Woodbury had an uncharacteristically rough night on the mats Thursday, losing close duals to Park and Scott West but beating East Ridge handily.

In the Park dual, falls by Alex Braun and Will Bents had the score knotted at 12 early on.  A fall by Cade Johnson and a decision by Ryan Holt gave the Royals a 21-12 margin through 6 matches.   Sebastian Zamorano won a major decision but consecutive losses put Woodbury down 27-25.  Brock Rinehart won by fall and Tre Hockenberger took a decision to give the Royals a 34-27 lead late, but consecutive falls allowed the Wolfpack to edge Woodbury, 39-33.

The Royals then took on undermanned East Ridge in the second dual of the night.  The Raptors forfeited 6 of 14 matches and Johnson, Zamorano, Ahmed Abdelal, Hockenberger and Tokin all won by fall.  Final score:  Royals 66, Raptors 18.

In the finale, Woodbury saw #9 AA Scott West and it came down to the final match of the night to decide it.  Winning matches for Woodbury:  Bents (tech fall), Johnson (major dec), Nick Sieczkowski (dec), Ahmed Abdelal (fall), Hockenberger (fall) and Mason Barrows (fall).  Scott West wins the dual, 41-30.

For the Junior Varsity squad, winning matches on the night were Gavin Wilson (1), Josh Williams (2), Ethan Chaney (2), Jack Anderson (2) and Allen Mancera (2).

The Royals have some time off now, with the next competition being Saturday, January 18th at the Eastview Invitational for an individual tournament.  Action starts at Eastview HS at 10:00am.

Woodbury took 2 of 3 duals Thursday night at Stillwater, falling to the #2 Ponies but taking matches against Albert Lea and Eagan.  Highlights of the night include Cade Johnson getting his 75th career win, Alex Braun notching his 50th career win and Blake Tinsley with his first varsity victory.

Against the Ponies, Braun (major decision) and Will Bents (decision) had the Royals within 5 at 12-7 but Stillwater took 6 straight to open up a 46-7 lead.  Pins by Brock Rinehart, Mason Barrows and Denis Tokin made the final score 52-25 in favor of the Ponies.

The Royals took Albert Lea down 52-29 in the 2nd bout.  Cade Johnson won an 11-0 major decision and falls by Braun, Tinsley, Bents, Ahmed Abdelal, Rinehart, Tre Hockenberger, Barrows and Tokin sealed the victory.

In the finale, Woodbury saw section foe Eagan.  The Wildcats forfeited two weights and pins by Braun, Kaiden Kirby, Johnson, Ahmed Abdelal, Rinehart, Hockenberger and Tokin provided the Royals with the 54-24 margin.

For the junior varsity, winning matches on Thursday night were Gais Algazi (1), Logan Ryan (1), Thomas Moesenthin (1), Trenton Willner (1), Allen Mancera (2), Caleb Howe (2), Tyler Higa (1), Dave Hawley (2) and Stanley Iturrino (1).

The Royals travel to Cannon Falls for an individual tournament for both Varsity and JV.  Action starts at 10:00am

Woodbury continued its momentum Thursday night in White Bear Lake, sweeping duals over the Bears and Cambridge-Isanti.

Against WBL, Alex Braun and Brad Little continued their strong starts to their young careers with Braun winning a 15-0 technical fall and Little winning by fall.  Will Bents and Cade Johnson also picked up pins while Jack Anderson won a tough-7-6 decision.  Sebastian Zamorano and Ahmed Abdelal won by fall, Brock Rinehart took a forfeit victory and Mason Barrows and Dennis Tokin closed out the victory with pins.  Tokin picked up his first varsity victory in the 56-19 defeat of the Bears.

Woodbury took over a back-and-forth dual by winning the final 5 matches in a 48-27 win over the Bluejackets.  Braun outlasted his opponent 7-6 and Little won again by pin to give the Royals an early 9-6 lead.  Bents and Johnson again won by pin but Woodbury lost the next four matches to fall into a 27-21 deficit.  Rinehart (fall), Nick Sieczkowski (fall), Tre Hockenberger (fall), Barrows (decision) and Tokin (fall) took the final 5 matches for the victory.

Coming up this week, the Royals will host a dual against 4th ranked Forest Lake on Thursday.  Action begins at 5:30pm for JV; varsity is slated to start at 7pm.

On Friday, the squad will travel to Chisago Lakes HS for the Chisago Lakes Invitational, which is an individual tournament.  Action starts at 4pm and teams included are Robbinsdale Armstrong, Champlin Park, Chisago Lakes, Robbinsdale Cooper, Goodhue, Grand Rapids, North Saint Paul, Proctor, Rogers, Rush City/Braham, St Croix Falls and Stewartville.

The Royals team swept through a quadrangular Thursday night, dominating Irondale 73-5 and Armstrong 84-0 before beating Hastings 38-34.  It was only the 3rd time the Royals have beaten Hastings in program history.

Against Irondale, a new addition to the Suburban East wrestling conference, the Royals dominated from start to finish.  Alex Braun, Will Bents, Cade Johnson, Nick Howe, Sebastian Zamorano, Omar Abdelal, Ahmed Abdelal, Tre Hockenberger, Mason Barrows and Ethan Chaney all won by fall in the match.  Brad Little and Brock Rinehart won by technical fall and Kaiden Kirby won by decision in his first varsity win.

Against Armstrong, the Royals took 6 point wins in every match, the first time they've accomplished that since the 2012-2013 season.  Forfeits were won at four weights and falls were won by Braun, Little, Kirby, Johnson, Jack Anderson (first varsity win), Howe, Zamorano, Omar Abdelal, Hockenberger and Trenton Willner.

The final dual against Hastings wasn't decided until late, but the Royals started out in dominating fashion with a technical fall by Braun and a fall by Little.  Bents and Johnson also picked up falls to boost an early lead to 23-4, but Hastings won the next 4 matches to take a 28-23 lead.  Rinehart and Ahmed Abdelal each won by fall and Mason Barrows sealed the deal with a win by decision.

On the junior varsity side, Mike Hall, Thomas Moesenthin, Logan Ryan, Jack Anderson and Trenton Willner all went undefeated on the evening.  Allen Mancera, Josh Williams and Gavin Wilson all went 2-1 on a very successful night.