Alex Lloyd finishes a takedown at the InterMat JJ Classic (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Wrestlers from the host state of Minnesota starred at the InterMat JJ Classic on Saturday. Both wrestlers to repeat as champions of the tournament came from the Gopher State. Alex Lloyd (Shakopee, Minn.) was champion of the 145-pound weight class, winning third tournament for a third straight year. He absolutely dominated his way through the tournament, with a pair of technical falls and pair of second period pins leading to a 12-4 major decision victory over 2015 state champion Jaden Winchel (Sparta, Wis.) in the championship bout.
I feel pretty good," said Lloyd. "I have a hand injury, but that's nothing. I got a lot better on top. I'm improving on a lot of things, so I was happy with what happened."
Lloyd, ranked No. 30 overall in the Class of 2018, became just the fourth wrestler to win three or more titles at the InterMat JJ Classic. The performance and resume of accomplishment earned him Outstanding Wrestler honors in the tournament.
Israel Navarro won his second straight InterMat JJ Classic (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)The other repeat champion in the tournament was a fellow Minnesotan, Israel Navarro (Willmar) at 120 pounds. His path to the finals was much harder than that of Lloyd, as Navarro had to survive one point victories in both the quarterfinal and semifinal bouts. The championship match was a 4-3 tiebreaker decision over Colby Njos (Anoka, Minn.), the wrestlers placed third and sixth respectively at 106 pounds in Minnesota's big-school division last year.
Alex Crowe defeated state champion Hayden Krein in the finals (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)Lloyd was one-half of one of the three teammate combinations to win titles at the InterMat JJ Classic on Saturday. Joining Lloyd as a Sabers wrestler to win a weight class was three-time state medalist Alex Crowe, who won the 160-pound weight class. He won his two opening bouts by 15-0 technical fall before a pair of decisions over state medalists from Wisconsin; 8-3 over Zach Lee (Kaukauna) in the semifinal, before a 9-2 victory over state champion Hayden Krein (Sparta) in the final.
Reid Ballantyne earned the title at 106 pounds (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)The pair of wrestlers from Stillwater, Minn. to win titles were Reid Ballantyne at 106 pounds and James Huntley at 182; while the pair from Bloomington Kennedy, Minn. to win titles were Jake Leicht at 170 and Alchan Robbs at 220.
Three other Minnesota natives, making it a total of ten champions in fifteen weight classes, earned titles on Saturday in Rochester at the home of The Clash Duals and Minnesota Christmas Tournament.
Garrett Vos won a JJ Classic title after finishing third in each of the last two years (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)State champion Garrett Vos (Waconia) won the 126 pound weight class, steamrolling his five opponents on the way to a championship. There were three major decisions and two technical falls, including 14-1 over Aidan Medora (Wauwatosa, Wis.) in the championship bout.
"I think I controlled it well," said Vos. "I think I got out early and scored points. That's what I want to do ... just keep scoring points."
Two-time state medalist Nate Larson (Apple Valley) prevailed at 138 pounds, 6-3 over state qualifier Patrick Ryan (New Trier, Ill.) in the final; while state medalist Austin Braun (Woodbury, Minn.) upended two-time state placer Devin Streidler (Bismarck, N.D.) 5-3 in the 152 pound final.
Connor Williams defeated two Fargo All-Americans en route to winning the title at 182 pounds (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)Most notable of the out of state titles was the one won by state medalist Connor Williams (La Crosse Central, Wis.) at 182 pounds. In the championship match, it was a 6-4 victory over defending InterMat JJ Classic champion Tyler Buesgens (Scott West, Minn.), who last year was also a state medalist; the semifinal match was a 3-1 victory over state runner-up Caden Steffen (Zumbrota-Mazeppa).
"It feels great," said Williams "I bumped up a weight from 170 and I just feels great with all the fluids in me. Now I can wrestle any of my matches just shooting, scoring and defending those shots. So I feel pretty great today."
Rounding out the champions were Isaac Klimhammer (Brandon Valley, S.D.) at 100 pounds, Keegan O'Toole (Arrowhead, Wis.) at 113, Chris Deloza (Clovis North, Calif.) at 132, and Spencer Trenary (Clarion-Goldfield, Iowa) at 285.
The last three matches of the tournament for Klimhammer all went greater than the six minutes of regulation; he won the quarterfinal 10-5 in overtime, the semifinal 5-5 in the ultimate tiebreaker, and 2-1 in the tiebreaker periods in the final over Matthew Bianchi (Two Rivers, Wis.).
Keegan O'Toole gets in a scramble with Charlie Pickell in the finals (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)O'Toole, a Cadet freestyle All-American this summer, beat fellow freshman Charlie Pickell (Mankato West, Minn.) 5-1 in the championship match; Pickell was a high school state champion last season. More notable was the 7-5 overtime victory over returning state placer Drew Bennett (Fort Dodge, Iowa) in the semifinal.
"I worked really hard this offseason because I didn't achieve what I wanted to at Fargo, so I just really worked as hard as I could so I could achieve my goals this year," O'Toole said.
Christopher Deloza defeated two-time state champion Sam Stuhl in the championship match (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)Deloza, a state medalist in 2015, beat two-time state champion Sam Stuhl (Ellsworth, Wis.) 7-5 in the championship match. Returning state medalist Trenary, a Cadet Greco-Roman champion, won a pair of matches by fall in a three-person round-robin to win his title.
100:
1st: Isaac Klinkhammer (Brandon Valley) dec. Matthew Bianchi (Two Rivers), 2-1 TB
3rd: Paxton Creese (Shakopee) dec. Maxwell Petersen (Byron), 8-4
5th: Ryan Henningson (Winona) maj. dec. Javon Taschuk (Stillwater), 15-3
106:
1st: Reid Ballantyne (Stillwater) dec. Charlie Stuhl (Ellsworth), 4-1
3rd: Maxwell Crowe (Shakopee) dec. Jaxson Rohman (Martin County West), 6-5
5th: Cian Fischer (Weyauwega-Fremont) dec. Joey Thompson (Maple Grove), 13-11 SV
113:
1st: Keegan O'Toole (Arrowhead) dec. Charlie Pickell (Mankato West), 5-1
3rd: Lucus Anglin (Vermillion) by injury default over Drew Bennett (Fort Dodge)
5th: Joey Bianchi (Two Rivers) dec. Joseph Peterson (Albert Lea), 8-5
120:
1st: Israel Navarro (Willmar) dec. Colby Njos (Anoka), 4-3 TB
3rd: Ryan Ripplinger (Bismarck) dec. Zachary Smith (Prior Lake), 8-2
5th: Drew Woodley (Northfield) pinned Dominic Dentino (Arrowhead), 1:26
126:
1st: Garrett Vos (Waconia) maj. dec. Aidan Medora (Wauwatosa), 14-1
3rd: Jack Tangen (New Trier) dec. Brady Gross (Apple Valley), 3-0
5th: Tyler Shackle (Scott West) pinned Aaron Bahr (West Salem), 3:30
132:
1st: Christopher Deloza (Wrestling Prep) dec. Sam Stuhl (Ellsworth), 7-5
3rd: Sebas Swiggum (Apple Valley) dec. Tate Torgerson (Cambridge-Isanti), 8-5
5th: Leo Wilczek (Little Falls) by injury default over Alex Kern (St Cloud Tech)
138:
1st: Nate Larson (Apple Valley) dec. Patrick Ryan (New Trier), 6-3
3rd: Jaden Van Maanen (La Crosse Central) dec. Clay Carlson (Prior Lake), 9-3
5th: Jackson Redhair (Oak Ridge) dec. Gavin Ignaszewski (Albert Lea), 4-2
145:
1st: Alex Lloyd (Shakopee) maj. dec. Jaden Winchel (Sparta), 12-4
3rd: Peyton Mocco (West Allis Nathan Hale) maj. dec. Joshua Otto (Arrowhead), 14-4
5th: James Brown (Cambridge-Isanti) pinned Brock Parker (Waukee), 0:45
152:
1st: Austin Braun (Woodbury) dec. Devin Steidler (Bismarck), 5-3
3rd: Devon Sievers (Deuel) pinned Jacob Forar (Lakeville), 1:49
5th: Parker Wahl (Bismarck) by injury default over Chase Logelin (New Prague)
160:
1st: Alexander Crowe (Shakopee) dec. Hayden Krein (Sparta), 9-2
3rd: Dalton Wagner (Jackson County Central) maj. dec. Noah Lefebvre (Foley), 17-9
5th: Zach Lee (Kaukauna) maj. dec. Joshua Bernier (Thief River Falls), 14-6
170:
1st: Jake Leicht (Bloomington Kennedy) dec. Bryson Alsteen (Kaukauna), 6-3
3rd: Tyler Dahlstrom (Saint Francis) dec. Brennan Rutt (New Prague), 7-2
5th: Seth Anderson (Lakeville North) pinned Colton Krell (Blooming Prairie), 2:47
182:
1st: Connor Williams (La Crosse Central) dec. Tyler Buesgens (Scott West), 6-4
3rd: Caden Steffen (Zumbrota-Mazeppa) dec. Beau Yineman (Neenah), 5-4
5th: Noah Keith (Bloomington Kennedy) by injury default over Alex Lindstrom (Eastview)
195 (Round Robin):
1st: James Huntley (Stillwater)
2nd: Griffin Thorn (Owatonna)
3rd: Jarret Haglund (Zumbrota-Mazeppa)
4th: Ezayah Oropeza (Rosemount)
5th: Abdulla Shigidy (Burnsville)
220 (Round Robin):
1st: Alchan Robbs (Bloomington Kennedy)
2nd: Justin Mohlin (Centennial)
3rd: Carlos Jimenez (Apple Valley)
285 (Round Robin):
1st: Spencer Trenary (Clarion-Goldfield-Dows)
2nd: Anthony Putz (St Peter)
3rd: Trey Chatman (Hayfield)
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