The Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team dropped three games this past  week.
The Patriots traveled to West Lyon Jan. 10, losing 72-23.
H-BC then played a tough Southwest Christian team at home Jan. 12, giving up a 74-43 loss.
Hills-Beaver Creek traveled to Madison, South Dakota, to take on White River Saturday, Jan. 14, losing 62-55.
The Patriots were scheduled to take on Adrian-Ellsworth at home Tuesday, Jan. 17.
H-BC will then host Mountain Lake Area-Comfrey Friday, Jan. 20
 
West Lyon 72, H-BC 23
The Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team lost to a tough Wildcats team, 72-23, at West Lyon Tuesday, Jan. 10.
 “It was a battle yet again the other night against West Lyon,” said head coach Dylan Gehrke. “They have a balance of quickness, size, and strength that was tough for us to match up against.”
West Lyon opened a lead in the first half, and the Patriot girls had to play catchup ball. 
 “Our goal was to take away the inside, which then left West Lyon’s Klarenbeek with some room to shoot and she made us pay, scoring 27. She is a heck of a player,” said Gehrke.
The Wildcats led at the half 27-12, but the Patriots did not give up. 
“I thought our girls did an awesome job of going out there and not backing down. I thought we matched their physicality, but yet again we struggled to score,” Gehrke said.
In the second half West Lyon held H-BC to only three points. 
Gehrke said it’s a challenge to play bigger schools that have state tournament experience.
Junior Brynn Rauk led the Patriots with six points, one rebound, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot.
Junior Layla Deelstra added four points, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot.
Other Patriots scoring in the game were ninth-grader Claire Knobloch with three points, eighth-grader Olivia Deelstra with three, junior Lanae Elbers with three, junior Larissa Steinhoff with two and ninth-grader Abbie Harris with two.
 
SWC 74, H-BC 43
The Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team met conference rivals Southwest Christian in Edgerton Thursday, Jan. 12.
The Patriots faced a tough Eagles team, losing 74-43 in a hard-fought game.
“What a wild game that was. It is always fun to go to Southwest Christian and play. There is always a solid crowd and the gym is usually rocking. Such a fun atmosphere to play in, feels like playoff basketball,” said coach Gehrke.
H-BC started out strong, hitting a few 3-pointers that got them going.
“We preached in the locker room before the game that we had to match their intensity on offense and defense. We did a nice job of that for about the first 12 minutes of the first half, then we got into some heavy foul trouble’” Gehrke said.
“This took us out of our game and SWC cranked the pressure back up and we had issues getting the ball across half-court which led to some easy buckets for them.”
The Patriots ended up trailing the Eagles at the end of the first half 32-24.
In the second half Southwest Christian extended their lead by scoring 42 points to Hills-Beaver Creek’s 19.  
“I loved the fight and intensity our girls had all night. We just need to work on being disciplined defenders and not committing the silly fouls that get us into trouble,” Gehrke said.
Junior Lanae Elbers led the Patriots with 15 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal and four blocked shots.
Eighth-grader Olivia Deelstra added nine points, five rebounds and two assists.
Ninth-grader Abbie Harris had nine points and seven rebounds.
 
White River 62, H-BC 55
The Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team traveled to Madison, South Dakota, to take on White River Saturday, Jan. 14.
The Tigers beat the Patriots 62-55 in the matchup.
“Always fun to head to Madison, South Dakota, and play in the Dakota State Classic. Nothing better than getting to play on a college court and get that college basketball atmosphere,” said coach Gehrke.
“The girls did a great job coming out and getting after it to start.”
 H-BC won the first quarter, White River took the second quarter, and it ended up being a tie ball game at the half.
 White River started the second half on an 8-0 run to put the Patriots down 33-25. 
“We battled throughout the second half, cutting it to three multiple times, but we couldn't get over the hump and take the lead,” Gehrke said.
“Props to White River. They won the battle at the free throw line shooting an impressive 22-30, while we went 9-19. We always say that if a team can make more free throws than you attempt, there's a good chance you will come away with the win.”
Elbers and Layla Deelstra led the Patriots, scoring 16 points each.
Harris added 11 points, Olivia Deelstra made nine points and Rauk netted three points.

The Hills-Beaver Creek boys’ basketball team had a busy week playing four games in the past six days.
Three were scheduled and one, Oldham-Ramona-Rutland, was a game postponed from Jan. 3
The Patriots started off hosting Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda Tuesday, Jan. 10, winning 81-68.
H-BC then faced Southwest MN Christian at home Friday, Jan. 13, losing 76-29.
The next day, Saturday, Jan. 14, they traveled to Oldham-Ramona-Rutland, winning 58-33.
The Patriots travel to face Edgerton Tuesday, Jan. 17, and then Adrian-Ellsworth Thursday, Jan. 19.
 
Hills-Beaver Creek 81, HLOF 68
The Hills-Beaver Creek boys’ basketball team hosted Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda Tuesday, Jan. 10.
The Patriots tamed the Coyotes to win 81-68.
“We did a great job exploiting the middle of their zone and knocking down shots early,” said head coach Kale Wiertzema.
H-BC went into the break leading 38-35 and opened up in the second, outscoring the Coyotes 43-33.
“We were the aggressors the majority of the game causing HLOF to get in foul trouble and allowing us to grab 10 offensive rebounds resulting in 12 points,” Wiertzema said.
Sophomore Beau Bakken had a big night. He posted a double-double, scoring 24 points and 14 rebounds, with three steals and two assists.
Ninth-grader Jamin Metzger added a double-double himself, 16 points and 11 rebounds. He also had three steals and three assists.
Senior Brock Harnack contributed 18 points, seven rebounds and one assist.
Other Patriots scoring in the game were sophomore Cameron Allen with nine points, sophomore Sawyer Bosch with eight, and senior Brayden Metzger, junior Riley Tatge and ninth-grader EJ Wegener with two points each.
 
Southwest Christian 76, Hills-Beaver Creek 29
H-BC faced a tall and tenacious SWC team, dropping a 76-29 loss Friday, Jan. 13, in Hills.
The Eagles jumped out to a 21-1 lead in the first half and didn’t look back.
“They made us uncomfortable on both ends of the floor and continued to extend their lead,” head coach Kale Wiertzema said.
The Patriots never gave up and continued playing hard against the Eagles’ fast-paced tempo.
Jamin Metzger led H-BC with eight points, one steal and one assist.
Riley Tatge added five points, three rebounds and one assist.
Cameron Allen, Brayden Metzger and EJ Wegener added four points each.
Beau Bakken and Brock Harnack contributed two points each.
 
Hills-Beaver Creek 58, Oldham-Ramona-Rutland 33
The Patriots traveled to play Oldham-Ramona-Rutland Saturday, Jan. 14, winning the game 58-33.
“We did a great job executing on the defensive end of the floor. We held Oldham-Ramona-Rutland to five points in the first quarter and three points in the third quarter,” Wiertzema said.
“Offensively I thought we could have done a little better job staying patient and getting better movement.”
Beau Bakken led the Patriots with a double-double, scoring 12 points and 14 rebounds. Bakken also had three blocked shots and three steals.
Jamin Metzger posted 11 points, four rebounds, one blocked shot, five steals and four assists.
Cameron Allen and Sawyer Bosch netted 10 points each. 
Allen grabbed four rebounds, had one blocked shot, two steals and two assists.
Bosch contributed three rebounds and one steal.
Other Patriots scoring in the game were Bush and Tatge with five points each, Brayden Matzger with three points, and Wegener with two points.

The Luverne girls’ hockey team faced three of its strongest opponents this past week on the road.
The Cardinals lost a close 3-2 game to Albert Lea Tuesday, Jan. 10, before beating the Breckenridge-Wahpeton Blades 8-1 Friday, Jan. 13.
On Saturday, Jan. 14, Luverne dropped a 10-0 contest to the Warroad Warriors, 2021-22 Class A State Champions.
The Cardinals were scheduled to make up a postponed game with Minnesota River at home Tuesday. They’ll face New Ulm at home Thursday, Jan. 19, and they’ll travel to Kasson to play Dodge County Saturday, Jan 21.
 
Albert Lea 3, Luverne 2
The Luverne girls’ hockey team traveled to Albert Lea on Tuesday, Jan. 10, when the Tigers struck early for a 3-2 win.
Albert Lea played tough defense and was able to keep key Cardinal skaters in check and off their game.
The Tigers were called for five penalties in the game, a total of 10 minutes in the box, but Luverne was unable to capitalize on those short-handed opportunities. 
In the first period Albert Lea scored at 1:17 with no response by Luverne.
In the second period eighth-grader Tenley Behr scored at 2:44 unassisted to tie the game 1-1.
In the third period the Tigers added two more goals.
At 13:58 Tenley Behr scored again assisted by Ella Apel and goalie Mallory Von Tersch to cut the Tigers’ lead to 1.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals were unable to find the goal one more time to tie the game up, and the game ended with a 3-2 LHS loss.
The Tigers’ goalie stopped 29 of 31 shots on goal from the Cardinals. 
Luverne’s goalie Mallory Von Tersch stopped 13 of 16 shots from Albert Lea.
 
Luverne 8, Blades 1
The Luverne girls’ hockey team took down the Breckenridge-Wahpeton Blades 8-1 at the Ella Stern & Harry Stern Sports Arena in Wahpeton Friday, Jan. 13. 
The Cardinals powered their way to the Blades goalie, pelting her with 21 shots on goal.
The Blades produced only eight shots on goal, beating LHS senior Mallory Von Tersch one time.
Senior Kamryn Van Batavia scored her second double hat trick this season, her first one was Jan. 9 against Worthington.
Van Batavia now has 36 goals for the season, placing her four goals behind Warroad senior Rylee Bartz in the scoring leader race for 2022-23.
In the first period  Kamryn Van Batavia got Luverne started with a goal at 2:11 assisted by Ella Apel and Hannah Woodley.
Van Batavia then scored at 6:34 on a power play assisted by her sister, Ellie, and Payton Behr.
Behr scored Luverne’s third goal at 16:33 assisted by Kamryn Van Batavia and Mallory Nelson.
Anika Boll finished the first period with a goal at 16:54 assisted by Ella Apel and Mallory Nelson.
Luverne led 4-0 after the first period and kept the Blades to only one goal in the second period at 2:25.
Kamryn Van Batavia added four goals for Luverne in the second period.
Her first came at 8:20 on a power play assisted by Macie Edstrom.
Her second was at 11:43 assisted by Behr and Nelson.
Her third goal was seconds later, listed at 11:43, playing short-handed, assisted by Behr and Kassidy Saarloos.
Her final goal of the second period came at 14:24 assisted again by her sister, Ellie.
The third period had no scoring by either team.
 
Warroad 10, Luverne 0
The Cardinal girls’ hockey team played in Wahpeton again at the Ella Stern & Harry Stern Sports Arena on Saturday, Jan 14, this time against Warroad, the 2021-22 Class A State Champions.
This season, to date, the Warriors are 17-2-1 and are favored to make a state title run again this year.
LHS found the Warriors to be as tough as their reputation implies, unable to muster a suitable challenge against a well-oiled machine.
The Cardinals’ record moved to 11-5 after Saturday’s 10-0 loss to their biggest regular season opponent of the year.
Luverne was able to get off 17 shots on the Warrior goalie Jordyn Werk, but Werk blocked them all.
Senior Mallory Von Tersch faced 47 shots from Warroad, stopping 37 of them.

The Luverne boys’ basketball team won two games this past week on the road, improving their season record to 6-4.
The Cardinals defeated the Saints 74-65 Friday, Jan. 13, in St. James, and took down Estelline-Hendricks 60-50 Saturday, Jan. 14, in Hendricks.
Luverne was scheduled to play conference foe Jackson County Central Tuesday, Jan.17, in Jackson, and the Cardinals will host conference rival Windom Friday, Jan. 20, in Luverne.
 
Luverne 74, St. James 65
The Luverne boys’ basketball team traveled to St. James Friday, Jan. 13, and beat conference rivals St. James 74-65.
Statistically both teams played a close game, but it was Luverne’s ability to cause turnovers and make free throws that made the difference in the Cardinals’ win. 
As a team the Cardinals had nine steals, five blocked shots and gave up only five turnovers.
The Saints had three steals and one blocked shot, and they gave up 13 turnovers.
At the free throw line LHS made 16 of 20 (80 percent) to St. James’ 5 of 8 (62.5 percent).
Senior Gannon Ahrendt posted a double-double in the game with 35 points and 14 rebounds. 
Ahrendt also had three assists, two steals and four blocked shots.
Junior Gavin DeBeer also posted a double-double, netting 23 points, 10 rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Sophomore Carter Sehr added eight points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal and a blocked shot.
Seniors Tyson Cowell and Marcus Feit each contributed four points for Luverne in the game.
 
Luverne 60, Estelline 50
The Luverne boys’ basketball team traveled to play Estelline/Hendricks beating the Redhawks 60-50 Saturday, Jan. 14.
The Cardinals won the game with their strong offensive play which led to scoring opportunities.
The Cardinals shot 58.6 percent of their shots within the paint (2-pointers) and 41.7 percent beyond the line (3-pointers).
The Redhawks shot 40.6 percent on 2-pointers and 28.6 percent on 3-pointers.
Luverne was also 73.3 percent at the free throw line while Estelline did not even make it to the line.
The Cardinals had only three players score during the game, all in double digits.
Ahrendt posted 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
Sehr added 23 points, two rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Gavin DeBeer had a double-double, scoring 14 points with 10 rebounds along with one assist and two steals.

The Luverne girls’ basketball team won two games last week, bringing their season record to 9-1.
The Cardinals beat Worthington 73-53 at home Tuesday, Jan. 10, before traveling to St. James to take down the Saints 79-50 Friday, Jan. 13.
Luverne was scheduled to host Jackson County Central Tuesday, Jan. 17, and they’ll play Windom at home on Friday, Jan. 20. The Cardinals travel to Pipestone Tuesday, Jan. 24, to take on the Arrows.
 
LHS 73, Worthington 54
The Luverne girls’ basketball team bounced past Worthington 73-54 Tuesday, Jan. 10, in Luverne.
“We got off to a really good start with our press, but then we went into a lull and struggled scoring,” head coach TJ Newgard said.
Luverne missed a few open shots against an aggressive Trojan defense, but the Cardinals managed to finish the first half in the lead 32-27.
“The second half I thought we did a much better job of executing on the offensive end, and we were able to stretch our lead,” Newgard said.
The Cardinals made more open shots and pressured Worthington into making mistakes and turning the ball over.
Luverne extended its lead in the second half, posting 41 points.
Senior Elizabeth Wagner posted a double-double in the game, scoring 28 points and 12 rebounds. She also had eight steals, seven assists and three deflections.
Junior Kira John made 11 points, six rebounds, four steals, one assist and two deflections.
Senior Averill Sehr contributed nine points, three rebounds, four steals, seven assists and one deflection.
Senior Christina Wagner netted eight points, three rebounds, three steals, two assists and four deflections.
Other Cardinals helping the score were junior Sarah Stegenga with seven points, senior Emma Beyer with six, and senior Jocelyn Hart and junior Kiesli Smith each with two points.
 
LHS 79, St. James 50
The Luverne girls’ basketball team sent conference rival St. James marching out to a 79-50 loss Friday, Jan. 13.
The Cardinals finished the first half leading 45-18.
In the second half the Saints stepped up their game, scoring 32 points to the Cardinals’ 34.
But that wasn’t enough to make up ground from the first half.
Elizabeth Wagner posted a double-double with 28 points and 11 rebounds. She also had four steals, four assists and one deflection.
John added 21 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two assists.
Stegenga made seven points, one rebound, had one steal, one assist and one deflection.
Several other players contributed to scoring for Luverne.
Beyer scored seven points, Sehr had six, and Christina Wagner, Jocelyn Hart, Smith and junior Tori Serie all added two points each, with a free-throw point by junior Kayla Bloemendaal.

The Luverne boys’ hockey team beat two conference teams and lost one non-conference game this past week.
LHS traveled to Redwood Falls to take on the Redwood Valley Cardinals Jan. 12, beating them 7-0 in conference play.
The LHS Cardinals faced Waseca away Jan. 14, losing a close game 5-4.
Luverne finished the week traveling to Fairmont Jan. 16, winning the conference matchup 7-1.
Luverne was scheduled to travel to Albert Lea Tuesday, Jan. 17. 
The Cardinals will then travel to play Dodge County Saturday, Jan. 21.
 
Luverne 7, Redwood Valley 0
The Luverne Cardinals boys’ hockey team defeated the Redwood Valley Cardinals in Redwood, 7-0.
Luverne pelted Redwood’s goalie with 61 shots on goal in the game to Redwood’s 13 shots.
Junior Tyler Arends recorded his second shutout of the season. His first was Luverne’s 8-0 win over Rochester Dec. 17.
The Cardinals started their scoring attack at 12:53 in the first period by junior Elliot Domagala assisted by junior Patrick Kroski and senior Brady Bork. 
Senior Brock Behrend recorded a second period goal at 1:52 assisted by senior Ethan Langseth and junior Owen Sudenga.
Domagala netted his second goal at 6:32 assisted by Kroski.
Kroski scored his first goal on a power play at 15:07 assisted by junior Henry Hartquist and Behrend.
Hartquist beat the Redwood goalie at 16:42 assisted by Domagala.
Kroski got his second goal at 16:59 assisted by Domagala.
Luverne led Redwood 6-0 after two periods.
Sophomore Levi Gonnerman got the only third period goal assisted by sophomore Blaik Bork.
 
Waseca 5, Luverne 4
The Luverne boys’ hockey team traveled to take on the Waseca Bluejays Saturday, Jan. 14.
The Bluejays were able to edge out the Cardinals in their 5-4 win.
Waseca netted the first score of the game in the first period at 7:22. Luverne’s Brady Bork tied the score at 8:01 with an assist from Patrick Kroski.
At only 37 seconds into the second period, Owen Sudenga scored a power play goal assisted by Kroski.
Waseca added two goals of their own in the second period and led the Cardinals 3-2 after two periods.
In the third period Waseca added two more goals before Luverne’s Brady Bork added a goal at 10:30 assisted by Blaik Bork.
At 12:30 Blaik Bork scored Luverne’s last goal unassisted.
Luverne was unable to sneak one more past the Waseca goalie to tie the game and ended up losing 5-4 in regulation time.
The Cardinals were able to get 59 shots on goal in the game. Waseca flung 24 shots on Luverne goalie Tyler Arends, getting five past him.
 
Luverne 7, Fairmont 1
The Luverne boys’ hockey team traveled to Fairmont on Monday, Jan.16.
Fairmont’s goalie faced 37 shots on goal from Luverne, stopping 30 of them.
For Luverne, goalie Tyler Arends stood strong and let only one of 21 shots get past him.
Fairmont started the game with a goal in the first period at 11:57, and that is where Fairmont’s scoring stopped.
Luverne started the second period down 1-0. Brady Bork got Luverne started with a goal at 10:21 with an assist from Elliot Domagala.
Elliot Domagala then scored at 10:42 assisted by Kroski.
After two periods Luverne went ahead 2-1.
In the third period Behrend scored twice unassisted, once at 2:24 and then at 5:12.
Elliot Domagala scored his second goal on a power play at 9:03 assisted by Kroski and Behrend.
Behrend scored his third, a hat trick, at 9:53 on a power play assisted by Sudenga and Blaik Bork.
Maddux Domagala closed the game scoring at 15:48 in the third period unassisted.

The Luverne gymnasts enjoyed a win at home and a third-place finish in Jackson last week, bringing their record to 4-1 in dual competition for the season.
The Cardinals outperformed Windom 135.250 to 122.050 Tuesday, Jan. 10, and then placed third in the JCC Sweetheart Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 14.
The Cardinals were scheduled to host Jackson County Central Tuesday, Jan. 17, and travel to Marshall Thursday, Jan. 26.
 
Luverne 135.250, Windom 122.050
The Luverne gymnasts hosted Windom in the Cardinal Gym Tuesday, Jan. 10, and won the team meet 135.250 to 122.050. 
“I thought the girls did an amazing job last night,” said head coach Phoebe Flom.
“They just keep improving every meet. They are exactly where they need to be at this point of the season.” 
Winning all-around honors was Luverne sophomore Ella Reisdorfer with a 35.075 combined score.
Sophomore Amira Cowell took second in the all-around with a 34.775 combined score.
Ninth-grader Kianna Winter performed in three of the four events and earned a 24.575 combined score for a sixth-place all-around finish.
Sophomore Kendra Thorson competed in two of the four events, finishing with a 16.600 combined score and a seventh-place all-around finish.
Eighth-grader Reagan Gangestad competed in two events with a combined score of 16.000 and an eighth-place all-around finish.
Junior Sarah de Cesare’s two-event total was 15.600 for tenth place in the all-around.
Sophomore Hailey Como competed in two events with a 15.525 and an 11th-place finish.
Ninth-grader Addyson Mann competed in one event and placed 14th in all-around with 8.000.
Event totals for Luverne gymnasts are as follows:
 
Vault results:
First - Ella Reisdorfer 9.275
Second - Amira Cowell 9.250
Third - Hailey Como 8.575
Fourth - Kendra Thorson 8.500
Sixth - Kianna Winter 8.400
 
Uneven parallel bars:
First - Ella Reisdorfer 8.500
Second - Amira Cowell 8.200
Fifth - Reagan Gangestad 7.350
Sixth - Sarah de Cesare 7.300
Seventh - Hailey Como 6.950
 
Balance beam:
First - Reagan Gangestad 8.650
Second - Ella Reisdorfer 8.500
Third - Amira Cowell 8.325
Fourth - Kendra Thorson 8.100
Sixth - Kianna Winter 7.550
 
Floor:
First - Amira Cowell 9.000
Second - Ella Reisdorfer 8.800
Third - Kianna Winter 8.625
Fourth - Sarah de Cesare 8.300
Sixth - Addyson Mann 8.000
 
2023 JCC Sweetheart Invitational
Luverne gymnasts participated in the 2023 Jackson County Central Sweetheart Invitational Saturday, Jan. 14, along with six other teams.
Luverne took third place with a 134.425 combined team score behind New Prague, who placed first with 145.425 and Worthington, who took second place with 141.500.
Luverne finished ahead of fourth-place Austin with 133.850 and fifth-place Jackson County Central with 132.675.
It was the first time in school history that the Cardinals placed higher than JCC, according to Flom.
Luverne placed two gymnasts in the Top 10 all-around competition. 
Reisdorfer placed third with a combined score of 35.450 and Cowell placed ninth with a 34.575.
In the four individual apparatus performances, Luverne placed several times in the top 15.
In the vault Cowell placed ninth with a score of 9.000 and Reisdorfer placed 11th with an 8.900.
In the uneven parallel bars Reisdorfer placed seventh with an 8.475.
On the beam Cowell placed third with a 9.025 and Reisdorfer placed sixth with an 8.850.
On the floor Reisdorfer placed sixth with a 9.225 and Cowell placed 10th with a 9.100.
Cowell also placed third in the Invitational “Dream Team” beam standings, which recognizes the Top 4 finishers in each individual apparatus.
Here is a list of other Luverne gymnasts and their scores:
 
All-Around
Sarah de Cesare 31.575
Kianna Winter 31.475
Addyson Mann 31.425
Reagan Gangestad 30.775
Kendra Thorson 29.450
Hailey Como 29.175
 
Vault
Kianna Winter 8.575
Hailey Como 8.550
Kendra Thorson 8.550
 
Uneven parallel bars
Reagan Gangestad 7.325
Sarah de Cesare 7.250
Hailey Como 6.625
 
Beam
Reagan Gangestad 8.050
Kianna Winter 7.400
Kendra Thorson 6.900
 
Floor
Kianna Winter 8.800
Sarah de Cesare 8.450
Addyson Mann 8.100

The Luverne wrestlers had a busy stretch of competition on the road over the past week, facing some tough opponents. 
The Cardinals started out losing a dual against the Dragons Jan. 10 in Adrian before competing in a triangular in Marshall Jan. 12, when they fell to Pipestone 54-24 and Marshall 58-14.
The Luverne boys’ wrestling team finished in Pipestone Jan. 14, competing in the Big South Conference Tournament and the girls’ team headed to Champlain Park for an all-girls tournament.
Luverne was scheduled to host a Triangular with Worthington and Windom Tuesday, Jan. 17, and they’ll travel to the Wabasso Invitational Saturday, Jan. 21.
 
Adrian 64, Luverne 5
The Luverne wrestling team lost 64-5 to a very tough Adrian team Tuesday, Jan. 10.
“Several matches were lost in the last seconds of the match,” head coach Jordan Kopp said.
“The kids wrestled well. The score doesn’t reflect their effort.”
In the meet the Cardinals gave up five matches by decisions, seven matches by pin and one by forfeit.
Luverne’s only win came from senior DJ Rock in the 170-pound weight class.
Match results are as follows by weight class:
106 – Eighth-grader Brody Kopp, loss by fall.
113 – Ninth-grader Bernie Rock, loss by 10-4 decision.
120 – Eighth-grader Matthew Gangestad, loss by 13-3 major decision.
126 - Sophomore Leif Ingebretsen, loss by 9-5 decision.
132 – Eighth-grader Josh Stroh, loss by fall.
138 – Eighth-grader Hudson Hough, loss by 2-0 decision.
145 – Ninth-grader Cameron McCrary, loss by fall.
152 – Sophomore Jaden Reisch, loss by fall.
160 – Senior DJ Rock, win by fall.
170 – Junior Cash Bonnett, loss by fall.
182 – Junior Sam Rock, loss by 2-1 decision.
195 – Junior Jacob Madison, loss by fall.
220 – forfeit
285 – Sophomore Masyn Akkerman, loss by fall.
 
Marshall Triangular
Luverne wrestlers participated in the Marshall Triangular Thursday, Jan. 12, with Marshall and Pipestone. 
The Cardinals lost to Pipestone 54-24 and wrestled against a tough Marshall squad that beat them 58-14.
Both Pipestone and Marshall have several seasoned wrestlers with section or state experience compared with Luverne, whose roster is made up of underclassmen/women and only one senior.
“The kids wrestled well and we were short-handed with kids out. They still battled and got some big wins,” head coach Jordan Kopp said.
 
Pipestone 54, Luverne 24
Luverne met Pipestone in the first dual of the night. 
The Cardinals won six weight classes by fall (pin) and lost eight matches by pin and two by decision.
Match results are as follows by weight class:
106 – Brody Kopp, loss by fall.
113 – Bernie Rock loss by 10-3 decision.
120 – Matthew Gangestad loss by fall.
126 – Leif Ingebretsen win by fall.
132 – Uriel Hernandez loss by fall.
138 – Hudson Hough loss by fall.
145 – Cameron McCrary loss by 5-3 decision.
152 – Luverne loss by forfeit
160 – DJ Rock win by fall.
170 – Cash Bonnett loss by fall.
182 – Sam Rock win by fall.
195 – Jacob Madison loss by fall.
220 – Luverne loss by forfeit.
285 – Luverne win by forfeit.
 
Marshall 58, Luverne 14
Luverne’s second dual was against the Marshall Tigers.
Luverne won four matches by decision and lost eight matches by fall and two by decision.
Match results are as follows by weight class:
106 – Brody Kopp loss by fall.
113 – Bernie Rock win by 4-2 decision.
120 – Matthew Gangestad win by 20-5 technical fall.
126 – Leif Ingebretsen loss by 17-1 technical fall.
132 – Hudson Hough loss by fall.
138 – Cameron McCrary loss by fall.
145 – Luverne loss by forfeit.
152 – Luverne loss by forfeit
160 – DJ Rock loss by 17-2 technical fall.
170 – Sam Rock win by 5-3 decision.
182 – Sam Rock win by fall.
195 – Jacob Madison loss by fall.
220 – Kane Akkerman loss by fall.
285 – Masyn Akkerman win by 2-0 dec.
 
Big South Conference Tournament
The Luverne boys’ wrestling team traveled to Pipestone to compete in the Big South Conference Tournament Saturday, Jan. 14.
Luverne was among 13 teams at the tournament, joining Blue Earth Area, Fairmont-Martin County West, Jackson County Central, Marshall, New Ulm, Pipestone, Redwood Valley, Saint James, St. Peter, Waseca, Windom-Mountain Lake and Worthington.
Because of injuries and illness, the Cardinals brought only six wrestlers to the tournament. 
They were eighth-grader Matthew Gangestad at 120 pounds, sophomore Leif Ingebretsen at 126, eighth-grader Hudson Hough at 132, senior DJ Rock at 160, junior Sam Rock at 170 and sophomore Masyn Ackerman at 285.
Two LHS wrestlers placed in the Top 3 of their weight class for All-Conference honors. Sam Rock placed second and DJ Rock placed third.
Individual results for Luverne wrestlers:
 
120 weight class: 
Matthew Gangestad placed sixth.
Quarterfinal - Dawson DeCamp (Marshall) won by fall over Matthew Gangestad.
Cons. Round 1 - Matthew Gangestad won by 8-6 decision over Dalton Larson (Worthington).
Cons. Semi - Ryan Moelter (St. Peter) won by fall over Matthew Gangestad.
5th Place Match - Dawson DeCamp (Marshall) won by fall over Matthew Gangestad.
 
126 weight class:
Leif Ingebretsen did not place.
Prelim - Aiden Holmberg (Windom-Mountain Lake) won by 5-1 decision over Leif Ingebretsen.
Quarterfinal - Carson Sturtz (Blue Earth Area) won by fall over Leif Ingebretsen.
 
132 weight class:  
Hudson Hough did not place.
Prelim - Lucas Fuhr (Redwood Valley) won by fall over Hudson Hough.
Prelim - Deontre Torres (St. Peter) won by 15-2 major decision over Hudson Hough.
 
160 weight class:
DJ Rock placed 3rd. Quarterfinal - DJ Rock won by fall over Trey Rossow (Jackson County Central)
Semifinal - Tate Condezo (Marshall) won by 8-3 decision over DJ Rock.
Cons. Semi - DJ Rock won by fall over Kade Gaydon (Blue Earth Area).
3rd Place Match - DJ Rock won by fall over Taylen Travaille (St. Peter).
 
170 weight class:
Sam Rock placed second
Champ. Round 1 - Sam Rock received a bye.
Quarterfinal - Sam Rock won by major 8-0 decision over Joseph Connor (St. Peter).
Semifinal - Sam Rock won by 9-2 decision over Tucker Fiene (Marshall).
First Place Match - Dylan Withers (Jackson County Central) won by 5-3 decision over Sam Rock.
 
285 weight class:
Masyn Akkerman did not place
Champ. Round 1 - Masyn Akkerman received a bye.
Quarterfinal - Evan Thompson (New Ulm Area) won by fall over Masyn Akkerman.
Cons. Round 2 - Haadi Ahmed (St. Peter) won by 5-2 decision over Masyn Akkerman.
 
Champlain Park girls
The Luverne girls’ wrestling team trekked to Champlain Park to compete against female wrestlers from 26 different teams and had a stellar day.
Bernie Rock and CeCe Rock took first place. Andi Luitjens placed third, Zakada Bradley was fifth and Julia Hoogland sixth.