Program sees rise in numbers, wins

Things are starting to ramp up for the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton wrestling team. The Lumberjacks have already wrestled in three tournaments this season, including Lakeville North, Brainerd and the Jack Hammer Tournament in Pequot Lakes.

"We've also wrestled in a triangular against both Crosby-Ironton and Ogilvie," said longtime CEC coach Al Denman. "We beat C-I and lost to Ogilvie by just a few points, and a year ago Ogilvie throttled us. We've come a long way, and our numbers are up."

The 'Jacks also have the luxury of returning three wrestlers to the program this year. Cavan Fjeld, Gage Allen and Jack Horvat all return after either injury or time away to pursue other interests.

"Cavan broke his leg on the first day of captain's practice last year, and he is a very important part of our program," Denman said. "Gage is back after giving cross country skiing a try for the past three years, and Jack took last year off and is now back with us as well."

Fjeld, a sophomore, is one of CEC's top wrestlers and one of their most consistent at putting wins on the table. He wrestles at the 114-lbs weight class. Allen, a senior, will wrestle at 152 lbs. Against Ogilvie, he won against a wrestler who placed in the state meet last season. Horvat will wrestle at 172 lbs this season. The sophomore adds depth in the upper weight divisions for the 'Jacks.

"Our most consistent wrestler at getting wins without a doubt is sophomore Aiden Theisen at 128 lbs," Denman said. "He placed sixth in State last year. He's one of those kids who rarely comes around and is a very special wrestler. Cavan (Fjeld) is also a go-to type guy for us in picking up wins. Most of the rest of our wrestlers get us wins about 50- to 60 percent of the time."

Against Ogilvie, Aili Huhta accomplished a rare feat. Huhta wrestled at the 128-lbs class and faced off against another female wrestler from Ogilvie in a boys meet. Huhta gave CEC the win by pin and important points against a solid program.

Results from the Dec. 17 matches against Crosby-Ironton and Ogilvie are listed below.

CEC 48-30 over Crosby-Ironton

Victories:

Cavan Fjeld - fall

Aili Huhta - fall (girls match)

Jack Horvat - fall

Nathan Nynus - fall

CEC loss to Ogilvie 33-40

Victories:

Aiden Reuvers - fall

Kaiden High - fall

Gage Allen - Decision 9-7 over Deegan Berkaker

Aiden Reuvers – fall

"We have a little over 30 wrestlers in the program right now and that is a big bump from last year," Denman said. "We are in the middle of our schedule right now. We will have a triangular each week and tournaments in Ogilvie, South St. Paul and then the Great River Conference tournament, which we will host at the end of the season."

CEC will look to sophomore Patrick Lussier and junior Damion Newcomb to score points in the 189-lbs and 215-lbs weight classes. Freshman Nathan Nynas will hold down the heavyweight division for CEC. Sophomore Kaiden High will wrestle at 145 lbs this season, but recently had his lip split and may need to take time off, which means that slot will see freshman Parker Pratt stepping up to fill that spot.

Cloquet hosted a home meet Tuesday, which featured the first girls dual meet between Cloquet-Esko-Carlton and Proctor-Hermantown. Wrestling in this historic meet for CEC were Aili Huhta, Ali Krivinchuk, Edin Jarvinen, Eryka Moran, Jolana Wise and Jocelyn Stillwell. PH wrestlers included Isabella McPhee, Samantha Herron, Isabella Jauhola, Ebony Hanna, Emma Berg and Natalee Becker.

Results for Tuesday's meet were not available at presstime, as the Pine Knot printed a day early this week. Find results for both the boys and girls meets from Tuesday with this story at http://www.pineknotnews.com.