Ashby | Bertha-Hewitt | Brandon-Evansville | Browerville | Henning | Local Sports | Menahga | New York Mills | Otter Tail Central | Park Rapids Area | Parkers Prairie | Pine River-Backus | Sebeka | Staples-Motley | Verndale | Wadena-Deer Creek | Walker-Hackensack-Akeley | Zeke Fuhrman

By Zeke Fuhrman |

Area Wrestlers Competing in the Individual State Tournament

Staplesmotleywrestling
Photo courtesy of Staples-Motley School District via Facebook

KWAD – The field for the 2026 Minnesota State Wrestling tournament is set. From February 25th through February 28th, Minnesota’s best wrestlers will take over Grand Casino Arena for four straight days of championship competition. It begins Wednesday, February 25th at 4:00 with the Team State Tournament, featuring area teams Brainerd (AAA), Perham, (AA), United North Central (A), West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville (A), and defending state champion Staples-Motley (A). Then the spotlight shifts to individuals on Thursday morning, as the Class AAA, AA, A, and Girls tournaments open at 9:00 a.m., followed by more team action Thursday evening.

By Friday and Saturday, it’s all about individual glory — seven total sessions packed with quarterfinals, semifinals, and medal matches, culminating Saturday afternoon from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. when champions will be crowned.

Here is a list of area wrestlers competing for individual titles this week:

Aitkin

  • Rylan Moritz (A – 114)

  • Andrew Hudrlik (A – 127)

  • Sierra Laffin (Girls – 118)

Albany

  • Braeden Geise (AA – 121)

  • Connor Plumski (AA – 189)

Alexandria Area

  • Nolan Fettig (AA – 133)

  • Luke Kelly (AA – 160)

Bemidji

  • Oscar Hanks (AAA – 107)

  • Gabriel Morin (AAA – 133)

  • Nick Strand (AAA – 139)

  • Nehemiah Schwinghammer (AAA – 285)

  • Taylor Merschman (Girls – 106)

  • Brenalen Fredriksen-Holm (Girls – 112)

  • Mercy McIntyre (Girls – 235)

Bertha-Hewitt-Verndale-Parkers Prairie

  • Adam Grabow (A – 107)

  • Isaiah Duberowski (A – 121)

  • Wyatt Jares (A – 133)

  • Hudson Truax (A – 145)

  • Tanner Schulke (A – 172)

  • Elora Wagner (Girls – 148)

Border West Buccaneers

  • Gunner Hennessy (A – 152)

Brainerd

  • William Dircks (AAA – 114)

  • Jake Rodriguez (AAA – 121)

  • Jackson Berhow (AAA – 139)

  • Ben Rodriguez (AAA – 145)

  • Easton Dircks (AAA – 152)

  • Tyce Faber (AAA – 189)

  • Ariana Pickar (Girls – 130)

  • Arianna Halbert (Girls – 142)

  • Serenity Krebsbach (Girls – 170)

Barnesville

  • Chase Hauck (A – 114)

  • Cameron Halverson (A – 172)

Detroit Lakes

  • Anthony Chilton (AA – 107)

  • Gage Weber (AA – 121)

  • Ryan Francis (AA – 215)

Fergus Falls

  • Nolan Field (AA – 285)

Frazee

  • Ashton Reller (A – 121)

  • Christian Peichel (A – 133)

  • Liam Hamm (A – 139)

  • Cash Osterman (A – 145)

  • Blake Sonnenberg (A – 160)

  • Tanner Moe (A – 215)

LPGE-Browerville Wolves

  • Hayden Hiebert (A – 107)

  • Hunter Katterhagen (A – 121)

  • Brodie Pachan (A – 139)

  • Logan Thom (A – 172)

  • Olivia Browen (Girls – 118)

Minnewaska Area

  • Miles Wildman (AA – 133)

New York Mills

  • Grady Roberts (A – 285)

  • Shauna Geiser (Girls – 112)

Osakis

  • Blake Fischer (A – 127)

  • Ashton Pastian (A – 133)

  • Simon Jacobson (A – 160)

  • Conner Koep (A – 215)

  • Adelynne Olschlager (Girls – 100)

Ottertail Central Bulldogs

  • Tayden Soma (A – 152)

  • Ava Rousu (Girls – 155)

Park Rapids Area

  • Wrigley Clark (AA – 127)

Pelican Rapids

  • Danny Salazar (A – 114)

  • Jackson Peasley (A – 139)

Pequot Lakes–Pine River–Backus

  • Carter Strauss (AA – 114)

  • Parker Zutter (AA – 145)

  • Trevor Holmberg (AA – 152)

Perham

  • Dresden Wegscheid (AA – 127)

  • Peyton Trout (AA – 139)

  • Sam Roiko (AA – 145)

  • Carsen Zeise (AA – 152)

  • Tiegan Detloff (AA – 172)

  • Trystan Larson (AA – 189)

  • Eli Roiko (AA – 215)

Sauk Centre–Melrose

  • Benjamin Friedrichs (AA – 189)

  • Natalee Friedrichs (Girls – 100)

  • Afton Vogt (Girls – 130)

  • Makenzey Stutzman (Girls – 235)

Staples Motley

  • Garrett Bjerga (A – 107)

  • Caden Kramer (A – 121)

  • Cayden Neisen (A – 133)

  • Gage Bjerga (A – 139)

  • Elijah Greenwaldt (A – 145)

  • Beau Carlson (A – 152)

  • Colbe Tappe (A – 160)

  • Riley Reese (A – 172)

  • Luke Bjerga (A – 189)

  • Zach Tabatt (A – 215)

  • Adrian Gomez (A – 285)

  • Kana Reese (Girls – 100)

  • Leah Greenwaldt (Girls – 112)

  • Anika Tureson (Girls – 170)

United North Central Warriors

  • Kaiden Dykhoff (A – 107)

  • Henry Mayer (A – 114)

  • Carter Ahrendt (A – 145)

  • Conrad Koll (A – 152)

  • Creed Koll (A – 160)

  • Ryan Peterson (A – 285)

  • Sophie Johnson (Girls – 118)

Walker-Hack-Akeley-Nevis-Laporte

  • Chase Whitney (A – 160)

Wadena-Deer Creek

  • Ettore Pinnella (A – 189)

  • Kaylee Endres (Girls – 118)

  • Mckenna Brauch (Girls – 142)

  • Ella Wegscheid (Girls – 190)

  • Gracie Arm (Girls – 235)

West Central Area-Ashby-Brandon-Evansville

  • Keiran Gehrke (A – 114)

  • Nathan Richter (A – 127)

  • Evan Dingwall (A – 145)

  • Owen Gruchow (A – 160)

  • Ezekiel Sieckert (A – 189)

  • Logon Long (A – 215)

  • Freddi Munoz (A – 285)

  • Skylar LaRue (Girls – 142)

  • Shayla Reynolds (Girls – 148)