TURNING POINT ­— Martin County Red Bull wrestler Maddex Faber (black singlet) attempts to turn Blue Earth Area’s Cooper Peterson during action in their 145-pound individual championship match at Saturday’s Dick Maher Invitational in Blue Earth. Faber went on to capture a 6-3 victory to help the Red Bulls win the team crown. (Photo by Charlie Sorrells)

BLUE EARTH — Martin County’s Torrey Paplow emerged from the season-opening Dick Maher wrestling invitational with a gold medal in the 113-pound division in 2022.

Unfortunately for the up-and-coming Paplow, an injury in the following weeks forced him to miss the rest of last season.

A healthy — and bigger — Paplow, however, climbed to the top of the 133-pound medals podium on Saturday to help guide the Red Bulls to a fifth consecutive Maher team crown in Blue Earth.

“I had problems with the growth plate connected to my hamstring and it kept me out of the lineup for almost the entire season last year,” said Paplow, who also earned the seven-team tournament’s outstanding wrestler award for his three dominating victories. “It feels nice to be wrestling again.”

Class AA No. 10-ranked 121-pounder Pierce Rohman, 145-pounder Maddex Faber and 160-pounder Ty Kolbe joined Paplow as individual gold medalists to power the Red Bulls to an impressive 192-131 margin of victory over invite runner-up Tri-City United.

“Five in a row at the Maher — that’s quite an accomplishment when you think of the quality teams competing here,” said Red Bulls head coach Adam Williamson, whose lineup exited Blue Earth with the team championship in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022. The event was cancelled due to a snowstorm in 2018 and then nixed due to the covid pandemic in 2020. “It’s a good way to start the season and we did it with some new faces out on the mats and a number of guys who moved up two, three or four weight classes.”

Rohman, who garnered a bronze Maher Invite medal at 106 last year, bumped up a couple of weight divisions to produce a pair of falls and nearly a technical fall at 121 pounds.

Rohman pinned Blue Earth Area’s Tim Nagel in 3:27 to open Saturday’s canvas action, dispatched Worthington’s Emmanuel Coronado in the semifinals via a pin in 2:46 and outpointed Waseca’s Jacob Knutson in the finals by a 17-3 major decision.

Paplow then collected the Red Bulls’ second individual gold medal on the day by generating a fall and a major decision before earning the slap of the mat in the 133-pound finals.

The Red Bulls’ sophomore standout pressed Worthington opponent Alex Galvez’s shoulders to the canvas in 1:26 in their opener before coasting to an 18-5 major decision over TCU’s Keegan O’Meara in the semifinals.

Paplow actually trailed Madelia/Truman/Martin Luther sophomore Noel Davila 10-3 after the first period and 15-11 after two segments before rallying in the third 2-minute frame for a fall in 5:15.

Davila opened his day at 133 by rolling up a 16-0 technical fall over Blue Earth Area’s Colton Tolzmann before downing Waterville-Elysian-Morristown/Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton’s Carson James in the semifinals by a 14-2 major decision.

Faber, who claimed third at 120 in the event last season, survived the 145-pound gauntlet in which he got punched, choked and fore-armed late in the back of the head by his opponents.

Faber pinned Worthington’s Danny Banegas in their opener in 2:58, assembled a textbook 15-2 major decision over Waseca’s Jacob Root in the semifinals before outdueling Blue Earth Area’s Cooper Peterson in the finals, 6-3.

Peterson received a first-round bye at 145 before shutting out MTML’s Carlos Lemus in the semifinals, 6-0.

Junior Ty Kolbe, who netted second at the same weight a year ago, climbed one more podium step on Saturday by striking gold at 160 for the Red Bulls.

Kolbe received a first-round bye before pinning Blue Earth Area’s Caleb Langager in 27 seconds in the semifinal. Kolbe then downed WEM/JWP’s Gavin Krause by a 9-5 decision in the finals.

Junior Berent Kosbab, who won the Maher’s 132-pound crown in 2022, moved all the way to 152 on Saturday and placed second to Waseca’s Slade Barnett.

Kosbab received a first-round bye before rolling to a 14-4 major decision over WEM/JWP’s Lucas Morsching in the semifinals. Barnett, who had recorded two pins earlier in the event, outpointed Kosbab in the finale by an 8-1 decision.

Kade Gaydon then captured host BEA’s only individual gold medal by pinning all three of his 172-pound opponents on the invite.

Gaydon pressed WEM/JWP opponent Isaac Quast’s shoulders to the canvas in 1:32 to open his day before needing only 57 seconds to pin the Red Bulls’ Caleb Chambers in the semifinals.

Gaydon then produced a fall in 59 seconds over the Red Bulls’ Taylor Austin in the championship round.

Austin kicked off his tournament by downing TCU’s Alex Block with a pin in 59 seconds before outpointing Worthington’s Chase Byrne by a 5-1 semifinal decision.

The Maher Invite consisted of only 11 weight classes at the varsity level due to only one entry at 107 pounds and two at 114.

The Red Bulls compete in the Jackson County Central Invitational at 9:30 a.m. next Saturday in Jackson.

Blue Earth Area returns to mat action next Saturday at the St. Clair Invitational at 9 a.m., while the Jayhawks travel to Lamberton on Friday for a 5 p.m. dual meet against Red Rock Central.

2023 MAHER INVITE

At B.E. Area High School

Team Standings: 1. Martin County Red Bulls 192; 2. Tri-City United 131; 3. Waterville-Elysian-Morristown/Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton 117; 4. Waseca 108; T5. Blue Earth Area and Worthington 72s; 7. Madelia/Truman/Martin Luther 39.

Individual Championship

Results

121 Pounds: Pierce Rohman (Red Bulls) major dec. Jacob Knutson (WAS) 17-3.

127: 1st: Brady Murphy (WEM/JWP) 3-0 Record; 2nd: Griffin Lemieux (TCU) 2-1; 3rd: Ethan Siebring (Red Bulls) 1-2; 4th: Logan Shelstad (BEA) 0-3.

133: Torrey Paplow (Red Bulls) pinned Noel Davila (MTML), 5:15.

139: Dalton Larson (WOR) dec. Eli Viskocil (TCU), 8-4.

145: Maddex Faber (Red Bulls) dec. Cooper Peterson (BEA), 6-3.

152: Slade Barnett (WAS) dec. Berent Kosbab (Red Bulls), 8-1.

160: Ty Kolbe (Red Bulls) dec. Gavin Krause (WEM/JWP) 9-5.

172: Kade Gaydon (BEA) pinned Taylor Austin (Red Bulls), 0:59.

189: Avery Fall (WEM/JWP) dec. Kaden Malecha (TCU), 5-4.

215: Matthew Veroeven (WAS) pinned Kolton Duff (TCU), 1:00.

285: 1st Place: Keegan Kuball (WEM/JWP) 3-0 Record; 2nd: Colby Schwichtenberg (Red Bulls) 2-1; 3rd: Ben Hagen (WAS) 1-2; 4th: Chase Gambell (BEA) 0-3.