Raider wrestlers dominate River Falls 63-6
In the 49-year history of the wrestling rivalry between Hudson and River Falls, the Raiders have never won by a bigger margin than they did last Thursday night, Jan. 5.By: Bob Burrows, Hudson Star-Observer
- Eliot Motu drives River Falls’ Josh Croes to the mat
- Brandon Brown tries to turn over River Falls’ Benji McRoberts
In the 49-year history of the wrestling rivalry between Hudson and River Falls, the Raiders have never won by a bigger margin than they did last Thursday night, Jan. 5.
Hudson dropped just one match on its way to remaining undefeated in Big Rivers Conference dual meets with a 63-6 victory on its home mat.
The Raiders jumped right back into action Saturday, Jan. 7 when they hosted the Hudson Dual Invite and came away with a record of 3-1 to finish second.
The Raiders return to BRC action Thursday, Dec. 12, at Rice Lake and will compete at the Anoka Invitational Saturday, Jan. 14. Their next home meet is Thursday, Jan. 19, against Eau Claire North.
Last Thursday against River Falls, the Raiders won three of the first four matches and never looked back in their 63-6 win over the Wildcats. Raider head coach Chris Hansen said the score wasn’t indicative of the challenge the Raiders faced.
“Even though the score was very lop-sided, I was impressed with the River Falls squad,” he said. “There were at least six matches where I think our guys had to really battle.”
Mitch Fanning opened the night with a pin of Logan Johnson at 1:26 of the 106 pound match, one of four pins recorded by the Raiders. Kolya Hawksford pinned Winston Bystrom in 3:28 at 152 pounds, Derek Schindler pinned Elliot Weishaar in 2:23 at 195 and Eliot Motu beat Josh Croes in 45 seconds at 220.
Austin Koski earned a 26-11 technical fall over Ryan Tierney at 145 pounds and Nic Johnson won an 11-3 major decision against Spencer Langer at 138. Hudson picked up three wins by forfeit but the rest of the Raider scoring came by decisions.
Nick Nelson had the closest math, winning a 4-2 decision against Zach Radkey-Pechacek at 120, while C.J. Steiner defeated Billy Kucinski, 8-3, at 132. Zach Lohman wrestled to a 9-2 victory over Briar Tepp at 113 pounds while Brandon Brown earned a 7-0 win over Benji McRoberts at 182.
Saturday at the Hudson Duals, the Raiders lost to eventual champion Hutchinson, Minn., 36-30, in the opening round before posting three straight victories to take second. The Raiders beat Plainview-Elgin-Millville (Minn.), 36-34, and Stillwater, 36-29, before taking care of St. Paul-Harding, 65-13. Both Hutchinson and Plainview are ranked honorable mention in the state of Minnesota.
“I am very pleased with our effort and the success we had,” Hansen said about Saturday. “However, I don’t think we were real sharp.”
Hansen pointed out that Plainview defeated the Raiders by 16 points at last year’s invite.
“For us to turn that into a win was nice,” he said. “The dual came down to the final two matches which pitted two of our best against two of their best. Once Tanner Owens secured an excellent decision, Dima Hawksford had to simply not get pinned so he changed his style, sacrificing his attempt to win in order to guarantee a win for the team.
“Tanner Owens is really wrestling well right now,” Hansen added. “If he can carry this into the post-season, he will be real successful.”
Hansen said Saturday marked the first time the current Raiders wrestled against Stillwater.
“Although we beat them, they taught us a real lesson down on the mat,” he said. “Definitely something our kids need to work on.”
Hansen said Hudson will face a tougher challenge this Saturday, Jan. 14 at Anoka when they take on the second, ninth and 12th ranked teams from Minnesota.
“Class AA No.2 Scott West has already beaten the No. 2 Class AAA team this season,” he noted.
Tags: sports, wrestling, raiders, prep
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