aselvey@nujournal.com

ST. PAUL — All four of New Ulm Area’s state wrestlers won a match on the first day of the Class AA State Individual Wrestling Tournament on Friday, and three of them will be continuing their state trip Saturday as they hope to place at the Xcel Energy Center.

Alex Portner, Kane Johnson and Wyatt Pollard all advanced to the next day of the tourney after winning in wrestlebacks. Johnson and Pollard both won in the opening round and went 2-1 on the day. Jamison Frederickson won his first match of the day by pin, setting the school record for pins in a season with 32, but he dropped his next two matches.

Portner started off the matches for NUA at 121, taking on Pine City/Hinckley-Finlayson’s Roman McKinney in the first round. McKinney came away with an 8-3 decision over Portner.

New Ulm Area’s Alex Portner high-fives NUA head coach Kevin Briggs after winning a match during the Class AA State Individual Wrestling Tournament Friday at the Xcel Energy Center.

Johnson took on Minneapolis Roosevelt’s Carlos Olvera in the first round, and Johnson quickly took Olvera down twice, flipping him on his back for the pin in 1:17.

“I was just trying to stay heavy on his head and get to my shots,” Johnson said. “Try to get a big lead in the first. That’s what I was trying to do. Then I just got him on his back and pinned him.”

Pollard followed that up with a 10-1 major decision over Foley’s William Gutormson. Frederickson earned his record-breaking pin over Bloomington Kennedy’s Anthony Kugmeh in 42 seconds to wrap up the first round for the Eagles.

The second round didn’t go as well for NUA, as Johnson lost a tight match to Howard Lake-Waverly-Winstead’s Raydon Graham. Johnson got up 4-1 in the third period after a two-legged takedown, but Graham managed an escape with 1:20 left. Johnson was then caught near the edge of the circle, and with a fraction of a second to go, Graham got his arms around both of Johnson’s legs. After a discussion, the referees ruled that the move was a takedown and occurred inside the circle, handing Graham a 5-4 decision.

Frederickson fell to Mahtomedi’s Evan McGuire in 27 seconds, and Pollard took a 13-6 loss to Perham’s Tiegan Detloff, despite a strong effort to end the match.

New Ulm Area’s Kane Johnson wrestles with Minneapolis Roosevelt’s Carlos Olvera during the opening round of the Class AA State Individual Wrestling Tournament Friday at the Xcel Energy Center.

NUA got back to winning in wrestlebacks, with Portner earning his first state tournament win over Mankato East’s Jackson Stensrud.

“It feels great, because I’m one more win away from placing,” Portner said. “It’s my first win in a state tournament ever for high school. It feels great.”

After a scoreless first period, Stensrud got on the board first with an escape in the second. Portner earned a takedown soon after to take a 3-1 lead before another escape from Stensrud put the score at 3-2 before the end of the second. Stensrud had Portner’s hips perpendicular to the mat for a large portion of the third period, but Portner stayed strong and didn’t let his shoulders get flipped. Instead, he twisted out of the hold for an escape, then held off one final attempt from Stensrud, turning it into a takedown for himself for a 7-2 decision.

“I trusted my stuff and I trusted what my coaches were telling me to do,” Portner said. “That’s what I did, and it worked. I had to stay confident, otherwise I wasn’t going to come through with that win.”

Johnson followed that up with a 12-1 major decision over Perham’s Peyton Trout, and Pollard faced Aidan Boex of Mahtomedi in his wrestleback.

New Ulm Area’s Jamisen Frederickson squares off against Waseca’s Matthew Veroeven during the Class AA State Individual Wrestling Tournament Friday at the Xcel Energy Center.

After a scoreless first period, Pollard earned an escape in the second, turning that into a one-legged takedown for a 4-0 lead. Boex earned an escape of his own, but Pollard put another one-legged takedown on Boex just before the second period ended for a 7-1 lead. Boex earned one more escape, but was unable to put Pollard on the mat as Pollard earned tha 7-2 decision.

Frederickson matched up against Waseca’s Matthew Veroeven in his wrestleback, and while Fredericks put up a strong effort, Veroeven came away with a 16-2 major decision after several takedowns.

Portner, Johnson and Pollard all now have a chance to compete for third place on Saturday. Portner will start the day against Hutchinson’s Judah Perrault, while Johnson takes on Grand Rapids’ Asher Brenden. Pollard will face Martin County’s Maddex Faber to start Saturday.