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Wrestling: Zachmeier Shines at Velva Meet

By Staff | Dec 11, 2015

Riley Zachmeier, already in mid-season form, set the bar high in his first meet with a resounding 3-pin series to take first place.

Rugby, as a team, took seventh place overall at a recent meet held in Velva, with four wrestlers placing. Freshman Riley Zachmeier won all three of his bouts by pin to take a first-place finish in the 106-pound weight class. Sophomore Kaden Jaeger took second place in the 145-pound class, winning two of his bouts but falling, 10-2, in the final round to Aaron Sandy of Bishop Ryan. David Schneibel, Jr., and Dylan Grove (both freshmen) took third in their respective weight classes, failing to two wrestlers who placed at the state tournament last year.

Rugby also had its first injury of the season. Thirty seconds into a semifinal matchup with Des Lacs-Burlington’s Kaiden Bredahl, sophomore Joey Berg suffered a hamstring injury and was later defaulted out of the tournament by the coaches.

“Joey undoubtedly would have beaten Bredahl, the eventual champion, if he wouldn’t have been injured,” Coach Craig Zachmeier said. “So we have to wait and see the seriousness of the injury and how rehabilitation goes, as it is so early in the season.”

Senior Spencer Koehmstedt and freshman Collin Kraft lost and did not place due to what Coach Zachmeier called “wrestling nerves.”

“They have to be able to handle the pressure of competing and embrace the opportunity to compete, which should be an easy fix,” Coach Zachmeier said.

The team was also without sophomore Dustin Herald, who was dealing with a nagging back muscle injury; Brady Volk, Nathaniel Johnson, Jadyn Mack and Cole Schneibel, who competed in junior varsity.

Rugby High School Wrestling Coach Craig Zachmeier said Rugby could’ve been a top-three contender at last week’s Velva invitational. But a few things weren’t in place.

“If wrestlers would have wrestled to their seeds and rankings, the team would have finished in the top three,” Zachmeier said in an email to the Tribune. “We are also waiting for a couple of the wrestlers to adjust their weights to their preferred competition weights, which will improve their results.”

Rugby wrestlers competed at a triangular in Rolla on Thursday (after press time) and at a tournament in Kenmare on Friday. On Friday, Dec. 18, and Saturday, Dec. 19, they will compete at a tournament in Linton.