ROCHESTER — A trip to the state tournament remained a possibility for nine Albert Lea wrestlers.

Along with producing seven semifinalists, the Tigers had two grapplers fighting through the consolation bracket for a chance at true second Friday on Day 1 of the Section 1AA individual tournament at Mayo Civic Center in Rochester.

Albert Lea’s four No. 1 seeds — Zach Glazier, Garrett Aldrich, Tim Christianson and Triston Westerlund — were a combined 7-0 with four falls, two technical falls and a major decision.

“They’re wrestling to their seeds, which is really wrestling well,” said Tigers coach Larry Goodnature. “Tomorrow it’s going to get tougher.”

Glazier (35-6) was 2-0 with a pair of technical falls at 106. He will face Stewartville’s Joey Thompson (16-6) in the semifinals. Plainview-Elgin-Millville’s Reed DeFrang (36-5), the No. 2 seed, is ranked No. 7 and will take on Caledonia’s Kyle Cavanaugh (29-11) in the other semifinal.

Aldrich (35-4) posted a fall and a major decision to advance to the semifinals at 120, where he will face Caledonia’s Zach Schneider (30-9).

Christianson (32-1) stormed through the first round and the quarterfinals with a pair of falls at 182. In the semifinals, he will take on Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/Kingsland/Southland’s Sam Roe (23-8).

Westerlund (38-2) is part of a bracket with three ranked wrestlers at 220. Westerlund, ranked No. 2, earned the No. 1 seed and will face Faribault’s Dillon McEachran (20-9) in the semifinals. Kasson-Mantorville’s Chase O’Connor (35-5), the No. 3-wrestler in the polls and the No. 2-seed in the bracket will take on Waseca’s Dylan Winegar (21-6), who is ranked No. 7 and seeded No. 3.

Also qualifying for the semifinals were Gavin Ignaszewski, Beau Johnsrud and Devin Nelson.

After a first-round bye at 113, Ignaszewski (32-8) pinned Peter Fitterer (17-23) of Cannon Falls in 2:45. Ignaszewsi will wrestle Xavier Riser (21-10) of Lewiston-Altura/Rushford-Peterson in the semifinals.

At 126, Johnsrud (31-9) pinned both of his opponents in less than 2 minutes to make it to the semifinals for a matchup against No. 1-seed and No. 1-ranked Paul Fitterer (33-2). In the other semifinal, No. 2-seed and No. 6-ranked Chase DeFrang (16-1) will face Caledonia’s Justin Stemper (25-14).

Johnsrud, a senior, is looking to return to state at the individual level after qualifying as a sophomore but missing the cut last season.

“What it comes down to is being in the top two,” Johnsrud said. “I have to either beat (Fitterer) or Chase DeFrang. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to wrestle both of them.”

In the 138-pound bracket, Nelson (11-6), ranked No. 8, is one of three ranked wrestlers, and he is the No. 3 seed. He will face Faribault’s Ryan Mullennex (33-4) in the semifinals. Mullennex is the No. 2 seed and is ranked No. 7. The No. 6-ranked wrestler, Chris Pettis (30-5) of Waterville-Elysian-Morristown/Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton, is the No. 1 seed and will take on Stewartville’s Alex Higgins (22-9) in the semifinals.

The Tigers had two wrestlers who lost one match but are still in the running to challenge for true second.

Goodnature said that if Dereck Samudio and Chris Nelson win the consolation bracket and haven’t wrestled the loser of the championship match, the duo still has a chance to qualify for state.

“The nice thing we get a chance to come through wrestlebacks for true second,” he said.

Albert Lea’s Jesse Hernandez, Santana Acosta, Parker Mullenbach, Matt Palmer and Tanner Palmer were eliminated.

Look for Day 2 of the section tournament’s results at albertleatribune.com and in Monday’s Tribune.

 

Albert Lea individuals at Section 1AA tournament

106 pounds

First round: No. 3 Zach Glazier (AL) tech. fall Dayton Deutsch (Waseca), 19-2, 1:56

Quarterfinals: No. 3 Zach Glazier (AL) tech. fall Erwin Strelow (Cannon Falls), 4:14

 

113 pounds

First round: Gavin Ignaszewski (AL), bye

Quarterfinals: Gavin Ignaszewski (AL) fall Peter Fitterer (Cannon Falls), 2:45

 

120 pounds

First round: No. 1 Garrett Aldrich (AL) fall Chris Kline (Byron), 1:50

Quarterfinals: No. 1 Garrett Aldrich (AL) major dec. Garson Schorr (Kasson-Mantorville), 10-2

 

126 pounds

First round: Beau Johnsrud (AL) fall Flabio Olmos (Byron), 1:00

Quarterfinals: Beau Johnsrud (AL) fall Elijah Wilcox (Kasson-Mantorville), 1:35

 

132 pounds

First round: Hunter Caldwell (Caledonia) fall Jesse Hernandez (AL), 0:45

Consolation first round: Jesse Hernandez (AL) bye

Consolation second round: Jesse Hernandez (AL) injury default victory over Ben Adamson (Byron)

Consolation quarterfinals: Lucas Hagel (Waseca) dec. Jesse Hernandez (AL), 7-4

 

138 pounds

First round: No. 8 Devin Nelson (AL), bye

Quarterfinals: No. 8 Devin Nelson (AL) major dec. Thor Sandven (La Crescent), 13-2

 

145 pounds

First round: Santana Acosta (AL), bye

Quarterfinals: Hyden Strain (Cannon Falls) dec. Santana Acosta (AL), 8-7

Consolation second round: Santana Acosta (AL) fall Sam Puetz (Lewiston-Altura-Rushford-Peterson), 2:15

Consolation quarterfinals: Nate Peterson (Byron) dec. Santana Acosta (AL), 15-13

 

152 pounds

First round: Dereck Samudio (AL) major dec. Tylor Nelson (Caledonia), 18-5

Quarterfinals: Frank Wingert (Plainview-Elgin-Millville) dec. Dereck Samudio, 13-9

Consolation second round: Dereck Samudio (AL), bye

Consolation quarterfinals: Dereck Samudio (AL) fall Brody Boran (Waterville-Elysian-Morristown/Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton), 0:55

 

160 pounds

First round: Chris Nelson (AL), bye

Quarterfinals: No. 6 Ben Boran (Waterville-Elysian-Morristown/Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton) fall Chris Nelson, 4:40

Consolation second round: Chris Nelson (AL) fall Bryce Haag (Lewiston-Altura/Rushford-Peterson), 1:12

Consolation quarterfinals: Chris Nelson (AL) dec. Blake Olson (Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/Kingsland, Southland), 11-4

 

170 pounds

First round: No. 4 Andy Bigelow (Kasson-Mantorville) dec. Parker Mullenbach (AL), 10-2

Consolation first round: Parker Mullenbach (AL), bye

Consolation second round: Parker Mullenbach (AL) dec. Isaac VanThomme (Faribault), 5-2

Consolation quarterfinals: No. 7 Christophor Bain (Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/Kingsland, Southland) dec. Parker Mullenbach, 5-0

 

182 pounds

First round: No. 4 Tim Christianson (AL) fall Josh Heyda (Faribault), 0:15

Quarterfinals: No. 4 Tim Christianson (AL) fall Cy Kuschel (Waseca), 2:56

 

195 pounds

First round: Bradley Schultz (Plainview-Elgin-Millville) dec. Tanner Palmer, 5-1

Consolation first round: Tanner Palmer (AL), bye

Consolation second round: Adam Gehling (Stewartville) fall Tanner Palmer (AL), 3:37

 

220 pounds

First round: No. 2 Triston Westerlund (AL), bye

Quarterfinals: No. 2 Triston Westerlund (AL) fall Brandon Turner (Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/Kingsland, Southland), 1:08

 

285 pounds

First round: Matt Palmer (AL) fall Mason Stevens (Cannon Falls), 4:17

Quarterfinals: Isaac Breuer (Plainview-Elgin-Millville) fall Matt Palmer (AL), 5:22

Consolation second round: Matt Palmer (AL) dec. Ben Clayton (Waseca), 3-2

Consolation quarterfinals: Cayden Johnson (Kasson-Mantorville) dec. Matt Palmer, 1-0