SCM sixth at Early Bird tournament

SCM medal-winners on Wednesday.

Will Funk in action on Wednesday in the season-opening tournament.

The Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team placed sixth at their season-opening Early Bird tournament in Melrose on Wednesday. They earned 108.5 team points.

Will Funk blazed his way to the 152-pound championship match, where he lost a close 4-1 decision to Jordan Engler (Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg).

Up next: the Paynesville triangular including Quad County on Dec. 11; it will start the West Central Conference meet schedule.

(Video) Will Funk begins state opener at Xcel Energy Center

Here's the start of Funk's 132-pound match on Friday morning:

Two SC-M wrestlers make state!!

Sophomore Will Funk (132 pounds) and senior Artruo Stefanoni (195 pounds) both have tickets punched to the Class 2A state wrestling tournament after they had outstanding showings at the Section 8-2A meet this weekend.

The state wrestling tournament is on Feb. 28 and Mar. 1 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Another high finisher for SC-M is Antonio Ortiz, who finished in third place at 106 pounds. He competed in the championship match earlier today, when his opponent committed a hard body slam on Ortiz and gave him a concussion. That kept him out of contention from going to state, as the third-place finisher advances.

"It was a very frustrating moment for us," said co-head coach Vaughn Glasener.

More will be posted later, and don't miss more coverage from sections in the Feb. 27 issue of the Sauk Centre Herald.

SC-M has great first day of section wrestling

No less than 10 of the Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team's 13 student-athletes in action at the Section 8-2A tournament are still in action heading into the final day in Perham.

Antonio Ortiz, Jordan Winter, Will Funk and Artruo Stefanoni all landed spots in the semifinals. Out of those four, Funk, Ortiz and Stefanoni all won their semifinal match and will battle for a spot in the Class 2A state tournament during section championship matches on Saturday.

Action in Perham begins at 11 a.m.

Sports-related information for this weekend

The Melrose-Sauk Centre Fusion boys' swimming and diving team is gearing up for the Section 5A meet tonight and tomorrow in Alexandria.

Action begins at 5:30 p.m. tonight, Friday, at 5:30 p.m. at Discovery Middle School. The weather hasn't affected this event, at least not yet. The second day is tomorrow with diving starting at 11 a.m. and swimming finals to follow at 3 p.m.

The Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team is in Perham today for the Section 8-2A individual tournament. That event is still on, and day two takes place tomorrow at the Perham-Dent high school. **KASM 1150 AM is in Perham covering the event.

Wrestling action starts today at 1:30 p.m.

Further time/scheduling updates will follow as they are announced by school officials.

SC-M wins playoff opener

The Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team earned the paired program's first-ever playoff win by a 45-31 score today over United Clay Becker in the wrestle-in round of the Section 8-2A tournament in Thief River Falls.

SC-M wrestling seeded 5th for playoffs

The Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team earned its highest playoff ranking in the team's short history when they were given the number five seed in Section 8-2A on Monday.

SC-M (10-10) faces 12th-seeded the United Clay Becker coop (3-18) of Hawley and Lake Park-Audubon high schools at 11 a.m. this Saturday in the wrestle-in round of the tournament, which takes place entirely at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls. A win would put them in the quarterfinals against fourth-seeded Pequot Lakes/Pine River-Backus (15-4) with a 2 p.m. start that same day.

The semifinals are at 4 p.m, with the championship to follow at 6 p.m.

2014 Section 8-2A seeding (and dual record):
1st Perham (19-7)
2nd Detroit Lakes (15-7)
3rd Thief River Falls/Goodridge/Marshall County Central (12-6)
4th Pequot Lakes/Pine River-Backus (15-4)
5th Sauk Centre-Melrose (10-10)
6th Fosston/Bagley (8-7)
7th Roseau (6-8)
8th Ottertail Central (4-11)
9th Fergus Falls (2-17)
10th East Grand Forks/Sacred Heart (3-14)
11th Albany (1-13)
12th United Clay/Becker (3-18, a Hawley and Lake Park-Audubon coop)

On Monday in a non-conference girls' basketball border battle make up game, the Sauk Centre Mainstreeters edged Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 60-57 thanks in large part to a three-pointer by Ali Peterson in the final 30 seconds of the game that busted up a 55-55 tie. They take a 13-4 record to Melrose Area on Tuesday night for a conference game with the 10-8 Dutchmen, who fell 64-44 at BOLD on Monday.

Sauk Centre-Melrose finishes regular season .500

After a tough 4-15 dual win campaign in the 2012-13 season, the Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team pulled off some exciting wins and showed they are turning the corner by finishing the regular season 10-10 as the Section 8-2A playoffs are about to begin.

SC-M won 39-30 on Friday against Fergus Falls for a section win over the 2-17 Otters to get their 10th win of the season.

Read more in this week's Sauk Centre Herald. Seeding information will be posted in the newspaper on Wednesday as well as the Streeter Sports Blog tomorrow morning.

SC-M wins thriller

Clayton Mensen got a pin for SC-M at 182 pounds just one minute into the match. PHOTO BY HERMAN LENSING

The Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team trailed 36-31 heading into the heavyweight match on Friday night in Melrose to visiting St. Cloud Tech, but thanks to a pin in 79 seconds by Charlie Barhorst the night ended with SC-M as 37-36 victors over the Tigers.

SC-M improves to 9-8 overall with their third straight team win. Their next action is a home match at SCHS next Thursday against Annandale/Maple Lake. JV wrestling starts at 6 p.m., with varsity to follow at 7 p.m.

SC-M travels to Alexandria on Feb. 7 for a quadrangular with the host Cardinals, Little Falls and Fergus Falls. That quad completes the regular season.

The Section 8AA team tournament begins the following week, with dates and sites to be determined.

Other action on Friday involving Sauk Centre teams:
In Sauk Centre, the Prairie Centre Area North Stars lost 5-1 in non-conference boys' hockey action to Monticello/Annandale/Maple Lake. Their overall record stands at 12-8, 2-3 Mid-State Conference.

The North Stars have a short turnaround before traveling to Sauk Rapids-Rice on Saturday, Feb. 1 for a 2:45 p.m. game. The SR-R Storm are 12-7 overall and 7-5 in the Central Lakes Conference. It's a huge Section 6A match up for the North Stars, who hover around sixth place in the 11-team playoff section. The Storm sit around third to fourth place.

Beyond Saturday, the North Stars have a make-up conference game against Park Rapids Area (Park Rapids/Menagha/Nevis/Walker-Hackensack-Akley) on Monday, Feb. 3 in Long Prairie. JV action begins at 5:15 p.m. The Panthers (13-4-3) are 6-0 in the Mid-State Conference, one match ahead of Detroit Lakes (5-1). A win would clinch a share of the conference title for their team.

The Melrose-Sauk Centre boys' swimming and diving team has a break in competition until Thursday, Feb. 6 when they travel to the University of Minnesota-Morris to face the Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta Tigers.

The Sauk Centre Mainstreeters boys' basketball team won a very exciting West Central Conference game on Thursday at SCHS by a 44-43 score over Benson. The Braves slipped under .500 with the loss to 9-10 (5-6 WCC), while the Mainstreeters won their fourth in a row to improve to 13-5. More importantly, Sauk Centre is now 7-3 in the West Central North Conference standings, just one game behind front-runner Montevideo (8-2). Also in the mix is Melrose Area, who sports a 5-2 WCC-North Mark. Sauk Centre has five WCC games remaining, so the conference race could go down to the wire depending on how the rest of the season plays out. Up next: the Mainstreeters host Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta next Friday, Feb. 7 in a WCC-North contest. The Tigers are 7-11 overall (5-6 WCC-North) but are 7-3 in their last 10 games after an 0-8 start to the season while breaking in an entirely new lineup.

The Sauk Centre Mainstreeters girls' basketball team blew out Minnewaska Area 71-31 on Friday night at SCHS to improve to 11-2 overall. They host Yellow Medicine East on Monday.

The Mainstreeters are 9-0 in the West Central North Conference, while the Lakers are 6-10 overall and 4-6 in the conference. YME is 4-11 overall and 4-5 (second) in the West Central South Conference.

SC-M wrestlers 7th at conference tournament

The Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team had a good showing at Saturday's West Central Conference tournament in Montevideo. The two members of the team who earned All-Conference honors last season repeated that feat this year.

Will Funk earned second place, while Artruo Stefanoni took third.

Antonio Ortiz placed second at 106, while Jordan Winter and Charlie Barhorst finished in fourth place to earn All-WCC Honorable Mention honors. Other placewinners for SC-M included Kolten Kuhlman and Luke Glasener, who both took fifth place.

2014 WCC wrestling tournament team standings:
1st Montevideo/Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd "United" 171; 2nd Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 164; 3rd Paynesville Area 85; 4th Minnewaska Area 78; 5th Quad County 77; 6th BOLD 71; 7th Sauk Centre-Melrose 65; 8th Morris Area/Hancock/Chokio-Alberta 61; 9th Benson 45.

Up next for SC-M is a dual meet at Albany high school next Thursday, Jan. 30 with St. Cloud Tech and Big Lake starting at 5 p.m.

SC-M wrestling hosts in Sauk Centre

The Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team hosts a triangular in Sauk Centre tonight starting at 5 p.m.

Teams included are Pequot Lakes/Pine River-Backus and also Dassel-Cokato. At 5 p.m., the SC-M vs. PL/PR-B match starts.

In other varsity news, the Mainstreeters boys' basketball team faces a very solid Paynesville team on the road tonight in a West Central Conference game. The Bulldogs, winners of two straight, are 7-7 overall and 4-2 in the West Central South Conference (second place). They're one of three teams who have two WCCS losses, with Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City leading that pack at 5-2. The Mainstreeters, meanwhile, are 3-2 in the WCC-North. They trail Montevideo (6-1) and Melrose Area (3-1) in the standings.

Both Sauk Centre and Paynesville are in the hunt for conference titles this season.

SC-M, Fusion teams record wins

The SC-M wrestling team had a great night at the BOLD triangular on Tuesday, defeating the host Warriors 48-34 and then handing Minnewaska Area a 45-28 loss. Both matches were also West Central Conference contests; SC-M now has a 6-6 overall record and a 3-5 mark in the conference.

Up next for SC-M is a triangular in Sauk Centre this Friday starting at 5 p.m. Read this week's Sauk Centre Herald for more details.

Wrestlers drop WCC opener

On Tuesday, SC-M began West Central Conference action with a dual against Morris Area/Hancock/Chokio-Alberta in Hancock. They competed with two open weights versus the three they had open in the Early Bird Invite but fell to a solid Tigers squad 45-25.

Full results will be posted later today at the Streeter Sports Blog.

SC-M wrestlers open conference play on Tuesday

The Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team begins West Central Conference action on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at Hancock high school. They will face Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta/Hancock with JV action starting at 6 p.m.

SC-M 6th at Early Bird

Sophomore Will Funk competed in the 132-pound bracket. PHOTO BY HERMAN LENSING

The Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestlers took sixth place with five wrestlers earning medals at the SC-Melrose Earlybird Tournament on Wednesday.

Earning medals were:  Antonio Ortiz, 106, second; Jordan Winter, 113, third; Will Funk, 132, second;  Dalton Reinke, 152, third (video below); and Jimmy Thomas, 220, fourth.

Herald interview with SC-M wrestler Artruo Stefanoni

Video from after the WCC tournament last Saturday at Minnewaska Area:

WCC Wresting action including SC-M is today at Minnewaska

The West Central Conference wrestling tournament is today starting at 9 a.m. at the Minnewaska High School in central Pope County. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City is the favorite to win it, but after that second and third places are really up for grabs between a large number of teams in the rest of the field, including Sauk Centre-Melrose. Other teams competiting are Benson, BOLD, Dawson-Boyd/Lac qui Parle Valley, Minnewaska Area, Montevideo, Morris Area/Hancock/Chokio-Alberta, Paynesville Area and Quad County (MACCRAY, Renville County West, Yellow Medicine East pairing).

Stay tuned to the Streeter Sports Blog for further updates later in the day from this WCC meet.

SC-M wrestling has tough going vs. Montevideo

In the first match of a triangular in Sauk Centre tonight, the SC-M wrestling team has picked up only three wins in the first 12 matches.

Winning for SC-M so far have been Tommy Latzka, Dalton Reinke and Shawn Wiese. Montevideo won the match 39-26.

Against Big Lake, the SC-M wrestlers lost 45-25. Will funk, Latska, Artruo Stefanoni and Saul Ellering all won matches for SC-M.

Up next for SC-M: the West Central Conference tournament, featuring 10 teams, at the Minnewaska Area High School on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m.

Plenty of action tonight, including SC-M wrestling in Sauk Centre

Good luck to the Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestling team, as they host a triangular tonight beginning with a 5 p.m. match against Montevideo. That match is considered a West Central Conference dual. Later in the evening they face Big Lake.

Also, don't forget, this weekend is the West Central Conference wrestling tournament, featuring the 10 teams in the league all gathering at the Minnewaska Area high school. Action starts at 9 a.m. in central Pope County.

Also tonight: Prairie Centre Area hosts Northern Lakes in Long Prairie; the Mainstreeters girls' basketball team plays at Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa; and the Mainstreeters boys' basketball team has a crucial game at Melrose Area in conference action of first-place teams.

SC-M wrestlers 7th at Cardinal Classic

In the 10-team Willmar Cardinal Classic invitational, the Sauk Centre-Melrose wrestlers placed seventh with 86 points. They beat St. Cloud Tech, Minnewaska Area and Redwood Valley in the team standings. Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg won the title with 216 points compared to Willmar's runner-up finish of 211.5 points.

Tommy Latzka at 138 won by fall (3:15) for third place, Artruo Stefanoni won third place in a thrilling 7-6 overtime decision at 182 and Saul Ellering lost a 5-0 decision at 220 as the three SC-M wrestlers who made it to third-place matches. No other SC-M wrestler battled for higher than fifth place.

Up next: a West Central Conference triangular at Benson next Tuesday, Dec. 11; it also includes Paynesville Area. SC-M (0-2) is in search of their first dual win of the season.

At Olivia against BOLD, the Mainstreeters girls' basketball team (3-0) won 64-51 in their West Central Conference opener. Up next: they travel to Melrose Area next Tuesday night for a West Central Conference North game.

Against Detroit Lakes (2-3) on Friday night at DL for their conference opener, the Prairie Centre Area North Stars boys' hockey team lost 4-1 to fall to 0-4. Detroit Lakes improves to 2-0 in the Mid-State Conference with the win to lead the five-team standings. Up next: a trip to Wadena for a Mid-State Conference hockey match up against the Wadena-Deer Creek Wolverines. W-DC is 2-2 overall and 0-0 in the MSC standings.