Owatonna Wrestling Wins Big Nine Finale 44-18 at Faribault

Owatonna had a strong finish to their conference season with a 44-18 win at Faribault Friday night. The teams might face off again next weekend in the section tournament.

Faribault opened the night with a win by pin Riley Stoltz. The Huskies won the next five weights and were on their way to a victory. Riley Becker started the run at 113 pounds with a late third-period pin and was named the Kottke Jeweler's diamond wrestler of the meet. Trevor Schroeder got a win by decision at 120. Jacob Harlicker and Kade King followed up with tech falls at 126 and 132 and Tanner Cole got a forfeit at 138 to put the Huskies up 25-6.

The Falcons won three of the next four matches. Tony Avila and Charlie Chambers won decisions at 145 and 152. Owatonna's Journey Peterson took a hard-fought victory at 160 pounds. No. 3-ranked Ryan Mullennex got a win by pin at 170 to pull the Falcons within 28-18.

The Huskies closed the night with four straight wins. Griffin Thorn fought through a headlock in the first period at 182 and avoided getting pinned. He recovered from the 5-0 early deficit to win 17-10. Brandon Moen scored a major decision at 195. Goy Tut blanked his opponent 3-0 at 220. Austin Abbas closed the meet with an overtime win by pin.

The Huskies end the regular season at 16-7 overall and 9-1 in the Big Nine. Faribault is 19-4 overall and 8-2 in the Big Nine. There is a good chance that the teams could meet in the Febuary 13 section semifinals.