Prep report: McPhee takes second at state wrestling

Proctor/Hermantown wrestler Zak McPhee had a match to remember on championship Saturday at the Minnesota state individual wrestling tournament, but it was the semifinal.

McPhee settled for runner-up status in the Class AA-182 bracket, but not before a semifinal comeback of a lifetime.

The championship match went to Simley’s Travis Smith in a tight bout. Smith scored a takedown at the 1:38 mark of the first period,which was the only multi-point play of the contest. Smith earned an escape point in the second period and McPhee an escape point in the third for a 3-1 final.

McPhee’s second-place finish is the best in program history and capped a 45-2 season record.

Win No. 45 for McPhee was a thriller in the semifinal against top seed Caden O’Malley of Tri-City United.

O’Malley scored a takedown and a near-fall to lead 5-2 after two periods, and after an escape, led 6-2 with a minute left. However, McPhee scored three takedowns, including a near-fall, in a span of 47 seconds to turn the tables and earn himself a spot in the championship match.

In the consolation rounds, Bryson Larrabee of Hibbing landed a fourth-place finish in the 160AA class.

Though he lost via fall in the quarterfinals on Friday, Larrabee won two matches and then advanced to the third-place match via a medical forfeit. In that bout, Larrabee dropped a 10-7 decision to Damian Riewe of Mankato West, completing a 4-2 tournament.

Ian Larrabee ended up in sixth, going 3-3 on the tournament with two falls, but getting pinned in the fifth-place match by Max Olson of Fairmont-Martin County West.

Nashwauk-Keewatin/Greenway wrestler Jovanna Volker placed fourth at 126 in her first girls state tournament. She won her quarterfinal via sudden victory, but was pinned in the semifinals and third place match.

Rock Ridge’s Damian Tapio, already part of a state championship team this season (Mountain Iron-Buhl football), earned a fourth-place finish in 170AA. Tapio won three consolation matches by decision to reach the third-place match against Cade Jackson of Detroit Lakes, but Jackson prevailed 7-2.

The eighth-seeded Spartans found themselves in a defensive slugfest with a 16-seeded West team that was looking for its second upset win in as many nights.

The Spartans needed two key baskets in the closing stretch from Tre Sanigar to force overtime, and another Sanigar bucket capped an 8-2 run from which the Spartans took over the extra session.

The win sends Superior into Thursday’s sectional semifinals in Oshkosh. Superior will face 12 seed Appleton North, which won a regional title by knocking off the four and five seeds on the road.

There was no making up for a rough start by Northwestern on the road in Saturday night’s WIAA Division 3 regional final.

Poor first-half shooting put the Tigers down 39-22 at the half, and it didn’t get much better from there. Dallas Wallin and Jordan Malmlov of Prescott helped keep the Tigers down, scoring 27 and 26 points, respectively, for Prescott.

Cole Lahti scored 23 points for the Tigers and finishes his career as the school’s single-season scoring leader. Jase Nelson added 21 points and will go down as Northwestern single-game, single-season and career assists leader. Reid Keuser added 11 points for the Tigers, who finish their season 23-3.

The Eagles forcefully erased a history of second-place statuses on Saturday night in Minong, routing the Lumberjacks to win the school’s first regional championship.

The game, which was moved to the larger gym at Northwood High School, was played at a slow tempo, at least early on. The Eagles led 29-15 at the half and then pulled away from there. Solon was a runner-up at the regional final level six times over the previous 11 years, including twice to Drummond.

Isaiah Kastern poured in 28 points for the winners, while Dylan Taggart scored 22 and Kaden Corlett 12.

The Eagles, 25-1 and ranked fourth in the state in Division 5, will face Hurley on Thursday in a sectional semifinal at Ashland. Solon won both meetings between the teams, who finished in the top two places in the Indianhead Conference.

The Eskomos had no answer for a Hilltoppers offense led by young phenom Chloe Johnson, who scored 33 points as Marshall advanced to a Section 7AA semifinal on Wednesday at Hermantown High School against top-seeded Pequot Lakes.

Johnson made four 3-pointers and had 21 of Marshall’s 29 points in the first half. After the break, she picked away at the Eskomos from the free-throw line, where she was 7-for-10 in the period. The rest of her teammates took over the long-range duties, as Mariah Lucero and Regan Juenemann made two treys apiece. Marshall had seven 3’s and just two 2’s in the second half and 13 3’s and five 2’s for the game.

Anna Saari finished with three triples and scored 12 points.

Marshall also had the perimeter defense going. After allowing four Esko 3-pointers in the first half, which ended tied, the Eskomos had none after the break.

Hannah Swanson led Esko with 15 points and Kyra Johnson added 10. The Eskomos end their season 15-12.

Marshall (19-9), the No. 4 seed, moves on to the 7AA semifinals vs. No. 1 seed Pequot Lakes. The Patriots routed Pierz 57-22 in the first of four quarterfinals on the day. The game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Lily Smith and Hope Carlson set the tone early for Proctor, which earned a spot in the 7AA semifinals by dismissing Mesabi East.

Smith knocked down five shots and Carlson four in the first half as Proctor, the No. 2 seed, established a 35-27 lead. That pair continued producing in the second half, with Carlson connecting four times and Smith three, while Chloe Carlson pitched in with three buckets as well.

In the end Hope Carlson finished with 19 points, while Smith and Chloe Carlson had 17 apiece.

The seventh-seeded Giants had less balance, depending upon Marta Forsline for 14 points in the first half and 21 for the game. The Giants’ season ends 18-10.

Proctor (19-9) will play at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the second of two section semifinals at Romano Gym in Duluth vs. Crosby-Ironton.

The Wolverines actually held Rangers freshman star Tori Oehrlein under her season average but a slow start offensively kept them from making a better challenge in the fourth 7AA quarterfinal on Saturday at Hermantown High School.

Oehrlein, one of the fastest players to 1,000 career points in Minnesota state history, scored 12 points in the first half, but the Rock Ridge team had just 14 at that point, and the contributions of the rest of the Rangers meant the Wolverines were down by 10.

Rock Ridge started connecting from the outside, with Morgan Marks making three of the Wolverines’ six treys, but Oehrlein scored 15 and Hannah Compton 10 in the second half to help the Rangers ice it. Oehrlein finished with 27 (she averages 31).

With 17 points, Anna Westby was leading scorer for Rock Ridge, which had an 18-10 season. Maija Lamppa added 10 points.

C-I (21-7) will face Proctor in the nightcap on Wednesday, pitting the No. 3 and No. 2 seeds, respectively.

The top-ranked and top-seeded Rangers breezed into the section semifinals, scoring 52 points in the first half of their quarterfinal on Saturday morning in Hibbing.

Jordan Zubich made four 3-pointers for a game-high 22 points, one of four Rangers to score in double figures.

Cherry ends its season 10-17.

MIB will next meet South Ridge, an 80-44 winner over Chisholm in the second game, in the first of two semifinals, at 5:30 p.m., on Tuesday night in Hibbing.

The Cardinals refused to let the Polar Bears offense take flight, holding Floodwood to eight points in the first half of their section quarterfinal in Hibbing on Saturday.

The Polar Bears doubled their offensive output, but Cromwell-Wright responded to keep the margin comfortable.

Emaleigh Olesiak made five 3-pointers for a game-high 15 points, while Isabella Anderson kicked in 13 for the second-seeded Cardinals (23-5).

Kenzie Kiminski led Floodwood, which ends its season 16-8, with eight.

Cromwell-Wright will face Ely, a 46-29 winner over Bigfork in the last game of the night, in the second of two 7A semifinals on Tuesday night back in Hibbing.

This story was updated at 12:12 a.m. on March 5 to add details to the Solon Springs boys basketball game and correct the history of the state girls wrestling tournament. It was originally posted at 11:08 p.m. on March 4. The News Tribune regrets the error.