ST.

Friday, March 02, 2001

ST. PAUL – T.J. Parlin was surprised not once but twice Thursday in the state wrestling tournament.

No, he didn’t lose. He fell behind. But not for long.

The Austin High School freshman rallied for a pair of wins to remain unbeaten for the season and advance to the Class AAA 112-pound semifinals at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Pardon isn’t the only Packer still in the hunt for a gold medal. Chad Mentel won both his bouts to reach the semifinals at 189.

Drew Oesterle lost his opening-round match but remained alive in the wrestlebacks at 145. Spencer Wolner was eliminated with a 7-1 loss in his first match at 119.

"I was pretty pleased with the first day, overall," said Packers head coach Bill Kinney. "The two guys who lost had tough draws. We would have been fortunate to get wins there. We’ve got two in the semifinals, two place winners for sure. Now it’s just a matter of climbing the ladder."

Marlin, who entered the tournament 30-0 and rated No. 1 in the state at his weight, said falling behind early in his Thursday matches wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

"It wakes you up," said Parlin. "It lets you know they can take you down. After that, I picked it up."

Especially in the opening round, where he pinned St. Paul Come Park senior Dan Briseno in 3:40. Parlin out pointed Andy Petrich, a junior from Sauk Rapids-Rice, 5-2 in the quarterfinals.

Parlin was scheduled to face an old nemesis, Apple Valley junior Neil Wasmund, in tonight’s semifinals. Wasmund is the only wrestler in the last two years to beat Parlin, who was third at state last year at 103.

"I don’t want to be presumptuous, but that’s probably the state title match at 112," said Kinney.

Mentel, a senior, scored a 19-3 technical fall over senior Matt Schmitt of St. Paul Central in the opening round, then defeated Osseo senior Chad Conner 10-4. He took a record of 32-1 into the semifinals.

Parlin and Mentel are guaranteed at least a sixth-place finish.

Oesterle, who lost 14-6 to Brian Hackenmueller of Elk River Area in the opening round, can still place as high as third. A senior, Oesterle entered the wrestlebacks with a record of 19-13.

Wolner, a junior, was defeated 7-1 by Matt Svihel of Totino Grace in the first round and finished the season 23-7.

Today’s Class AAA wrestlebacks were scheduled to begin at 4:30, with the semifinal round set for 7:30. The individual medal-round finals are Saturday.