Jaret Lee might not have gotten the win, but he made sure the Dickinson High wrestling team was going to win its third West Region dual of the season.
The sophomore lost by an 18-7 major decision to the No. 1-ranked wrestler at 126 pounds - Bismarck St. Mary’s Tate Barnhardt.
By not getting pinned the Midgets secured and went on to take a 45-31 dual win over the Saints on Thursday at DHS gymnasium.
“It takes a lot of guts to go against a kid that tough for the entire match,” Dickinson head coach Adam Orton said. “He didn’t get pinned or tech fall. It shows a lot of character that he can hang in there for the team.”
Dickinson senior Devin Berger added: “That’s huge. Tate is ranked No. 1 in the state and Jaret nearly pinned him. It’s huge how Jaret can go out there and keep up with the No. 1 kid in the state.”
With Barnhardt leading 6-1, Lee managed to get a quick reversal and collect a near fall to tie up (6-6) after the score after the first period. Lee nearly collected a pin over the top-ranked 126-pound wrestler in the state.
However, Barnhardt managed to get in a high enough bridge to escape the pin. St. Mary’s head coach Rick Mathern knew the matchup wasn’t going to be easy.
“We knew coming in that Jaret Lee had a lot of really good stuff,” he said. “He showed that when he put Tate on his back. I’m just thankful that Tate bridged really hard to get off his back.”
Throughout the rest of the 13 matches, Dickinson collected five pins, two wins by forfeit and one decision.
Austin Hutzenbiler (120), Berger (132), Dillon Clark (160), Raphael Lopez (170) and Chris Sickler (220) finished the dual with pins. Justin Meyer took a 6-3 decision over Nathan Sandy at 182 pounds. Layton Lambert (106) and Clayton Tangen (152) each collected a win by forfeit.
“We came out and we wrestled hard,” Sickler said. “We had a couple guys battling through and wrestling higher seed. They went out and fought.
“We are feeling real good right now. We just want to keep it going.”
The Midgets have now collected West Region dual wins over Mandan, Minot and St. Mary’s. Orton has been happy with the way his wrestlers are continually getting better with each day.
“We are feeling real good right now. We just want to keep it going.”
The Midgets have now collected West Region dual wins over Mandan, Minot and St. Mary’s. Orton has been happy with the way his wrestlers are continually getting better with each day.
“They are definitely progressing,” he said. “I’ve seen things that it’s surprising me how well they have been catching on. It has given me confidence that I must be doing something right.”
The Saints’ have two No. 1-ranked wrestlers. The other wrestler is Dane Fischer pinned Michael Cherwinski in 3 minutes, 54 seconds at 145 pounds.
St. Mary’s also received pins from Austin Huck (138) Jacob Schwab (195) and Jackson Grad (heavyweight). Casey Loeks managed to come away with a 5-4 decision over Kaden Kuntz.
Mathern said wrestling right now is a numbers game and the Saints only have 20 varsity wrestlers. The two forfeits in the end proved to a determining factor for the Saints. However, Mathern was pleased with the way every wrestler performed on the mat.
“We are working with a limited number of guys in the room right now,” he said. “We are giving up two forfeits and if you take away those 12 points right there, we are in the thick of the dual.”
The Midgets continue their season with the two-day a Mandan Lion’s Tournament today. This will be the first tournament atmosphere Dickinson wrestles in this season.
“Duals are individual, but they are for the team,” Berger said. “In tournaments, we have to focus on yourself. You have to go out there and make a plan on what you are going to do.”
106: Layton Lambert, D, by forfeit. 113: Casey Loeks, SM, dec. Kaden Kuntz, 5-4. 120: Austin Hutzenbiler, D, pin. Matthew Schaffner, 1:36. 126: Tate Barnhardt, SM, maj. dec. Jaret Lee, 18-7. 132: Devin Berger, D, pin. Collin Grumann, :59. 138: Austin Huck, SM, pin. Tom Irwin, 2:33 145: Dane Fischer, SM, pin. Michael Cherwinski, 3:54. 152: Clayton Tangen, D, by forfeit. 160: Dillon Clark, D, pin. David Schwartz, :38. 170: Raphael Lopez, D, pin. Ian Brown, 3:23. 182: Justin Meyer, D, dec. Nathan Sandy, 6-3. 195: Jacob Schwab, SM, pin. Austin Lindborg, 2:36. 220: Chris Sickler, D, pin. Nicholas Boechler, :31. 285: Jackson Grad, SM, pin. Dual Keck, 3:20.
