Fusion fare well in prelims at state meet

Ben Frericks competes in the 200 medley relay. 

Frericks is a senior making his first appearance in the state meet.

PHOTOS BY TIM MIECZKOWSKI

The Fusion fared well in preliminaries Friday with several swimmers advancing to the medal round. Both the 200 and 400 freesyle relay teams finished sixth, which guarantees them a state medal.

The way it works is the top eight qualifiers in prelims race on Saturday in the finals. The other eight teams race for place, but a 9th place team in prelims cannot finish higher than ninth. But an eighth place teamn could finish first.

Which could happen if Friday's results were any indication. Jacob Koetter entered the meet seeded 19th in the 50 freestyle yet guaranteed himself a medal by finishing eighth by one hundredth of a second. His time was 22.34.

It's no secret that swimmers tend to swim their fastest at the state meet. Perhaps its the water at the U of M Aquatic Center. More than likely its the competition and the adrenaline.

The 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams, made up of Koetter, Jay Zachman, Eddie Bosl and Shay Mieczkowski in the 200 and Koetter, Alex Beste, Zachman and Mieczkowski in the 400 each finished sixth and are also guaranteed a state medal.

Other results include:
*19th place finish for the 200 medley relay team of Chad Rueter, Eddie Bosl, Ben Frericks and Gregg Stein.
* Shay Mieczkowski 15th in the 200 freestyle
* Eddie Bosl 12th in the 100 butterfly
* Shay Mieczkowski 14th in the 100 freestyle

Shay Mieczkowski competed in four events Friday. 

Mieczkowski is capping off a great career and will be 

part of the 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams that 

will battle saturday in the medal round.

Finals resume tomorrow. Check back for details.....

-BZ

Gusewelle battles but falls short in title quest

Guswelle tangles with Joel Bauman of K-M-S

John Guswelle gave it everything he had Friday night, but in the end it just wasn't enough.
Gusewelle, facing the top-ranked 189-pound wrestler in the state in K-M-S senior Joel Bauman, lost 10-7 in a close battle with the University of Minnesota recruit.


Gusewelle scored an early takedown for a 2-0 lead, but Bauman responded with a takedown of his own for a 3-2 lead. Gusewelle tied it 3-3- with an escape, But Bauman led the rest of the way. Down 8-6 Gusewelle almost had Bauman tossed to the floor, but the agile Bauman was able to stay up, and in turn spun Gusewelle down for a 10-6 lead. The lead stood in what many dubbed the championship match even though it was the semifinals.

Gusewelle will now wrestle for third place. He finished third last year at 160 pounds.

"John did everything he possibly could," said Streeter head coach Ken Vogt. "You have to give Joel credit. He's tough."

As you can see, Bauman is a big kid - 6'2" 190 to be exact.

He is headed to the University of Minnesota on a wrestling ride. 

He also is one of the top tailbacks in Minnesota high school football history.

Gusewelle was trying to become Sauk's 10th state champion. Now he'll have to settle for third or fourth.
To Vogt, there isn't a difference between second or third or fourth.

"You come down here to win it," he said. "Everyone was looking forward to this match. But John wrestled well. He is a tough, tough competitor."

Stay tuned for third place results.......

Gusewelle needs to win his next match for 

his 40th on the season,

 and what a season it has been. 

Grow eliminated; Gusewelle match up tonight

Lucian Grow was eliminated last night with an 8-3 loss to Alex Steffl of BOLD in the wrestelback bracket of the 152-pound division. Grow finishes the season with a 30-11 record and capped off a great wrestling career at Sauk with a trip to state. He was 1-2 at state.

John Gusewelle will face Joel Bauman tonight in one of the most anticipated matches at the state tournament. Also of note: Paynesville's Andrew Moser, the No. 4 ranked wrestler in the 189 pound division lost to Ben Dahl. So the winner of the the Gusewelle/Bauman match will wrestle the winner of Dahl (34-7) of Zumbrota-Mazeppa or Ian Pratt, who is 26-0 and from Mille Lacs, on Saturday. The worst Gusewelle can do is fourth place. The best he can do? Win it all!!!!!!

Should be fun to watch! I'll post results as soon as I know them

Heading to the "X" this afternoon.

To view the updated brackets, click the title to this story.

-BZ

Two close matches: Gusewelle advances; Grow falls

John Gusewelle advanced with a 6-4 voictory Thursday night to the semifinals of the state wrestling tournament in the 189 pound division. Gusewelle will face K-M-S senior and No. 1 ranked wrestler in the state in Joel Bauman. It should be a great match up. Gusewelle is ranked No. 2.

Lucian Grow, wrestling in the quarterfinals of the 152-pound class, lost his bout 8-4. Grow will compete in wrestlebacks later tonight to determine whether he will move on with a chance to place in the top six.

Gusewelle is now 39-2 and Grow fell to 30-10.

Tune in for tomorrow's results. Gusewelle will wrestle tomorrow evening.

Gusewelle wins 7-0

John Gusewelle won easily in his first state tournament match at the Xcel Energy Center Wednesday, defeating Juan Gomez of Chatfield 7-0.
The win improves Gusewelle to 38-2 on the season. He will battle Kody Lafraniere-Sorenson of Frazee (36-5) Thursday night in the quarterfinals. Gomez spent almost the entire match on his stomach, making it tough for Gusewelle to get a pin. But it doesn't matter as Gomez was never a threat the entire match as Gusewelle controlled him throughout.

Photos by Tim Mieczkowski

Earlier tonight Lucian Grow also won at 152 pounds in the preliminary round by defeating Joey Posivio of Sibley East. It was Grow's 30th victory on the season. He will face senior Brad Keller (39-2) of Medford Thursday. Keller won 6-5 over Alex Steffl (30-9) of BOLD.


Check back for updates, and we'll have photos of the matches up soon!

-BZ

Lucian wins his opening match

Lucian Grow, Sauk's 152-pounder, won his opening match a few minutes ago by a 5-0 margin.

Stay tuned for photos and to find out his next opponent. John Gusewelle will be wrestling soon in his opening match at 189 pounds.

-BZ

Section 6AA Girls hoops brackets here

State swimming assignmens here

Click above on the headline to view the state boys swimming heat and lane assignments.

State Wrestling Brackets Here

Click on "State Wresling Brackets Here" to see how the state wrestling brackets are laid out for Gusewelle and Grow. Win four in a row and you are a state champion.

Gusewelle and KMS' Joel Bauman are in the same bracket and could meet in the semifinals. Bauman is 41-1 and currently ranked No. 1 in state, Gusewelle is 37-2 and ranked second. I'm not positive but I think the two have wrestled this year and Bauman edged John 3-2....if anyone knows post a comment.

But lets not geat ahead of ourselves. Both John and Joel have to win their first two matches first.

Lucian goes against Joey Posivio of Sibley East. Lucian is 29-8 and Posivio is 26-11. Should be a good match.

-BZ