Packed week of wrestling sees KoMets on top
The KoMets wrapped up a jam-packed week of wrestling with three weigh-ins and ten duals in just five days.
“We had a busy week of competing. 10 duals in a week is a lot, but our guys did a good job stepping up to the task at hand,” said Head Coach Ryan Hill.
They started out their week last Tuesday night with a quad in Galesville, Wis. The boys rolled past GET/Melrose-Mindoro, Deborah, and Regis-Altoona, outscoring their opponents 202-27.
Friday night, the KoMets hosted a triangular with Waseca and Pine Island. The night was full of activity, as it was also Senior Night, Parent’s Night, and KoMets vs Cancer.
“Friday night was a lot of fun honoring our seniors. We’re fortunate to have guys like Cole, Eli, Heath, and Noah go through our program. We’ve had a blast watching them evolve into who they are today. We also had the pleasure of recognizing our senior manager, Megan Paulson. She’s been an incredible asset to our program over the years and it’s fun having someone who bleeds KoMet blue like she does around,” said Hill.
The boys quickly reset from Friday night into an early Saturday morning for the annual Swalla tournament. The KoMets claimed another Swalla title, winning all five of their duals.
A new team at the Swalla tournament was LaCrosse Aquinas. Aquinas is ranked third in the state of Wisconsin for Division Three.
They stepped onto the mat with six highly ranked wrestlers, testing our line-up. K-M won the dual, 46-23. This was an important win for the KoMets, for Aquinas beat Becker earlier this season. Becker is currently ranked higher than the KoMets in the state team rankings. Becker is a familiar foe to the KoMets. K-M faced them last year in the state semifinals.
The final dual of the Swalla was against Shakopee. The KoMets claimed victory, as well as the Swalla crown, by their closest margin of the day, 44-27.
“We’ve been talking a lot about finding a new level every dual from here on out. For the most part we feel we did this. That’s a lot of level jumps in one week. We feel good about that, but we have a couple tough teams this week that will have a say in where we are really at,” said Hill.
Five KoMets made the Swalla All-Tournament team. Joey Kennedy (145), Luke Swanson (152), Cole Glazier (170/182), Eli Richardson (195), and Heath Parrish (Hwt).
The regular season is quickly winding down. Thursday night the KoMets will head to Lake City where they will face a strong conference rival against the Tigers.
The stage is then set for the highly anticipated conference dual with Zumbrota-Mazeppa. There is a lot riding on this upcoming dual. It not only will determine the HVL championship, but even bigger than that, the outcome of this dual will affect both team in individual section seedings. The road to state is not a clear path for the KoMets as it has been for many years. Zumbrota-Mazeppa, Albert Lea, and Lake City all bring solid line-ups into the post season. No team can be overlooked.
“Teams like ZM know how to win duals and we better be ready for a dog fight. They won’t give an inch and our guys better be ready to fight for the guy next to them,” said Hill.
The head-to-head dual between K-M and ZM will be held on Saturday at 12 p.m. in Mazeppa.
RESULTS:
KM 59 | Regis-Altoona 21
KM 80 | Decorah 0
KM 63 | GET 6
KM 56 | Waseca 7
KM 67 | Pine Island 6
KM 42 | Caledonia 13
KM 69 | LARP 6
KM 57 | Owatonna 9
KM 46 | LaCrosse Aquinas 23
KM 44 | Shakopee 27
Photo: Photo by Angie Richards Kasson-Mantorville wrestlers recognized on Senior Night included Heath Parrish, Eli Richardson, Cole Glazier, Noah Swarts, Megan Paulson.