Positioning put Kody Sorenson in the finals, and it eventually put him in tears.
The 189-pound Frazee senior jumped into the stands to hug his mother after he used a 3-2 decision Saturday to pick up the Class 1A title at the Minnesota state wrestling tournament at the Xcel Energy Center.
It was Sorenson's first individual title and his second title this week, after helping Frazee earn a share of the team title on Thursday.
"She didn't mind the sweat," the drenched Sorenson said after hugging his mom.
"Winning is as much about my parents as it is me. They're the ones that have put up with me during the season while I cut weight. They deserve it too."
ADVERTISEMENT
Sorenson's win ends a season where he finished 47-1. He plans to wrestle in college, but for now he's not sure where.
Winning a state title, however, was one thing he was sure of. Sorenson, a four-time participant, said his experience helped him create a plan that was beneficial.
He opened the day with a 5:53 pin before making the moves needed to beat Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial's Nate Meixell for the state title.
His win was the lone bright spot for the area's wrestlers in the finals.
New York Mills' 112-pounder, Shane Novak lost a 5-4 decision to Minnewaska Area's Jacob Braaten.
Breckenridge-Campbell-Tintah's Stephen Erlandson was pinned in 5:50 in his loss to Alex Cooling of Madelia-Truman-Martin Luther.
"I kept trying to cut him," Novak said about his strategy, which involved going low. "But he was able to stall it out."
Novak was the first area wrestler to lose in the finals.
ADVERTISEMENT
Following his match, Erlandson and Sorenson were both in a nearby tunnel gearing up for their matches.
Erlandson's dad, Rick, is his coach and went over moves with his son before going out to wrestle.
When Erlandson stepped out, he was joined by his father and twin brother, Greg, who acted as one of his coaches.
"I didn't know he was going to do that," Erlandson said about his brother.
"I am glad he was there."
Erlandson kept with Cooling to start the match until the eventual state champion was able to make the moves necessary leading to a pin.
It was enough to also deny Breckenridge-Campbell-Tintah's its first-ever individual champion.
Losing was tough on Erlandson, as he was consoled by his brother and father following the match.
ADVERTISEMENT
"I'm proud of him and I am proud of what he did," Rick Erlandson said.
"It is not a fluke he got that far. He's been a runner-up twice, he's just missed out."
Minutes passed after Erlandson's match when Sorenson took to the mat and won.
It also brought an end to what was a grueling week for Sorenson.
He wrestled three times Thursday in the team duals and wrestled twice on Friday and Saturday.
"It wasn't an issue," he said about wrestling seven times in three days.
"I've been here before and knew what to expect."
Frazee collects a total of four place-winners
ADVERTISEMENT
Of the 11 Frazee individuals in the Class 1A state meet, four placed, including Sorenson.
Tanner Ellenberg wrestled to a third-place finish at 125, while Trevor Stilke was fourth at 112 and Bruce Lemon finished sixth at 130.
Ellenberg and Lemon each wrestled to their respective semifinals, while Stilke went 4-2 and captured fourth with a trip through the wrestlebacks.
Ellenberg lost to eventual 125-pound champion junior Oakley McLain (45-5) of Kenyon-Wanamingo 6-1 in the semifinals, but recovered to make it to the bronze round to win 3-2 over junior Ben Rynda of Trinity School at River Ridge.
Frazee 112-pounder Stilke lost to Badger/ Greenbush-Middle River junior Isaac Novacek in the third-place match by a 17-3 major decision.
Lemon battled his way to the 130 semifinals, where he lost to senior Klinton VanHeuveln of Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg in a narrow 7-5 match and eventually finished sixth overall.
Other Frazee state qualifiers included Isaac Schermerhorn (103, 0-1 in state), Jordan Kohler (119, 0-1), Myrel Schermerhorn (135, 1-2), Rij Koehnen (140, 2-2), Casey Nunn (145, 0-2), Cody Piper (152, 0-1) and Rick Brandt (215, 0-1).
(Brian Wierima contributed to this article.)
ADVERTISEMENT
Frazee state results
Class 1A state individual meet Friday-Saturday, March 4-5, Excel Energy Center, St. Paul.
Frazee results -- 103: DNP. Isaac Schermerhorn (0-1) Wayne Henslin (Kenyon-Wanamingo) pin Schermerhorn 5:28.
112: 4th. Trevor Stilke (4-2); Stilke dec. Angel Soto (St. James) 5-4; Quinten Berres (Kimball) pin Stilke :24; Stilke dec. Jerod Novak (Aitkin) 1-0; Stilke dec. Dylan Herman (United South Central) 6-1; Third place: Isaac Novacek (Badger/G-MR) maj dec. Stilke 17-3.
119: DNP. Jordan Kohler (0-1); Isaac Carreon (St. James) dec. Kohler 5-4.
125: 3rd. Tanner Ellenberg (4-1); Ellenberg dec. Brett Brausen (Pierz) 7-2; Ellenberg dec. Christian Skillings (Minneota) 4-2 (OT); Semifinals: Oakley McLain (Kenyon-W) dec. Ellenberg 6-1; Ellenberg dec. Chris Pfarr (LeSueur-Henderson) 5-1; Third place: Ellenberg dec. Ben Rynda (River Ridge) 3-2.
130: 6th. Bruce Lemon (2-3); Lemon dec. Zach Matthys (Ottertail Central) 11-5; Lemon dec. Jordan Theede (Lewiston-A/R-P) 9-3; Semifinals: Klinton VanHeuveln (Kerkhoven-M-S) dec. Lemon 7-5; Spencer Yackel (Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial) dec. Lemon 5-2; Fifth place: Theede dec. Lemon 6-5 (OT).
135: DNP. Myrel Schermerhorn (1-2); Schermerhorn dec. Matt Lee (Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City) 7-6; Bronson Steuber (Jackson County Central) pin Schermerhorn 3:10; Grant Kyllo (Zumbrota-Mazeppa) dec. Schermerhorn 9-4.
ADVERTISEMENT
140: DNP. Rij Koehnen (2-2); Koehnen dec. Zach Revier (BOLD) 3-1 (OT); Clint Poster (Pierz) dec. Koehnen 8-2; Koehnen dec. Jacob Staloch (New Richland-H-E-G) 4-0; Adam Cooling (Madelia/Truman /Martin Luther) dec. Koehnen 9-5.
145: DNP. Casey Nunn (0-2); Darick Vancura (JCC) dec. Nunn 7-1; Myles Moreno (Hayfield) dec. Nunn 6-3.
152: DNP. Cody Piper (0-1); Jake Krogstad (Dover-Eyota) maj dec. Piper 9-1.
189: 1st. Kody Sorenson (4-0); Sorenson dec. Nathan Rose (Sibley East) 7-2; Sorenson maj dec. Chad Matthees (Zumbrota-Mazeppa) 12-4; Semifinals: Sorenson pin David Joseph (Kimball) 5:53; Championship: Sorenson dec. Nate Meixell (Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial) 3-2.
215: DNP. Rick Brandt (0-1); Jordan Phibbs (JCC) pin Brandt 1:28.
