Forfeits proved costly as the Park Rapids wrestling team opened the season with a pair of losses at Cass Lake Tuesday.
United North Central took advantage of five forfeits to defeat the Panthers 58-10 in the first match while three forfeits helped Blackduck/Cass Lake-Bena hold on for a 43-33 win over the Panthers in the final match.
Forfeits lead Warriors to win
Tanner Eischens' 12-1 major decision at 106 pounds and Nolan Booge's pin at 120 gave the Panthers an early 10-4 advantage before the Warriors won the final 11 matches.
Eischens used takedowns and nearfalls in the first and third periods to spark his win while Booge's early takedown set up his pin.
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Austin Bacon's 9-0 major decision at 113 was followed by forfeit wins by Micah Aho at 126, Logan Walz at 132, Sam Tellers at 138 and Max Pajari at 145 as the Warriors claimed a 28-10 lead.
Wyatt Puttonen's 8-5 minor decision at 152, Mike Johnson's 8-2 minor decision at 160 and Dylan Huttunen's 9-4 minor decision at 170 pushed UNC's lead to 37-10.
After Tristan Palmer received a forfeit win at 182, the Warriors ended the match with pins by Tanner Bacon at 195 and Taylor Carlson at 220 and a 4-2 minor decision by Landon Oshie in the heavyweight bout.
UNC 58, Park Rapids 10
106: Tanner Eischens, PR, major decision over Toby Hintzman 12-1. 113: Austin Bacon, UNC, major decision over Jared Sunram 9-0. 120: Nolan Booge, PR, pinned Cade Lacoe :29. 126: Micah Aho, UNC, won by forfeit. 132: Logan Walz, UNC, won by forfeit. 138: Sam Tellers, UNC, won by forfeit. 145: Max Pajari, UNC, won by forfeit. 152: Wyatt Puttonen, UNC, minor decision over Justin Dravis 8-5. 160: Mike Johnson, UNC, minor decision over Luke Weaver 8-2. 170: Dylan Huttunen, UNC, minor decision over John Kyllonen 9-4. 182: Tristan Palmer, UNC, won by forfeit. 195: Tanner Bacon, UNC, pinned Chris Shaw 1:55. 220: Taylor Carlson, pinned Trai Schmidt 1:44. Hwt.: Landon Oshie, UNC, minor decision over Chris Baxter 4-2.
BCLB hangs on for win
The Panthers held a 21-18 lead before BCLB won five straight matches to rally for the victory.
Eischens' 7-5 minor decision at 106 and Booge's pin at 120 gave Park Rapids a 9-6 advantage. A first-period takedown and third-period nearfall led Eischens to his win while another early takedown by Booge set up his pin.
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Logan Johnson trailed 7-3 before a third-period takedown led to a pin at the 4:18 mark in the 132-pound match as the Panthers led 15-12.
Justin Dravis, who led 1-0 after two periods, recorded a pin at the 4:24 mark to give the Panthers a 21-18 lead after the 145-pound match.
But BCLB used two pins, a forfeit win, a major decision and a minor decision in the next five matches to claim a 43-21 advantage.
Park Rapids ended the match with pins by Trai Schmidt and Chris Baxter. Schmidt overcame a 5-0 deficit with a pin at the 3:51 mark at 220 pounds while Baxter recorded a pin at the 3:40 mark in the heavyweight match.
BCLB 43, Park Rapids 33
106: Tanner Eischens, PR, minor decision over David Fosten 7-5. 113: Michael Juelson, BCLB, pinned Jared Sunram 1:14. 120: Nolan Booge, PR, pinned Mason Preston 1:19. 126: Double forfeit. 132: Logan Johnson, PR, pinned Kyle Michalek 4:18. 138: Mason Frenzel, BCLB, won by forfeit. 145: Justin Dravis, PR, pinned Mat Patch 4:24. 152: Cooper Jedlica, BCLB, pinned Austin Parker 1:40. 160: Nate Jablonski, BCLB, pinned Luke Weaver 3:46. 170: David Staples, BCLB, minor decision over John Kyllonen 9-4. 182: Brady Gross, BCLB, won by forfeit. 195: Tanner Templin, BCLB, major decision over Kyle Ritter 10-1. 220: Trai Schmidt, PR, pinned Mike O'Reilly 3:51. Hwt.: Chris Baxter, PR, pinned Nick Grundmeier 3:40.
