Return to Sports Archives

Tim Roberg, a 1996 PAHS graduate and a Paynesville resident, takes ACGC (19-5), the champions of Section 5A, to state. In the first round, the Falcons will face New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva (26-11), the champions of Section 2A, where Mike Weber, a 1988 PAHS graduate is an assistant coach. NR-H-E-G is rated #8 in Class A, while ACGC is rated #12.

Paynesville coaches and fans react after sophomore Sean Glenz captured the Section 6A title at 145 on Saturday evening. Six wrestlers from PAHS - including Glenz, lower left - qualified for the individual state tournament in wrestling over the weekend.

Paynesville wrestlers will compete in the individual competition, starting at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Every weight class in the individual competition 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 six Paynesville wrestlers:
At 112, sophomore Joe Sheridan (24-11) faces Kirk Anderson (39-2), an eighth grader from Barnesville, in the first round at state. Anderson is rated #1 in Class A at 112 and took second at 103 last year.

At 119, junior Todd Thielen (20-17) also faces a difficult first-rounddraw. In the first round, he will wrestle senior Joe Grasser (36-0) of LeCenter-Cleveland, who is rated second in the state. Grasser took fourth last year at 112. In the same quarter bracket as Thielen is Matt Pearson, a ninth grader from ACGC and one of eight Falcon wrestlers to qualify for state individually.

At 145, sophomore Sean Glenz (39-0) drew Cody Salo (35-6), a junior from New York Mills, in the first round. In the second round, Glenz could face Cory Schunk (35-1), a senior from Wabasso rated #2 at 145 who took fifth at 140 last year.

Glenz is the only undefeated wrestler at 145 in Class A. He is rated #7 in the state in Class A.

At 152, senior Matt Kerzman (36-5) faces senior Tyler Fuller (31-8) of Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale in the first round. Also in his quarter bracket is senior Adam Aho (40-1) of Frazee, who is rated #1 at this weight and placed third last year at 145.

At 215, senior Pat Utsch (35-4) will wrestle Bryan Reimers (28-4), a senior from River Valley, in the first round. Utsch is rated #6 in Class A at 189 but is wrestling at 215 at state. Reimers is rated #6 in Class A at 215. In the same quarter bracket as Utsch are junior Jake Tesch (26-78) from St. Charles, who is rated #7 in Class A, and unranked sophomore Philip Magedanz (22-10) of EV-W.

At 275, senior Derek Burris (11-11) faces a difficult draw as well. In the first round, he will wrestle Ben Derynck (34-3), a senior from Minneota who is rated #2 in Class A. In the same quarter bracket is junior Jared Schwanz (33-2) of St. James, who is rated #1 in the state in Class A.

Class A Schedule
Thursday, March 4
10:15 a.m. -- Class A Team Quarterfinals
6 p.m. -- Class A Individual Preliminaries
8:15 p.m. -- Class A Individual Quarterfinals

Friday, March 5
11 a.m. -- Class A Wrestlebacks
1:30 p.m. -- Class A Team Semifinals
8 p.m. -- Class A Individual Semifinals and Consolation Quarterfinals

Saturday, March 6
10 a.m. -- Class A Consolation Semifinals
1:30 p.m. -- Class A Team Championships
*5:30 p.m. -- Class A Individual Title Matches
*The time for Saturday's Class A Individual Title Matches
is an approximate. These matches will occur during the last session
of the day, no earlier than 5:30 p.m. but will depend on how fast
the other matches and awards ceremonies progress.