By Reagan Hoverman

The 2022-23 high school wrestling season is shaping up to be a special campaign for Mark Matzek’s Ellsworth Panthers.

Ellsworth had another productive week of wrestling, which included a 4034 victory over the Faribault Falcons, a team ranked as an honorable mention in Minnesota in Class AAA. The Panthers also earned a sixthplace finish at the Ethan Herman Memorial Tournament based in Chanhassen, Minn., which featured some of the best wrestling programs in Minnesota.

The Panthers’ first action of the week was the aforementioned non-conference dual at home against the Faribault Falcons on Thursday, Dec. 8. Both programs came ready to roll, as neither team had a forfeit in the 14 total weight class matches.

Ellsworth jumped out to a quick 18-6 lead, as the Panthers earned three wins and only one loss – all via pinfall – through the first four matches. Ellsworth sophomore Noah Walker won the 106-pound match, Carson Wright secured the win at 113, and J.D. Minder-Broeckaert earned the win at 126.

Ellsworth’s first pivotal match of the evening was in the 132-pound contest in which Ellsworth junior William Penn faced Faribault junior captain JT Hausen, a third-place state finisher at last year’s state championships who currently boasts a fourth-place ranking in Minnesota for the 2022-23 season.

Penn took advantage of Hausen early and often, as he quickly built a lead with takedowns and other scoring maneuvers. Penn’s scoring became so prolific that he earned a victory via major decision for his 13-3 lead over Hausen, which gave Ellsworth a 22-6 advantage against Faribault.

Other critical swing matches included Ellsworth sophomores Levi Nelson and Blake Nelson at 145 and 152 pounds respectively. Levi Nelson won a 4-2 decision and Blake Nelson earned a 9-3 decision over their Faribault foes. Coach Matzek spoke about the swing matches that ultimately led to the 40-34 victory.

“A couple of other swing matches were at 145 and 152 where Levi Nelson and Blake Nelson both stepped up big for the team and pulled out wins,” Matzek said. “If William loses his match, we would have lost 36-37. If Levi or Blake would have lost we would have been tied and the dual would have gone to criteria. It was a total team effort to beat that team, I am proud of the guys.”

After a successful dual against Faribault, Ellsworth had a quick turnaround with a tournament in Chanhassen, Minn., on Saturday, Dec. 10. Injuries and illness continue to negatively impact Ellsworth’s overall result as a team at major tournaments.

The Panthers earned a third-place finish at the 58th Annual Ellsworth Invitational earlier this month in large part because they couldn’t fill two of the 14 weight classes due to illness and injury.

Ellsworth had another spotty lineup because of the same ailments in Chanhassen on Saturday morning. The Panthers wrestled to a sixthplace finish out of 17 total programs with 104.5 points as a team. Ellsworth didn’t have wrestlers competing in the 160, 195, 220 and 285-pound weight brackets on Saturday.

“This past Saturday we had a couple of varsity guys out with injuries or sickness,” Matzek said. “Our 195 Ethan Veenendall had surgery last Monday on his knee and will be back after Christmas. Not having a full lineup didn’t bode well for a top tournament finish but the guys that competed had great matches and improved a lot.”

While injuries and illness made it nearly impossible to compete for first place in Chanhassen, it didn’t stop the rest of the roster from making a run toward the top five with excellent individual performances.

Ellsworth had two tournament winners for the day including William Penn at 132 pounds and senior Louis Jahnke in the 170-pound bracket. After receiving a bye in the first round, Penn won two straight matches to reach the title contest against Vance Barz of Sauk Rapids, Minn. Penn won via pinfall in the second period to claim the 132-pound title.

Later in the afternoon, the aforementioned Jahnke worked his way through the 170-pound bracket. Through his first two matches, Jahnke earned pinfall victories in less than two minutes. He won his semifinal match with a 10-2 major decision to advance to the championship round.

In the title match, Jahnke earned a victory in less than a minute. His competitor, senior Jacory Bates of Eden Prairie, got injured in the first minute of the championship which resulted in Jahnke’s victory. Matzek spoke about Penn and Jahnke’s titles at 132 and 170 respectively.

“William Penn and Louis Jahnke had impressive tournament wins. William stayed undefeated and in the process turned the table on an opponent in the finals who had beaten him at pre-season Nationals that was held at the end of October,” Matzek said. “Will is wrestling with a lot of confidence right now and he is fun to watch. Louis Jahnke had a big tournament win over a ranked opponent in the finals from Eden Prairie. Louis is also beginning to wrestle with confidence and is seeing the fruits of his labor.”

Through the first month of the season, Ellsworth has made it clear that it’s returning to the Ellsworth wrestling program of five years ago. The Panthers have wrestled the two-time defending state championship Amery Warriors down to the wire, defeated Faribault, and went toe-to-toe with some of the best programs in Minnesota this weekend.

“The tournament was exactly what we needed,” Matzek said. “It was full of tough programs, aggressive and ranked wrestlers. Many of these schools have enrollments of over 2,500 students and for us to place sixth with two-thirds of a roster speaks volumes for the work this team has been putting in this season.”

Ellsworth is back in action on Saturday, Dec. 17, for a tournament at the Fillmore Central High School. That action is slated to begin at 10 a.m.

Senior Louis Jahnke of the Ellsworth wrestling team has his arm raised in victory after pinning Faribault senior Cooper Leichtnam in the second period of the 170-pound match on Thursday, Dec. 8. Photo by Gaylen Bicking