Wrestling, Class A Championship: Jackson County Central 43, Caledonia-Houston 19
Posted: Thursday, March 2, 2023 - 10:07 PM
Top-seeded Jackson Country Central kept a headlock on the small-school supremacy following a 43-19 victory over Caledonia-Houston in the Class A championship match on Thursday, March 2 at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul.
In nearly duplicate fashion to a season ago, the Huskies zipped through the Class A field en route to their ninth championship since 2008. During the 2022 state tournament run, Jackson County Central won each of its three duals by at least double-digit margins. That formula didn’t change as the Huskies outscored their three opponents on Thursday by a combined 145-54.
After trading decisions with Caledonia in the first four matches, Jackson County went on a four-win spree from 132 pounds through Isaiah Rodriguez’s 4-3 decision over Isaac Blocker at 152. The Huskies responded later with three consecutive victories to end the dual in powerful fashion. Caleb Vancura applied a quick pin at 220 pounds and heavyweight Cameron Scholten was nearly as quick with one of his own.
Jackson County Central (21-7) earned a championship berth with a 48-17 victory over West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville in the quarterfinals and then a 54-18 win over Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted in the semifinals. The Huskies finished the season on a 14-1 run following their 47-20 setback to Simley on Jan. 20. The only loss in that spree was a 44-19 setback to Brandon Valley, SD on Feb. 3.
Third place: Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 220-pounder Colton Long recorded a pin to give the Lakers the third-place trophy en route to a 32-30 victory over Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa.
Consolation: Medford dominated in the lower weights and through the middle en route to a 37-33 victory over West Central Area-Ashby-Evansville in the consolation final. Luis Lopez began the spring with a technical fall at 113 pounds and it carried through Garron Hoffman’s decision at 152.
