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Glenz, Kerzman, and Klein will wrestle at the state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul starting on Thursday at 12 noon.

Senior Joel Kerzman defeated Micah Larson of ACGC 17-3 in the Section 5A finals at 145 on Saturday at Kimball to advance to state.

Glenz set a new school record by qualifying for state for the fifth time. He advanced to state as a section runner-up in 2002 and 2003 (as an eighth grader and then ninth grader) and now has won three section titles in a row (2004-2006). The previous mark for most individual state appearances is four, held by Dave Kerzman (1998-2001) and Tim Roberg (1994-1997).

Glenz, ranked first in Class A at 152, will attempt to win his second individual state title, which would match Kerzman, who is the only Bulldog wrestler so far to win two state titles.

Glenz (40-1) recorded two pins to reach the Section 5A finals and then defeated ACGC senior A.J. Fred-eriksen, ranked eighth in Class A at 152, 3-2 in the final. Glenz scored the winning takedown, breaking a 1-1 tie, on the edge of the mat with 30 seconds to go, allowing a late escape to win 3-2.

Kerzman and Klein both qualified for state for the second straight year. Like Glenz, both were the top seeds at their weight in Section 5A.

Kerzman (16-0), who missed part of the year due to injury, won his second straight section title. Last year, he placed second at state at 135. He is currently ranked sixth in Class A at 140.

Kerzman pinned his first section opponent, won a 10-6 decision in the semifinals, and then dominated ACGC ninth grader Micah Larson 17-3 in the finals, scoring five takedowns and two near falls while allowing only three escapes.

Klein (35-4) won his first section title at 135, getting a bye as the top seed, then recording a 9-4 decision in the semifinal and a 4-3 decision over EV-W senior Nick Peterson in the final. Klein got a reversal and takedown, also on the edge of the mat or he would have scored back points, too, in the second period against Peterson and won 4-3.

Klein, ranked eighth in Class A at 135, was the section runner-up in Section 6A last year, winning a true-second match to advance to state. (The Dogs moved from Section 6A to Section 5A this year.)

Senior Sean Glenz (152) won this third straight section title and set a school record by qualifying for state for the fifth time on Saturday.

Three Bulldogs finished third at sections, five finished fourth, two finished fifth, and one sixth.

Ninth grader Jon Kerzman (125) and senior Dustin Utsch (171) lost true-second matches that would have propelled them to state and settled for third place.

Kerzman (24-15) lost to the eventual champion at 125, junior Joe Murphy of the Trinity School at River Ridge in the semifinals 5-2, but rebounded to win two matches and finish third. He lost to ACGC junior Matt Pearson 11-3 in his true-second match. It is the second straight year that Kerzman has finished third at sections and lost a true-second match.

Utsch (19-13) lost to the eventual champion at 171, ACGC sophomore Nic Leither (39-0), in the semifinals 7-1 but pinned two opponents to take third. He lost his true-second match to EV-W senior Luke Stommes 8-3.

Sophomore Jordan Christian (22-5) was seeded second at 112 but missed a return trip to state when he lost in the semifinals 4-3 to Ross Cazett, a sophomore from Meadow Creek Christian Academy. Cazett lost in the final to ACGC sophomore Ben Meyer (38-0), so Christian did not get a chance at a true-second match after placing third.

Sophomore Luke Frank (275) would have had a true-second match, having lost to the eventual champion, senior Tyler Benz of Meadow Creek Christian Academy, in the semifinals 5-4. Benz is rated seventh in Class A at 275.

Saturday Keith Klein celebrated his Section 5A title at 135 over Nick Peterson of Eden Valley-Watkins 4-3 on Saturday at Kimball. Klein advances to state for the second straight year after winning his first section title.

Frank (17-21) was leading in his third-place match against EV-W senior Heath Kramer 4-3, whom Frank had beaten twice this year, when Frank was called for stalling late in the third period, tying the match 4-4. Kramer then scored a takedown to take a 6-4 lead, though he was then called for stalling, making it 6-5. Frank nearly scored an escape in the waning moments but lost 6-5.

Sheridan (31-7), who had qualified for state the past two years, also finished fourth. He was seeded fourth at 119 and lost 4-3 to BBE senior Tyler Rath in the semifinals. Rath then lost in overtime in the finals while Sheridan lost to ACGC junior Bill Wheeler 8-4 in the third-place match.

Sophomore Jeff Albright (103), senior Aaron Bachman (160), and junior Joe Fry (215) also finished fourth for the Bulldogs. Seventh grader Tyler Hemmesch (140) and junior Brad Torborg (189) placed fifth, and eighth grader Justin Wendlandt (130) placed sixth.

Section 5A team champions ACGC, coached by Roberg, who was named the Section 5A Coach of the Year, had the most individual champions (four) and most state entrants (eight). Paynesville had the second-most champs (three), followed by BBE with two. Kimball, Meadow Creek Christian, Norwood Young America, St. Croix Lutheran, and the Trinity School at River Ridge each had one champion.

Eden Valley-Watkins (four runners-up) and Norwood Young America (one champ and three runners-up) had the second-most entrants from Section 5A with four each. Paynesville and BBE each had three entrants.

Individual Results
103-Jeff Albright (P)...maj. dec. Jacob Forcier (EV-W), 13-0...pinned by Jeremy Anderson (ACGC), 4:48...maj. dec. Matt Gregory (BBE), 11-0...pinned by Ethan Skog (Meadow Creek Christian), 4:34...Fourth Place;

112-Jordan Christian (P)...maj. dec. Anthony Rooney (BBE), 11-2...lost to Ross Cazett (MCC), 4-3...pinned Luke Stephanson (Trinity School at River Ridge), 1:31...dec. Ben Wales (St. Croix Lutheran), 12-5...Third Place;

119-Joe Sheridan (P)...maj. dec. Ryan Sullivan (EV-W), 14-3...lost to Tyler Rath (BBE), 4-3...dec. David Pinewski (MCC), 3-1...lost to Bill Wheeler (ACGC), 5-2...Fourth Place;

125-Jon Kerzman (P)...tech. falled Elmar Rott (SCL), 15-0...lost to Joe Murphy (TSRR), 5-2...pinned Josh Fritz (MCC), 2:52...dec. Mike Sullivan (EV-W), 17-10 ...lost to Matt Pearson (ACGC), 11-3 ...Third Place;

130-Justin Wendlandt (P)...pinned Jonathan Scislow (SCL), 5:49...lost to Micah Olson (TSRR), 12-0 ...pinned Dave Litzau (ACGC), 4:41...lost to Justin Frey (Mounds Park Academy), 10-6...lost to Micah Olson, 9-0...Sixth Place;

135-Keith Klein (P)...bye...dec. Austin Kampsen (BBE), 9-4... dec. Nick Peterson (EV-W), 4-3...First Place;

140-Tyler Hemmesch (P)...lost to Travis Rath (BBE), 19-2... pinned Cody Martens (Norwood Young America), 2:12...lost to Erick Larson (ACGC), 7-0...dec. Jake Tachney (MCC), 2-1...Fifth Place;

145-Joel Kerzman (P)...pinned Darren Berg (EV-W), 2:35...dec. Dave Dahnke (Kimball), 10-6...maj. dec. Micah Larson (ACGC), 17-3...First Place;

152-Sean Glenz (P) ...pinned Steve Sattler (TSRR), 1:06...pinned Dan Barthel (K), 4:34... dec. A.J. Frederiksen (ACGC), 3-2 ...First Place;

160-Aaron Bachman (P)...dec. Peter DeMarais (TSRR), 12-10...lost to John Hanley (K), 7-3...pinned Andrew Attia (MCC), 2:25...lost to Paul Stommes (EV-W), 9-3...Fourth Place;

171-Dustin Utsch (P) ...maj. dec. Dustin Mueller (BBE), 12-2 ...lost to Nic Leither (ACGC), 7-1 ...pinned Dan Cunningham (MCC), 0:44...pinned Mueller, 1:52...lost to Luke Stommes (EV-W), 8-3...Third Place;

189-Brad Torborg (P)...lost to Luke Erickson (MCC), 11-2...pinned Alex Schwanzer (BBE), 0:59...pinned by Matt Meuleners (NYA), 3:25... pinned Nick Donnay (K), 0:55...Fifth Place;

215-Joe Fry (P)...pinned Mitch Fischer (K), 0:25...pinned by Cody Schrupp (NYA), 0:57...pinned by Jared Peterson (ACGC), 1:54...Fourth Place;

275-Luke Frank (P)...dec. Heath Kramer (EV-W), 5-3...lost to Tyler Benz (MCC), 5-4...pinned Jordan Fox (SCL), 2:32...lost to Kramer, 6-5...Fourth Place.

State Wrestling Preview
Senior wrestlers Sean Glenz, Joel Kerzman, and Keith Klein will compete individually at the state tournament this weekend, starting at 12 noon on Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul with the Class A preliminary round.

Class A Schedule
Thursday, March 2
12 noon, Class A Individual Preliminaries
2 p.m., Class A Individual Quarterfinals
7:30 p.m., Class A Team Quarterfinals

Friday, March 3
9 a.m., Class A Wrestlebacks
12 p.m.,Class A Team Semifinals
4:30 p.m., Class A Individual Semifinals and Consolation Quarterfinals
7 p.m., Class A Consolation Semifinals

Saturday, March 4* 10 a.m., Team Consolation/Third Place
12 noon, Individual Third/Fifth Matches
3 p.m., Individual Championships
5:30 p.m., Team Championships

*The times for Saturday are estimates. Each session on Saturday will begin following the awards for the previous round.

In the individual competition, every weight class features 16 wrestlers - two from each section. To win a state title, a wrestler must win four straight matches. Medals are awarded to the top six wrestlers at each weight class.

Here are the first-round matchups for the three Paynesville wrestlers:

At 135, senior Keith Klein (35-4) faces senior D.J. Brey (31-10) of St. James. Klein is rated eighth in Class A at 135, and Brey is rated ninth. Brey placed fourth at 135 in Class A last year.

Whoever wins might face Frazee junior Ben Anderson (34-5), rated fifth, in the quarterfinals.

At 145, senior Joel Kerzman (16-0), rated sixth in Class A at 140, will face Gaven Schlaak (21-12), a sophomore from NRHEG in the preliminary round. His quarter bracket also includes Chatfield junior Matt Merrick (34-7) and Frazee senior Kerry Lockrem (26-14), rated tenth in Class A at 145.

In the other quarter bracket on Kerzman's side of the draw, Canby senior Tad Merritt (41-1) and Wabasso junior Mitchell Altermatt (35-3), the two top-rated wrestlers at 145, will meet in the first round.

At 152, senior Sean Glenz (40-1), who won a Class A state title last year at 145, is rated first at 152 this year. He will face Osakis senior Eric Wiener (31-5), rated sixth, in the first round. Glenz faced Wiener last year in the semifinals and won 17-5. Glenz took first; Wiener fifth.

His quarter bracket also includes Canby junior Colby Citrowske (37-1), rated fifth, and Wabasha-Kellogg senior Walter Kennebeck (32-10).

Second-rated Warren Gall (39-3), whom Glenz has beaten this year, is in the other side of the draw at 152.