Four Tigers still in the hunt for state championships

Published 11:14 am Friday, March 1, 2019

By Tyler Julson

ST. PAUL — Six Tigers started Friday morning with aspirations of becoming a state champion at the Minnesota state wrestling tournament in  St. Paul.

After the opening round, four of them were still alive, advancing to the quarterfinals of their respective weight classes.

Senior captain Nic Cantu started the day for Albert Lea at 120 pounds. The No. 2-ranked Cantu flew to a first-round victory with a pinfall in only 47 seconds. He will wrestle again Friday afternoon against No. 4 Nick Novak of New Prague.

Email newsletter signup

Eighth-grader Cole Glazier continued the win streak for the Tigers, notching a pinfall victory in the second period of his match at 126 pounds. Cole Glazier, the No. 4-ranked 126-pounder, advances to the quarterfinals to match up with Bryce Dagel of Eden Prairie.

In the most exciting match of the round for the Tigers, sophomore Caleb Talamantes picked up a bigtime win with a 12-9 decision in the ultimate tie-breaker round over No. 5 Jahsa Rankins.

Trailing 9-7 with under 20 seconds remaining, Talamantes shot a successful takedown to send the match to overtime. Neither wrestler was able to score in the first overtime period, followed by each wrestler riding out their opponent in the second and third overtimes. Starting on top in the fourth overtime, Talamantes flipped Rankins to his back to pick up three points and the win. He advances to face No. 3 Nick Dunagan of Mounds View in the quarterfinals.

Sophomore Griffin Studier ran into a tough first-round opponent in No. 7 Chance Hinrichs. Studier fell to a pinfall in the second period. The loss ended Studier’s tournament run after Hinrichs went on to lose in the quarterfinals.

Senior captain and No. 1-ranked Zach Glazier made easy work of his opponent at 182 pounds. Zach Glazier won the match via a 18-3 technical fall at 4:39. He moves into the quarterfinals to match up with No. 6 Grant Litke of Little Falls.

Senior Brady Nielsen squared up with No. 1 Ezayah Oropeza in his opening match, falling to a pinfall in the first round. He will move into the consolation bracket at 220 pounds.

All wrestlers will compete again Friday afternoon — Cole and Zach Glazier, Cantu and Talamantes still with a shot at a title; and Studier and Nielsen in the consolations where they can climb as high as third place.

Check back with the Tribune for updates throughout the tournament at albertleatribune.com and follow @altribunesports on Twitter for live updates during the day.

About Tyler Julson

Tyler Julson covers sports for the Albert Lea Tribune.

email author More by Tyler

More Gallery

St. Paul native Joe Mauer will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame

Many gather to recognize Veterans Day

United South Central presents “The Lion King Jr.”

Albert Lea High School to perform “Mamma Mia!”

Print Article

SportsPlus

  • Construction Updates

  • Financials


  • Southern Minnesota News Collection