Wrestling: Z-M's Majerus places third, Lake City's Guevara places fourth

ST. PAUL - Zumbrota-Mazeppa’s Joey Majerus followed up last year’s third-place finish at the Class A individual tournament with another one Saturday at 106 pounds after a 5-2 decision over Breckenridge/Campbell-Tintah’s Conrad Kondos at the Xcel Energy Center.

Majerus has placed in both his state tournament appearances, but wanted a better finish in his second trip.

“It would have been nice to get up to the championship match instead of third,” Majerus said. “I was looking to get on top of the podium, but that’s something to drive for next year.”

The third-place match concluded a busy state tournament for Majerus. The freshman wrestled seven matches, including the team tournament, all on an injured knee.

Majerus dropped his semifinal match 8-2 to No. 1-ranked Cameron Sykora from Border West. But Majerus bounced back in the wrestlebacks to beat Chatfield’s Hank Friederichs 6-0 to advance to the third-place match.

Majerus’ teammate Mitchell Watkins lost his wrestleback match 3-2 in triple overtime against Jackson County Central’s Eliot Jurries after Jurries rode Watkins out in overtime.

Three place at state for Lake City

Lake City senior Pedro Guevara ended his career with a memorable run through the state tournament at 285 pounds with a fourth-place finish.

Guevara reached the semifinals by beating third-ranked Aaron Bruihler from LeSueur-Henderson, but fell 2-0 to Paynesville Area’s Dominick Platow, ranked sixth, to get bounced to the wrestlebacks.

In the wrestlebacks Guevara won 3-2 in triple overtime after his opponent, River Valley’s Lance Briard, got called for stalling.

Guevara got pinned by second-ranked Colin Turchin from Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale to finish fourth.

“The last two weeks he’s been on a roll,” Tigers head coach Lonnie West said. “He’s been wrestling confident. He doesn’t have a lot of offense, but he’s awfully tough to score on defensively and that’s his biggest asset, his defense.”

Guevara missed the final two and a half weeks of the regular season after suffering a knee injury, but came on strong at the Section 1A tournament to win his class.

Lake City had three of its four wrestlers place at the state tournament and sophomore Will Balow got some redemption in the fifth-place match.

Balow, ranked fourth at 160 pounds, made up for his loss in the quarterfinals Friday with a cathartic pin of Sibley East’s Aaron Bates to finish fifth.

“I definitely had a sour taste in my mouth after the first time we wrestled,” Balow said. “I was a lot more confident knowing what he did. I was mentally prepared this time.”

Balow, who did not place last season in his first state tournament appearance, lost 3-2 in quadruple overtime when he was called for stalling.

“Coaches kept telling me that’s where kids bow out all the time is they lose a close one and they just give up,” Balow said. “I knew I didn’t want that to happen. I turned it into motivation and let it drive me.”

Balow battled back in the wrestlebacks and beat Blue Earth Area’s sixth-ranked Carter Hanson 11-2, but went on to fall 8-5 to third-ranked Stephen Erlandson.

Lake City’s fifth-ranked Rusty Grisim met up with a familiar foe in the third-place match when he locked up with Medford’s Brad Maas at 145 pounds. The two split their first two meetings with Grisim getting the best of fourth-ranked Maas in the quarterfinals 5-4. But in the third meeting Maas picked up a 5-2 decision to finish third.

Gadient finishes sixth for Goodhue

Goodhue’s Weston Gadient finished sixth at 220 pounds after losing to Wabasso/Red Rock Central’s No. 1-ranked Cody Welch in the semifinals.

Gadient dropped his first wrestleback match 4-0 to Frazee’s Rick Brandt, ranked third, and lost his next match 10-0 to Kimball’s fifth-ranked Alex Thurber.

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