The Prior Lake wrestling team is trying to gain some momentum as well as get to full health.
The Lakers won a pair of South Suburban Conference duals to improve 4-5 overall, and finished fifth in the Elk River Invitational Jan. 14 getting two champions in sophomores Finn Bloomquist and Brock Zurn.
Prior Lake (4-2 in the SSC) earned a 45-23 win over Eagan and a 52-24 triumph over Eastview at the Rosemount quadrangular competition Jan. 12.
The Lakers still have been wrestling without senior Alan Koehler, who is ranked No. 1 in the state at 126 pounds, despite being sidelined all season. He’s expected back in February and will be going for this third straight state individual title.
Koehler was the 106-pound state champion in 2021 and won the 120-pound crown last year.
If Koehler can win another state title this season, he’ll become the only wrestler in Prior Lake history to win three state individual crowns. Right now, Koehler, Jake Kahnke and Alex Hart are the program’s only two-time winners.
Kahnke won the 189-pound title in 2006 and the heavyweight crown in 2007, while Hart was the 220-pound champion in 2014 and won at heavyweight in 2015. Koehler won the 106-pound title in 2021.
Koehler is one of four ranked wrestlers for the Lakers. The three are senior Ben Brennan (No. 10, 132), Zurn (No. 6, 220) and junior Jide Abasiri (No. 8, heavyweight).
At the invite, Prior Lake finished with 138 team points. Hutchinson won the title (198), followed by Saint Croix Falls (173), Andover (158) and the host Elks (148).
Hibbing ended up sixth (101.5), followed by Eagan (86.5), Somerset, Wisconsin (53), Proctor-Hermantown (43) and Osseo (12).
Zurn earned a bye in the first round, won 6-5 in the semifinals, before beating Tramaine Davis of Andover 7-2 for the 220-pound title.
Bloomquist also went 2-0 to win the 126-pound crown. He won 11-5 in the semifinals and earned an 8-6 decision over Max Martin of Hutchinson in the final.
Runner-up finishes for Prior Lake went to Brennan at 132, junior Jaxon Mikolyzk at 138 and senior Aidan McGowan at 170.
Other finishes included eighth-grader Liam Collins (3rd, 106), ninth-grader Dominic Berg (4th, 145), ninth-grader Owen Trondson (5th, 113) and sophomore John Graham (5th, 152).
In the win over Eagan, Bloomquist, Mikolyzk, Berg and McGowan earned pins for the Lakers at 126, 138, 145 and 170, respectively. Eighth-grader Wyatt Smith won by technical fall at 113.
Other wins included Trondson (5-0, 120), Brennan (8-0, 132), Graham (9-7, 152), Zurn (3-1, 220) and Abasiri (6-0, heavyweight).
Against Eastview, Prior Lake had seven wins by fall — Collins (106), Bloomquist (126), Brennan (132), Mikolyzk (138), Berg (145), eighth-grader Ryan Block (160) and McGowan (170).
Graham won 14-2 at 152 for the Lakers, while Zurn earned a 1-0 decision at 220 and Abasiti won 5-3 at heavyweight.
This year’s Section 2AAA team tournament is set for Feb. 17 in Apple Valley. Sixth-ranked Apple Valley is the defending champion.
The Eagles beat the Lakers in an SSC dual, winning 51-21 back on Dec. 8.
The individual section tourney is set for Feb. 24-25 at Lakeville North.
The Class 3A state tournament will be March 2-4 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The team competition is the first day, followed by the individual tourney the next two days.
