Logan’s Right on Time Mid-December Team Power Rankings

Every so often in a wrestling room near you, a new star emerges. My senior year at Goodhue High School, we had a seventh grader walk into the wrestling room, immediately mark his territory in the varsity lineup, and proceed to miss weight at our second event. Nonetheless, Kaleb O’Reilly went on to become a 3-time state entrant and a state finalist before going on to wrestle at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. Sometimes you see these wrestlers coming (Patrick Kennedy, anyone? Brady Berge, perhaps?), and other times, you are completely caught off guard by their emergence. 

Last week, the young kid in the metaphorical wrestling room of Section 1 Class AAA made their mark. Northfield knocked off reigning section champ Rochester Mayo 26-24 on their home mat with only one senior in the lineup. The Raiders won 7 of 13 individual matchups, minimized bonus points, and maximized the potential in their youthful lineup. The sample size is small, but it appears that the young kids in the wrestling room are ready to scrap with the big boys.

Northfield makes their debut at #7 in the second edition of the Section 1 Power Rankings. Kasson-Mantorville refuses to leave the top spot after a strong start to the season, but Zumbrota-Mazeppa is closing the gap. The Cougars have already beat three state-ranking worthy teams (Park, Anoka, and Rochester Mayo) just a couple weeks into the regular season.

Chatfield has been off to a great start as well, but dropped a spot in the power ranking through no fault of their own. Chatfield won the Lakeville North Invitational and crushed conference rivals PEM and Caledonia. Zumbrota-Mazeppa has received the opportunity to wrestle great teams - a chance that Chatfield will soon receive. 

Albert Lea proved this weekend that they can roll with the best. They hit the mat with STMA, Hasting and Apple Valley - 3 of the top 8 teams in AAA - and they held their own. 

The final spot in the illustrious top 5 belongs to Kenyon-Wanamingo, but how long can they hold it? Friday’s dual with Dover-Eyota looms large. The Eagles are red hot after a 4-0 showing on Saturday and would love to avenge last season’s regular season loss to the Knights. 

Goodhue, Northfield, Rochester Mayo and Owatonna round out the top 10. The Wildcats earned an impressive victory over Holdingford, the sixth-ranked team in Class A, while the Raiders captured the aforementioned dethroning of last year’s 1AAA section champ. However, these last 4 teams can’t get comfortable: Cannon Falls and PEM are knocking on the door. 

1. Kasson-Mantorville (Last ranked: #1)

2. Zumbrota-Mazeppa (Last ranked: #3)

3. Chatfield (Last ranked: #2)

4. Albert Lea (Last ranked: #5)

5. Kenyon-Wanamingo (Last ranked: #4)

6. Dover-Eyota (Last ranked: #9)

7. Goodhue (Last ranked: #10)

8. Northfield (Last ranked: UNRANKED)

9. Rochester Mayo (Last ranked: #6)

10. Owatonna (Last ranked: #8)