Undefeated Ness falls to a familiar No. 2 seed

Hastings wrestler Luke Vaith wrapped Paul, his father and coach, in a triumphant hug and then retreated into the Xcel Energy Center's bowels to check his weight.

He must have felt a great deal lighter.

Vaith, ranked No. 2 in Class 3A at 140 pounds, edged undefeated and top-ranked Dylan Ness of Bloomington in the upset of the day during Thursday's quarterfinals at the state wrestling tournament. Vaith, a senior, lost both meetings against Ness, a junior, earlier this season before Thursday's 7-6 victory.

The only thing better, Vaith said, would have been to face Ness in the title match.

"I was pretty upset when I first saw the brackets, but I figured I'd have to try and beat him sometime," Vaith said.

Luke experienced a similar situation last season. He beat Apple Valley's Justin LaValle three times during the season but lost to him in the championship match at 130 pounds. Though past Ness, Vaith's next hurdle is No. 3 ranked Mac Rivard of St. Francis.

"It'll be tough, but that's what I wanted," Vaith said. "I want to prove that I am No. 1."

Forest Lake ninth-grader Ben Morgan and Apple Valley sophomore Matt Kelliher will meet in today's semifinals at 119 pounds. Morgan defeated Kelliher last season in the title match at 112 pounds. Morgan is 39-0 this season and ranked No. 1. Kelliher is No. 2 and boasts a record of 43-2.

Other No. 1 vs. No. 2 matches today: undefeated and defending state champion LaValle against Owatonna's Hector Millan at 130 pounds. And Anoka's Jake Kettler (No. 2) wrestles Alexandria's undefeated Tom Bouressa at heavyweight.

• All nine wrestlers representing Apple Valley reached the semifinals.

• Coon Rapids and Hastings each have four wrestlers in today's semifinals.

• All six defending state champions are competing in today's semifinals.

Defending team champion Simley sent seven wrestlers to the 2A semifinals, and David Thorn of St. Michael-Albertville remained on track for his third championship.

Advancing for Simley were Dylan Wright at 112, Jake Short at 119, Dan Dick at 125, Tommy Glenn at 130 Kurtis Julson at 152, Mic Berg at 189 and Charlie Gelhaye at 285.

Thorn will face Dick in one semifinal today; the other will pit 2007 champion Garrett Garness of Kasson-Mantorville against Dalton Sowers of Delano.

Jordan Linn of Foley, last year's winner at 171, lost at 189 to Kraig Schumm of St. Michael-Albertville.

Elissa Reinsma, the sophomore 103-pounder from Fulda/Murray County Central who lost in Wednesday's first round, saw her season end with a 10-1 loss to fourth-ranked Jordan Land of Cloquet/Esko in Thursday night's consolation bracket. Her brother, senior Justin, reached the semis at 130.

Six wrestlers from Medford will compete in the 1A semifinals: Zach Keller at 103, Austin Peters at 119, Curt Maas at 125, Zach Kanzenbach at 140, Tyler Yule at 152 and Jake Elzen at 160.

Four from Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg reached the semis, as did three from Yellow Medicine East.

Three defending champions remain in the title chase: Christian Skillings of Minneota at 112, Julius Stone of Browerville/Eagle Valley at 119 and two-time champ Kevin Steinhaus of Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg at 160.