserving of the OW award, but the coaches felt otherwise. Cody Bonte continues to improve with his technique and has put himself in a position to do good things at the end of the year. He wrestles his best when he is aggressive and looking to score points. Also competing for the Blue Dragons but unable to place were: Tyler Willems, Colby Pierret, Sean McPadden, and Matt Bankes. Each of these young men were able to win at least one match. Their efforts helped our team finish in the top 5. Individual results are below:

103 - Thomas Howe

* pinned Josh Mettler (WC) 3:05

* decisioned Jacob Thom (TV) 7 - 3

* lost by fall to Dylan Konechne (KWL) 3:26

     * 2nd place finish

112 - Tyler Willems

* pinned Wesley York (MF) 1:25

* lost by fall to Alex McLaury (EPJ) 0:31

* won by major decision over Trevor Hallman (TV) 12 - 0

* lost by fall to Elijah Everson (PA) 1:57

119 - Colby Pierret

* pinned Trinity Brunsen (WSW) 0:53

* lost by decision to Paul Waring (MHH) 9 - 5

* won by decision over Cole Globke (MF) 7 - 1

* pinned Cole Tirrel (WC) 2:13

* lost by fall to Walker Kor (PA) 4:00

135 - Tanner Donelan

* pinned Dylan Krejci (CAN) 1:11

* won by major decision over Dylan Cotton (MF) 12 - 3

* pinned Patrick Waring (MHH) 1:30

     * 1st place finish

140 - Cody Bonte

* won by decision over Colin Bertsch (MHH) 3 - 1

* lost by technical fall to Riley Braun (EPJ) 15 - 0

* won by decision over Branden Anderson (CA) 7 - 4

* won by decision over Steven Schoenwald (MF) 5 - 0

     * 3rd place finish

152 - Sean McPadden

* lost by fall to Kyle Gerlach (MVP) 1:01

* pinned Justice Verhey (PAR) 3:51

* lost by major decision to Slade Mutchelknaus (MF) 10 - 2

171 - Scott Howe

* won by technical fall over Spencer Hastings (WC) 15 - 0

* won by technical fall over Drew Eldeen (TV) 19 - 2

* won by major decision over Dylan Kor (PA) 12 - 3

* lost by fall to Zane Nightingale (KWL) 3:59

     * 2nd place finish

189 - Brady Bonte

* pinned Stephen Carr (PAR) 1:31

* pinned Tyler Evans (PA) 3:04

* pinned Luke Myrabo (CAN) 1:48

     * 1st place finish

215 - Matt Bankes

* lost by decision to Jack Carda (KWL) 7 - 5

* pinned Brandon Fedeler (CA) 3:48

* lost by decision to Sheldon Johnson (FL) 14 - 11