Sue Sitter/PCT Riley Zachmeier (right) controls Turtle Mountain’s Tate Laducer during the first place match at the Panther Booster tournament, held last week in Rugby.

Three Rugby High wrestlers placed among the top 7 for their weight divisions at the 2019 Panther Booster Wrestling Tourney, held last weekend in the Rugby High gym.

More than 20 schools from as far away as Cass County and the Montana-North Dakota State line competed in the Friday and Saturday tournament.

Seventh place finisher Aden Jensen began his time on the mat in the 126-pound class with a win by a 9-3 decision over Turtle Mountain’s Wyatt Goulet, but he fell to Evan Gross of Central Cass in the quarterfinal round. Jensen went on to win by fall over Mason Olander of New Salem in Consolation Round 4.

However, Jensen faced Goulet yet again in Consolation Round 5, and this time, Jensen fell in one minute, fifteen seconds to the Turtle Mountain wrestler. Jensen came back with a win over Bishop Ryan’s Wesley Harvey. Harvey fell in 4 minutes, 50 seconds, and Jensen took 7th place in the 126-pound class.

One hundred twenty-pounder Riley Odden took 4th place for the Panthers, winning by fall over Turtle Mountain’s Dalton Short in 3 minutes, 42 seconds, and Matthew Keena of Pembina County North in 1 minute and 44 seconds.

Although Odden fell to Harvey/Wells County’s Isaac Felchle in the quarterfinals, he rebounded to win the fourth and fifth consolation rounds, as Turtle Mountain’s Josiah Marcellais fell to Odden in 53 seconds in the fourth consolation round. Odden won the fifth round by major decision (14-3) over Williams County’s Cristian Lagunes.

Odden went on to place 4th after losing by major decision (14-5) to Devils Lake’s Brant Fisk.

RHS senior Riley Zachmeier finished at the top for his 138 pound class, defeating Bishop Ryan’s Jaeger Lundeen by tech fall in 4 minutes. Zachmeier won by fall over Layton Wallace of Devils Lake in 1 minute and 59 seconds. Zachmeier went on to the semifinals to defeat Kindred’s Brock Roesler in a 6-2 decision, before taking first place when he defeated Turtle Mountain’s Tate Laducer by a 6-3 decision.

“This weekend, the one who really performed well was Riley Odden,” RHS Coach Craig Zachmeier noted as the tournament came to a close Saturday.

“He (Odden) competed with kids who were at state; he competed with kids who were Class A and were at state, so, he really had a great weekend. The other kids, they had a lot of improvement to do.”

Ninth grader Odden said his win “felt good, because I’ve been working hard at practice.” Odden, who said he’s been wrestling since he was four years old in a “Little Kids” program, explained the RHS wrestlers “practice every day.

“We go over a lot of techniques. We do a lot of conditioning.”

Zachmeier, father to wrestler Riley Zachmeier said he’s been coaching “for a lot of years, and this will be my 6th year as head coach.”

As for coaching his son, Zachmeier said, “I’m going to miss it.”

Zachmeier said of his son, “He’s been wrestling since he was four. He’s been doing this for 13 years already, so this is going to be the end of it.”

Did Riley have plans to wrestle in college?

“Undecided,” Zachmeier smiled. “We’ll worry about the next five weeks, first.”

Zachmeier said he plans to continue coaching wrestling at RHS. “We have another (son) coming up,” he noted.

The Panthers’ team total of 82 points earned them a 10th place finish among 22 schools.