St. Charles Miles Barclay delivers upset of the tournament; Chatfield qualifies seven for state

ROCHESTER — Miles Barclay’s final high-school match inside Mayo Civic Center will be remembered as the signature moment of the Section 1A tournament. The St. Charles senior toppled top-seeded and state-title favorite Jameson Priebe of Chatfield with a second-period pin to claim the 121-pound championship, igniting a deafening roar from the crowd and the Saints’ bench.

Barclay, wrestling with blood-stained teeth, said the victory was about more than hardware. “A big part of my goal this year was to just leave on a note for a new era of St. Charles wrestling,” he explained. “Doing this as a senior is a good thing to leave on a high note for the younger guys to look up to.”

The underdog struck first with a first-period takedown. Priebe countered in the second with an escape and takedown for a 4-2 lead, but Barclay calmly escaped, then unleashed the match-ending maneuver that brought the sold-out arena to its feet. “I just let it fly, just like my dad always says,” Barclay said.

The win was the tournament’s biggest shock and one of only two upsets in the championship round. Lewiston-Altura’s Christian Zibrowski also stunned Chatfield, edging Logan Pearson 4-3 at 127. Both Priebe and Pearson rebounded in the true-second bout to secure state berths, part of a seven-athlete Chatfield contingent that will compete next Thursday at 9 a.m. in the Grand Casino Arena, St. Paul.

Joining Barclay as a Saint state qualifier is 160-pound runner-up Bryndon Koeppel.

Chatfield’s qualifiers include champions Joey Cady (107), Kaisen Johnson (133) and Hunter Polikowsky (145), plus runners-up Priebe, Pearson, Layne Root (139) and Will Boelter (215). Johnson, a four-time state entrant who will wrestle and play football at Division III St. John’s, settled the Gophers with a 15-0 tech fall in the 133 final. “He doesn’t have a medal yet. That’s really high on his list,” coach Matt Mauseth said.

Including girls qualifiers, Chatfield will send 12 individuals to state and remains a favorite for a third straight Class 1A team title.

Section 1A champions 107: Joey Cady, Chatfield 114: Arlyn Von Knobelsdorff, Goodhue 121: Miles Barclay, St. Charles 127: Christian Zibrowski, Lewiston-Altura/Rushford-Peterson 133: Kaisen Johnson, Chatfield 139: Owen Lange, Lewiston-Altura/Rushford-Peterson 145: Hunter Polikowsky, Chatfield 152: Henry Dohnalik, La Crescent-Hokah 160: Talen Rabe, Dover-Eyota 172: Will Allen, Caledonia/Houston 189: Kane Larson, Fillmore Central/Lanesboro/Mabel-Canton 215: Cooper Allen, Caledonia/Houston 285: Jack Carlson, Goodhue