By Brian Jerzak
That was fun.
When I was driving to the Dream Team Classic in New Prague on Saturday night, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what kind of crowd there was going to be in the gym at New Prague high school. When I pulled into the parking lot about twenty minutes before the event, I found out. Outside, the parking lot was packed. Inside, the gym was overflowing with fans; the crowd would not be disappointed.
The event was the nineteenth Dream Team Classic and the second time a school in Minnesota has hosted it. Team USA consists of thirteen high school seniors from across the nation. Eight of the twenty-six competitors were ranked number one in the nation. Four more are ranked number two, and three matches included a one versus two matchup.
Team Minnesota was a big underdog in most of the matches, but would come away victorious in three.
Most of the higher ranked wrestlers won – but often the underdog Minnesota athletes hung in with their highly rated opponents. The one big upset of the night was pulled off by Rosemount’s Adam Hedin.
Known for his scrambling ability, Hedin got out of a tough situation early in the match and used scrambling later to score some huge back points late in the match to clinch the 6-5 victory over Kyle Norstrem from Brandon, Florida. As the clock wound down and it was clear the Rosemount native was going to knock off the number three ranked wrestler in the nation, the crowd rose to its feet to salute Minnesota’s first winner of the night.
Mitchell McKee from St. Michael-Albertville took control early and walked off with a major decision win. McKee, ranked number five in the nation dominated – especially on the mat – the eighth-ranked wrestler – Brent Moore from St. Paris Graham in Ohio 10-2 and gave Team Minnesota four team points.
Minnesota would get its final victory of the night in the dual’s final and most anticipated match. Number one ranked Mark Hall from Apple Valley dominated second-ranked Alex Marinelli from St. Paris Graham. Hall’s stellar defense was on display about two seconds into the match as Marinelli immediately hit a double leg. He was in deep, but somehow Hall was able to work himself to the edge of the mat and get out of bounds. Hall scored the first points late in the first period with a takedown and dominated from there. He nearly pinned Marinelli twice in route to a comfortable 14-5 win.
Two other matches – both featuring a number one ranked wrestler from Team USA – went into overtime. Rogers’ Andrew Piehl wrestled the number one ranked Osawaru Odighizuwa from David Douglas in Oregon to a 1-1 tie. Piehl was the aggressor most of the match, but Odighizuwa picked up the offense late and landed a takedown in sudden victory.
Hometown hero and third-ranked Griffin Parriott from New Prague also took extra time to resolve his match against number one ranked Mason Manville from Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania. Although it was deemed an exhibition match won by Parriott – Manville didn’t make weight – they would wrestle to a 1-1 tie through the first overtime. A reversal by Manville in the third overtime was the difference in his eventual 4-1 victory.
Although Team USA defeated Team Minnesota 34-17, the real winners Saturday night were the fans and New Prague High School. NPHS put on a presentation off the mat that lived up to the wrestling on it. The atmosphere from the nearly 2,000 fans in attendance was electric all night. From the spotlight above the raised mat to the walk out music, to the smoke machines it was a great night of wrestling.