Owatonna Wrestlers Dismiss John Marshall in Section Opener

The Huskies averaged more than a point a minute while winning their Section 1AAA wrestling quarterfinal 62-12 over Rochester JM at OHS in a match that took 57 minutes.

John Marshall forfeited five matches, including four straight through the middle weights. That allowed the Huskies to clinch the match with Cade King at 152, by simply walking out and raising his hand. The Huskies got pins with Landen Johnson at 106 pounds, Haden Fox at 120, Griffin Thorn at 195 and Goy Tut at 285. Brandon Moen won his match by tech fall.

The closest matches of the evening came back-to-back at 160 and 170. Parker Westphal nearly got a quick pin on his opponent, but instead went the distance for a 7-3 win at 160. Next up, Owatonna sophomore Nick Staska (15-14 overall) matched up with Elijah Hollins (26-3), a chiseled senior. Staska was within 5-3 late in the third period when Hollins got a takedown to close out a 7-3 victory.

No. 6AAA Owatonna (23-5) will face Northfield (13-11) Saturday at 3PM in the semifinals at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester on KRFO AM 1390. The fifth seeded Raiders upset defending section champ No. 4 seed Farmington 33-28. No. 6 Mayo also scored an upset, topping No. 3 Lakeville South 40-27. The Spartans will meet Faribault at 3PM. The No. 2 Falcons beat No. 7 Austin 37-23. The finals are at 5PM Saturday.

The expedited match was a happy occurrence for the crew getting ready to set up the OHS gym for Friday's Section 1AA gymnastics meet. Action begins at 6:30PM. No. 2AA Owatonna is the defending champion.

In Section 2A wrestling, No. 8 seed NRHEG beat No. 9 Medford 54-18 in a pigtail match. Top seed Kenyon-Wanamingo blanked the Panthers in the quarterfinals 81-0. The Westfield Razorbacks will be the next team to get a crack at the defending state champs. The No. 4 seed Razorbacks beat No. 5 Le Sueur-Henderson 42-24 at Blooming Prairie High School. The Razorbacks will face the Knights at 2PM Saturday at USC. Maple River and Blue Earth Area are the other semifinalists.

Triton was eliminated in Section 1A Thursday 68-9 against Caledonia. Saturday's semifinals in Rochester are No. 1 Zumbrota-Mazeppa versus No. 5 Dover-Eyota and No. 3 Wabasha-Kellog against No. 2 Goodhue.

The top four seeds advanced in Section 1AA. No. 1 Kasson-Mantorville will face No. 4 Byron and No. 2 Albert Lea battles No. 3 Plainview-Elgin-Millville on Saturday at 11AM.

The Northfield girls hockey team defended its Section 1A hockey title by beating Red Wing 2-0 Thursday night at the Four Seasons Centre. Farmington took down defending Section 1AA champion Lakeville South 4-1 to earn a trip to Xcel Energy Center next week.