by Andy Rogers
Thisweek Newspapers

The Apple Valley Eagles wrestling team invited eight teams to its gym on Jan. 19 and outscored them all.

The Eagles won their home individual invitational with 296.5 points. Luxemburg-Casco, Wis., was second with 165.

Nine individuals left the gym with invitational first-place titles, and three finished second.

At 103 pounds, Eric Devos defeated Dan Dick from Simley 9-4 in the first-place match. Devos is ranked No. 1 in the state at 103 pounds in the latest Guillotine rankings.

At 112 pounds, Dakota Trom pinned his opponent in the finals. He had Ali Mohammed from Burnsville pinned in 1 minute, 22 seconds.

Destin McCauley also won his weight class. He pinned Tommy Glenn from Simley in 3:44 at 119 pounds. He is also ranked No. 1 by The Guillotine.

No. 1-ranked Tommy Kelliher won the 130-pound weight class after a tight 3-0 victory over Jake Waste from Anoka.

Justin LaValle got a big victory in the finals over Anoka's Zak Threadgill 16-2 in the 130-pound weight class. LaValle is ranked No. 2 in the state by The Guillotine.

Another top-ranked Apple Valley wrestler, Matt Mincey, went home with a title. He had a technical fall over Burnsville's Jose Quintana in the final match.

No. 5-ranked Jerrett Hoeppner was solid at 140 pounds, winning an invite title. He beat No. 6 Anoka's Corey Smeby 9-2.

Craig Kelliher got another first for the Eagles after pinning Zac Cibula from Luxembur-Casco at 5:44 in the 152-pound title match. Kelliher is ranked No. 4 in the state.

David Maxwell rounded out the winners for Apple Valley, coming in first at 171 pounds. He defeated Jordan Bregelmann from Delano 12-9.

Bringing home the silver was Tyler Lehmann at 160 pounds. Ranked No. 4 in the state, Lehmann lost to No. 5 Wesley Voigt from Sauk Rapids-Rice 15-5.

No. 6 Joe Navratil also came in second after losing to Nick Lloyd from Luxemburg-Casco 3-0.

Brennan McKeag was also a second-place finisher at 215 pounds. He lost to Luxemburg-Casco's Trevor Spude 7-2.

Clint Serrano came in fourth at 145 pounds, Nick Larsen was fourth at heavyweight, and Aaron Kingsley came in fourth at 125 pounds. Nate Brunner placed fifth at 130, and Even Ganzo was fifth at 135. Mike Lewis was sixth at 160.

Andy Rogers is at sportswriter.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.