By Micah Bader

WELLS — When a United South Central varsity wrestler didn’t make weight, a freshman stepped up to help the Rebels beat Maple Rivers 45-31, after falling to the Eagles last year.

Keenan Biddle moved up from the junior varsity squad to defeat his opponent in a grueling 5 minutes, 34 seconds.

“He’s a JV 106-pounder, but we told him last night that, hey, you better weigh 113, just in case,” USC head coach Marcus Eytcheson said. “That’s a lot of pressure, and to go out there and get a fall late in the match — that’s a big deal.”

Maple Valley took a 25-24 lead after the 160-pound match, but a strong finish by USC powered them to the victory.

“We shifted our weights around,” Eytcheson said. “One of our better wrestlers, Logan Sonnek, ended up with a forfeit.”

Of the Rebels’ seven wins, Dominic Alger, Biddle, Dylan Herman, Derek Herman, Colten Carlson and Joe Matthews won by fall, and Travis Brown won by decision (5-4).

Alger and Matthews each pinned their opponents in under a minute.

Matthews had the fastest pin of the evening in 35 seconds.

“Joe Matthews got his first fall on varsity this season,” Eytcheson said. “The dual was won at this point, and Joe was able to keep his focus.”

Next, USC competes at Owatonna on Saturday.

 

United South Central 43, Maple River 31

106 — Dominic Alger (USC) fall Jared Moore, :49

113 — Keenan Biddle (USC) fall Prince Bade, 5:34

120 — Zach Kuhns (MR) major dec. Jacob Gonsalez, 14-2

126 — Russell Caldwell (MR) fall Shawn Redman, 1:02

132 — Dylan Herman (USC) fall Zack Walters, 1:22

138 — Derek Herman (USC) fall Noah Decker, 2:14

145 — Aaron Trio (MR) fall Seth Olson, :43

152 — Kyle Schoneck (MR) dec. Seth Olson, 1-0

160 — Mitch Stoltzman (MR) fall Teagun Sunde, 1:55

170 — Travis Brown (USC) dec. Lukas Trio, 5-4

182 — Colten Carlson (USC) fall Andrew Beck, 1:08

195 — Tyler Olson (MR) fall Issac Hernandez, :35

220 — Logan Sonnek (USC), forfeit

285 — Joe Matthews (USC) fall Zach Garlow, :30