Erpelding 2nd, Lisson 5th at state wrestling

Alex Erpelding came up two points short in the state championship 160 pound wrestling match, to finish second. Eric Lisson won three matches at 126 pounds to earn a fifth place medal.

The other three Staples Motley wrestlers did not place. Spencer Miller won two matches at 106 pounds to finish in the top eight, but dropped a 6-4 decision to fall short of the medal round. Owen Bjerga lost two matches at 113 pounds. Jeremy Miller lost 7-3 to the top seed but then an upset in the second round bounced him from the tournament.

“All the kids wrestled really well,” said Coach Dave Anglin. “Wrestling at state capped off a good season for them all.”

Erpelding’s path to the finals was steady and efficient, with wins of 6-1, 7-1 and 8-4 in the first three rounds. “Alex was on a mission, he was just a machine,” said Anglin.

In the final against Noah Landrus of Aitkin, Erpelding nearly pulled an upset after Landrus had beaten him earlier in the season. “Alex caught him off guard,” said Anglin, “towards the end he was struggling to survive as Alex was trying to turn him but couldn’t quite get there. It was one of the best matches in the tournament, it doesn’t get much better than that.”

Lisson won his first two matches with a 7-5 decision and a pin. He lost his next two but came out on top in the fifth place match with a 5-4 win over Ryan Molinaro of Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City.

“Eric kept getting stronger and stronger towards the end of the year,” said Anglin, “he earned that fifth place medal.”

Anglin said the state experience will make every one of them tougher to beat. Jeremy Miller was the only senior of the five state athletes. “We’ll miss Jeremy, he’s done a lot for our program,” said Anglin.