Mankato East’s Tyler Thilges knew he could end it.
After watching training partner and classmate Max Morgan drop a tight and exciting match to Mankato West’s Brody Koberoski in the 189-pound class, Thilges had to quickly refocus.
“On deck, it’s hard to lock in when your guy is out there,” Thilges said.
Thilges (215) got a pin in 34 seconds, sealing a 34-25 win for East in a Big Nine Conference wrestling match Thursday at the East gym.
“I was told to not run through the guy with my underhook, and I did that,” Thilges said with a smile. “If I got put on my back, it would have lost the dual, but I had faith in myself (that) I could pull through with the win.”
For Thilges, it’s been a season of adjustment. He started the season in the 172-pound class prior to an injury, but there was a need at 215.
East coach Jon Dierks began having Thilges weigh in at two classes.
“(Since) he’s gone up, he’s kind of embraced that 215 role,” Dierks said. “He realizes how to wrestle the bigger guys. How to use his speed and technique a little more. … It’s just a testament to him and how he’s learned to adapt.”
Colton Stehr (139) and Thilges (215) won by fall for the Cougars.
Jackson Peed (107), Garrison Dierks (114), Bennett Blom (145), Luke Scholtes (152) and Elliott Betz (160) also got victories for East.
For Mankato West coach Tyler Sorenson, it was his first East-West dual as a head coach after spending the last five years as an assistant for the Scarlets.
It was a tough week of preparation for Sorenson, as senior Evan Wiebers, who was set to wrestle in the 152-pound match, suffered an injury in practice Monday. Sorenson ended up taking a forfeit in that spot, and was proud of the way his team competed in spite of the injury.
“When it’s just a dual and you don’t have anything before during the week, you’ve got lots of time where you can look ahead and try to think about what Jon (Dierks) is going to do, and what we can do to counter that,” Sorenson said. “Tonight, his moves paid off more than ours.”
Soren Ehmke (133) and Eli Ahmann (285) won by fall for the Scarlets.
Ian Risto (121), Rob Wicks (127), Shafer Ehmke (172) and Koberoski (189) also won for West.
East and West will each wrestle in the team section 2AA meet Thursday.
Follow Kevin Dudley on X @Dudley7Kevin.