Smazal takes third, qualifies for state

Six members of the Abbotsford-Colby co-op wrestling team had the opportunity to compete at the WIAA Division 2 Sectional held in Amery this past Saturday. Of those six, only one had competed at this level in the postseason before, senior Levi Dommer, making it a completely new experience for most of those on the team. Freshman Tristen Smazal battled his way through the 113-pound bracket to take third and move on to the final stage of the WIAA postseason, the state tournament in Madison. The path to state was not an easy one for Smazal, who needed to fight back from a semi-final loss to punch his ticket to state.

A first-round victory over Brendan Burke of Amery confirmed that he would at least be in the consolation bracket. Smazal defeated Burke by technical fall in the third period, outscoring his opponent 18-3 after repeated takedowns and nearfalls.

However, that win paired him with Northwestern senior Tommy Brown, the number one seed at the sectional tournament who boasted a 47-2 record this season coming into the tournament. Brown immediately demonstrated why he was a force to be reckoned with in the 113-pound weight-class, taking a 7-0 lead in the first period after a takedown and two nearfalls. While Smazal managed to survive all three rounds with Brown, his only point would come in the final period, ultimately losing by major decision 13-1.

The loss forced the Abby-Colby freshman into the consolation bracket, where he would need to win two consecutive matches in order to reach the state tournament.

His first opponent was Cayden Guntner of the Osseo-Fairchild/Augusta/ Fall Creek combined team. Smazal took charge early in the match, taking down his opponent in the first round and nearly pinning him. Guntner was saved by the buzzer, however, forcing the battle into the second period. After Guntner elected to start the round on top, Smazal reversed positions and promptly pinned his opponent at the 3:27 mark.

Moving on to his second consolation bout, Smazal found himself up against Cole Steffen of Saint Croix Falls. The pair were evenly matched through the first round, neither able to score a point. Seeing the kind of match it might turn into, Steffan elected to start on the bottom in the second period, but Smazal did not allow the Saints’ wrestler to escape or gain the advantage. With the score still knotted at zero, Smazal chose to start on the bottom for the third round. A huge reversal with 56 seconds left in the match gave the Abby-Colby freshman a big twopoint advantage. Smazal managed to hold his position over the final minute of the bout to take a 2-0 decision and earn himself at least the third-place finish he would need to advance to state.

His last opponent of the day was a familiar oneforSmazal.DeaglanO`Connell of Regis/Altoona awaited him in the second-place match after also losing to Brown in the championship. Smazal and O’Connell had faced each other in the championship rounds of both the Cloverbelt conference tournament and the regional tournament, with Smazal taking the first match and O’Connell claiming the second.

In their third meeting in as many weeks, it was O’Connell who came out of the grudge match victorious, pinning Smazal in the first round. While it had perhaps not been the ideal outcome in the final match of the day for Smazal, his third-place finish still cemented his first trip to the state tournament.

MaKenna Herrmann also picked up a win for the Abby-Colby team at the sectionals, wrestling in the 120-pound girls’ division.

In the first round, she faced off against Abriella Reed of Mondovi. Herrmann quickly took down Reed and pinned her at the end of the first period, ending the match at the 1:46 mark.

The win put her in the championship round against Saint Croix Falls junior Paige Haaf. Haaf proved to be a formidable opponent and won by technical fall in the third round, 20-4. While the top three finishers in the boys’ D2 sectionals move on to the state tournament, only the winners of each weight class for the girls tournament continue on, leaving Herrmann just short.

Matt Jakel, Jacob Hoppe, Levi Dommer and Luis Nava Rojas also represented the Abby-Colby co-op at the sectional tournament.

Jakel faced off against eventual fourthplace finisher Antonio Sowell of Amery in the first round of the 106-pound division, with Sowell taking the 9-0 major decision to relegate Jakel to the consolation bracket. Osceola’s Logan Meyer was his next opponent, and while Jakel had a takedown and a nearfall in the second period, Meyer managed to force a reversal and pinned him to end the match at the 3:27 mark.

Hoppe collided with Logan Kawa from Medford in the first round of the 160-pound bracket. Kawa established control over the match early, earning eight points in the first round and ultimately defeating Hoppe 15-2. Hoppe was then pinned in the first round of his match with Hunter Breaker of Osseo-Fairchild/Augusta/Fall Creek. His first opponent, Kawa, would go on to take second.

Dommer and Nava Rojas only had one match each. Dommer was defeated by fall in his match against Ashland’s Gunner Crowe in the third round and Crowe’s loss in the following round eliminated Dommer. Likewise, Nava Rojas was pinned in the third round of his bout with Kasey Johnson of Saint Croix Falls, who then lost in his subsequent match, forcing Nava Rojas from the tournament.

With sectionals completed, the last stop for Smazal and his fellow top-three finishers is the state tournament, which is held over three days at the Kohl Center in Madison. The Division 2 and 3 preliminaries are to begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23.