Trojans seeded third as Section 3AA team wrestling begins Thursday

The Section 3AA Team Wrestling Tournament begins on Thursday, and Worthington has received the No. 3 South seed.

The Trojans will face No. 6 south seed Martin County at 6 p.m. Thursday at Windom. The winner of that match will take on No. 2 south seed Windom/Mountain Lake Area/Butterfield-Odin later Thursday.

New Ulm has the top South seed and will wrestle Thursday at home against the

victor of a match between No. 4 South St. James Madelia and No. 5 South Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial that begins at 6 p.m. that evening. Marshall is the No. 1 North seed and will wrestle Thursday at home against the winner of No. 4 North Hutchinson and No. 5 Morris Area/Hancock/Chokio-Alberta that starts at 6 that night.

The tournament continues with semifinal and final action starting at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in Fairmont.

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In girls wrestling, the Section 3 tournament took place last weekend in Redwood Falls and multiple area competitors advanced to the state meet.

Ellie Rock, Bernie Rock and Cece Rock of Luverne each took first place at 112, 118 and 155 pounds, respectively. Kataniya Hernandez-Nelson of Adrian Area also advanced to state by taking first place at 148 pounds. Joannacrystal Perez-Garica of Pipestone Area took second at 100 pounds to qualify as well.

Worthington had three individuals place at the sectional meet: Peer Htoo was fourth at 112 pounds; Gisel Martinez was sixth at 118; and Arianna Valdez was sixth at 170.

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The Luverne High School girls hockey team, losers of their first three games this season against Marshall, won the one that mattered most as they knocked off the Tigers 3-2 on Tuesday night to win the Section 3A title and earn a state tournament berth.

The second-seeded Cardinals, who had been beaten 6-1 on two occasions by the top-seeded Tigers as well as 4-3, got the game-winning goal from Ella Apel with 6:52 remaining, 

The first two periods ended in ties, with Marshall scoring the first goal and Luverne the second in each.  The Tigers' Brooklyn Mauch had both Tiger goals, giving her a total of 73 for the season. Ellie Van Batavia got the Cardinals on the board in the first, and Rylee Kurtz knotted things up in the third.

Luverne will head to state with a 19-9 record. Marshall finishes at 22-5.

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Visiting Pipestone Area led 48-18 at halftime Tuesday night and the Arrows went to cruise to an 86-25 girls basketball victory over the Worthington Trojans.

Pipestone Area, now 19-3 on the season, was paced by Jadyn Kor's 23 points. Emersen Smidt and Amyra Mahik added 13 points apiece.

The Trojans, now 2-20, were led offensively by Madison Sieve's six points and Kierra Reetz's five. The WHS girls and boys team both play Thursday night at Luverne.

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In area girls basketball Tuesday night, it was:

Dawson-Boyd 53, Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 47

Westbrook-Walnut Grove 72, Jackson County Central 60

Hills-Beaver Creek 80, Luverne 55

Red Rock Central 70, Madelia 55

Maple River 46, Martin County West 37

Fairmont 68, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial 33

Marshall 83, Belle Plaine 37

MOC-Floyd Valley 59, Sheldon 22

Boyden-Hull 49, Sibley-Ocheyedan 22

Central Lyon 54, Okoboji 43

Cherokee 51, Spirit Lake 31

In area boys basketball Tuesday night:

Jackson County Central 59, Maple River 46

Mountain Lake Area-Comfrey 75, Adrian-Ellsworth 67

Southwest Minnesota Christian 89, Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 46

Edgerton 81, Red Rock Central 59

Hills-Beaver Creek 73, Westbrook-Walnut Grove 34

Murray County Central 45, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 42

St. James Area 79, Martin County West 41

Lakeview 72, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 69

Fairmont 65, Tri-City United 32

Marshall 62, Redwood Valley 52

MOC-Floyd Valley 58, Sheldon 48

Boyden-Hull 66, Sibley-Ocheyedan 33

Okoboji 60, Central Lyon 50

GTRA 47, Harris-Lake Park 46

Cherokee 71, Spirit Lake 55

In area boys hockey Tuesday night:

Fairmont 7, Redwood Valley 3