Hornets advance 11 to state

The Section 8-1A individual tournament belonged to Frazee -- literally.

The Hornets flooded the awards podium, winning 8 of 14 individual championships. Three other wrestlers qualified for the state tournament as an individual, finishing in second place. Ranked No. 2 in Class 1A, Frazee placed in the top four in every weight class.

Frazee head coach John Barlund said the eight individual championships are the most the team has had in the six years he has been head coach.

"It's the most in recent history," Barlund said. "The most since I've been here for sure. We just had a spectacular day."

Isaac Schermerhorn (103), Jordan Kohler (119), Tanner Ellenberg (125), Bruce Lemon (130), Myrel Schermerhorn (135), Rij Koehnen (140), Casey Nunn (145) and Kody Sorenson (189) each won individual titles for Frazee.

The Hornets had already qualified for the state tournament as a dual team heading into this weekend. Barlund felt that helped his team wrestler better.

"When we qualified as a team, it takes the pressure of the kids wrestling in this individual tournament," said Barlund. "I think our guys came out here just a little more relaxed ... and really didn't have that big pressure getting to the state tournament."

Shawn Johnson built a double-digit lead late in the third period Saturday and could have breezed to victory in his title match.

Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton head coach Jesse Barnacle knew better.

Johnson scored back points, just missed a pin and scored a technical fall to earn the 171-pound title at the Minnesota Class 1A, Section 8 individual wrestling tournament.

"He is a relentless kid," said Barnacle. "He could have coasted to a 12-point win in the championship, but he turned the kid one more time to tech fall him, and that's kind of a stamp of his style of wrestling."

Johnson (32-4) is a three-time section champion and is ranked No. 4 in Class 1A entering the Minnesota state tournament, which starts Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.

"It means a lot," Johnson said of winning a third individual section title. "It's a lot of hard work, a lot of hours into wrestling and a lot of time in the practice room. ... It's just getting me prepared for the big tournament down in the Cities."

Johnson improved his career win total to 136 on Saturday, ranking him third in career victories at Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton.

Johnson would have likely surpassed the program record of 145 wins had he not missed more than half of last season with an ankle injury.

Johnson is looking to become the first wrestler from the program, which has had several runner-up finishers before, to win an individual state title.

"I would like to be the first obviously," Johnson said. "I have been working my butt off this year to try to get to the state finals. ... It gives me a lot of motivation. Every day I think about it in the wrestling room and want to get better."

Championship matches

Section 8-1A individual tournament in Glyndon, Friday-Saturday, Feb. 25-26.

103: Isaac Schermerhorn, Frazee, dec. Ryan Bergeron, GMRB, 1-0. True second: Bergeron dec. Tommy Tellers, United North Central 6-3.

112: Isaac Novacek, GMRB, major dec. Trevor Stilke, Frazee, 13-4.

119: Jordan Kohler, Frazee, major dec. Nate Merten, Crookston, 10-0. True second: Merten dec. Steven Henderson, Fertile-Beltrami, 9-4.

125: Tanner Ellenberg, Frazee, dec. Jake Malone, United North Central, 5-2.

130: Bruce Lemon, Frazee, pinned Chad Johnson, DGF, 5:52. True second: C. Johnson dec. Sam Tellers, United North Central, 6-1.

135: Myrel Schermerhorn, Frazee, major dec. Wyatt Hanson, Crookston, 13-4.

140: Rij Koehnen, Frazee, dec. Garret Hoffner, Mahnomen-Waubun, 4-3. True second: Hoffner dec. Zachary Steffen, Park Rapids Area, 8-0.

145: Casey Nunn, Frazee, dec. Blake Bergeron, Crookston, 7-3. True second: Bergeron pinned Adam Branstrom, Park Rapids Area, 2:38.

152: Anthony Caputo, Crookston, dec. Cody Piper, Frazee, 8-2.

160: TeJay Wojchoowski, GMRB, dec. Scott Kern, DGF, 5-0. True second: Kern dec. Forrest Drury, Park Rapids Area, 3-2.

171: Shawn Johnson, DGF, tech. fall Danny Pike, Park Rapids Area, 5:40 (18-3).

189: Kody Sorenson, Frazee, pinned Josh Edlund, Crookston, 3:48.

215: Brody Davidson, Crookston, dec. Rick Brandt, Frazee, 1-0. True second: Brandt dec. Anthony Lorenson, GMRB, 7-6.

285: Yeager, GMRB, pinned Brandon Ritter, Park Rapids Area, 0:56. True second: Ritter pinned Jake Hanson, DGF, 1:05.