Girls claim 4th, boys 7th as Jacks leave their mark at Rumble on the Red
Dec. 30—FARGO, N.D. — The Bemidji High School wrestling teams competed in the Rumble on the Red Tournament at the Fargodome on Thursday and Friday.
The Bemidji girls took fourth place against 50 other teams, finishing with a score of 146. The Lumberjacks were the top-scoring team from Minnesota, trailing only Bismarck, Minot and Bismarck Legacy of North Dakota.
Six BHS girls finished in the top six in their respective weight classes. Kylie Donat made it the furthest at 142 pounds. She pinned two opponents before beating Bismarck's Aubrie Overson by a 10-4 decision. Donat was pinned by Stillwater's Audrey Rogotzke in 4:50 in the championship match.
Kiera Hagman-Nyaga wrestled her way to the semifinals with three victories before falling to Mandan's Keely Kainoa via pin (3:05). She finished in sixth place after a tightly contested fifth-place match against Taya Lura.
Brenalen Fredriksen-Holm also wrestled in a semifinal match. She stacked up a pair of fall wins over Dannaca Bigbear (0:16) and Kaimana Newbrough (1:56) before scoring an 8-5 decision win against Lexi Timmerman in the quarterfinals. Fredriksen-Holm lost in the semifinal round at 112 pounds against Adaleene Hansen by fall (2:48). She won a consolation semifinal match by a 7-6 decision over Amanda Nelson, leading to a fourth-place finish.
Leah Willard (170) scored two fall victories over Veda Carlblom (0:48) and Bella Morteo (2:31) before losing in the quarterfinals. Willard battled through the consolation bracket to finish in third place by beating Rapid City Stevens' Bella Morteo by decision (8-6).
Makaya Gotchie (155) took home a fourth-place finish. Like Willard, Gotchie fell in the quarterfinals before winning three consecutive matches in the consolation bracket. She dropped her third-place bout against Minot's Kiera Aguilar.
Maya Schmidt (190) was the final Bemidji girl with a top-six finish. After falling in the second round, Schmidt won four straight contests in the consolation bracket. Koiline Govergo beat Schmitt twice, with the latter knocking her to the fifth-place match. Schmitt took home sixth place after a match with Valley City's Brooke Bundy.
The Bemidji boys took seventh place in a field of 67 teams. Five Jacks finished in the top eight, with Nick Strad wrestling for a championship at 139 pounds.
Strand beat Madan's Maddox Slater by fall, then picked up a pair of decision wins to land himself in the semifinal round. He then beat Forest Lake's Parker Lyden 7-5 before falling to Daniel Gunlogson in the title match 3-2.
Gabe Morin took home an eighth-place finish at 121 pounds. After losing his first-round match, Morin won four straight in the consolation bracket. He fell to Raydon Graham of Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted in the seventh-place match.
Gavin Osbron also won four straight consolation matches on his way to an eighth-place finish. He went 1-1 in the 127-pound prelims before winning his next four matches. Osborn lost to Forest Lake's Grant Marr by fall (2:59).
Brody Castonguay won two matches by fall to set up a quarterfinal bout against Albert Lea's Michael Olson. Olson eventually won the tournament, winning all but one match by fall. Castonguay finished in seventh place at 133 pounds, beating Grand Rapids' Alex Lehman by a 2-0 decision.
Parker Orvik (285) took fifth place in the heavyweight bracket. He won two matches before his loss in the quarterfinals. Orvik won twice in the consolation bracket, leading to his win by medical forfeit over Dawson-Boyd/Lac Qui Parle/Montevideo United's Brady Rhode.
