PONIES TAKE THE STAGE

Dateline: Coach Onken’s Living Room 1/18/2026 7:26 AM

The Ponies hosted STMA on Friday night, but this was a bit different from the normal high school gym setting. With the help of many wrestling supporters the Ponies hosted the Knights under the lights on the auditorium stage at Stillwater Middle School. Quite a crowd attended to come and see the #1 ranked Knights face the #2 ranked Ponies in a Friday night showdown. The Knights won the first dual at The Clash with a score of 39-21, would this one be different?

Chase Lawrence got the dual underway with a decision to give the Ponies a 3-0 lead. The Knights came back with a major decision, a fall and a tech fall to take a 15-3 lead. Noah Nicholson got the Ponies back on the board with a decision to make the score 15-6 but the Knights would win the next two by techs to take a 25-6 lead and it was beginning to look like a blowout. The Ponies had an answer with George Jones and Grayson Eggum scoring falls at 152 and 160 respectively to bring the score to 25-18. The Knights would score two more tech falls at 172 and 189 to move the score to 35-18 but the Ponies won the last two by falls from Lumby and Olson to make the final score 35-30 STMA. So, the same result win/loss wise as the first dual at The Clash, but certainly a much closer score and a wonderful experience for fans and wrestlers alike.

The Ponies move to 17-2 on the season and will most likely have one more shot at STMA at the state meet. The Ponies can win 6, the question is where they can win the 7th to take a dual away from the Knights.

On Saturday the Ponies went to the East Ridge Ruckus in Woodbury. This was a varsity, JV and girls varsity event. The Ponies did very well winning both the varsity boys and varsity girls event. The boys scored 277.5 points to 2nd place Waconia at 144. The girls scored 207 points to 2nd placed Waconia girls at 78.5. Below are all wrestlers and their placement.

Boys Varsity
107 – Chase Lawrence – 3-0 – Champion
114 – Brodie Lawrence – 3-0 – Champion
121 – Elijah Hunter – 2-2 – 4th
127 – Ryan Birkenmayer – 3-1 – 5th
133 – Noah Nicholson – 2-1 – 2nd
133 – August Hartung – 2-1 – 3rd
133 – Kingston Pak – 4-1 – 5th
139 – Axel Rogotzke – 4-0 – Champion
145 – Isaac Leonard – 1-1 – 4th
152 – George Jones – 3-0 – Champion
160 – Grayson Eggum – 3-0 – Champion
172 – Braden Hatalla – 4-1 – 5th
172 – Eli Nye – 1-2 – DNP
189 – Cael Spates – 3-0 – Champion
215 – Cohen Lumby – 3-0 – Champion
285 – Andrew Olson – 3-0 – Champion

Girls Varsity
100 – Monroe Eggum – 2nd
112 – Charlie Jones – Champion
118 – Jaelyn Surgenor – Champion
124 – Maya Jelinek – Champion
130 – Merci Kent – 3rd
130 – Aubrey Spates – Champion
130 – Claire Leach – 4th
148 – Audrey Rogotzke – Champion
148 – Kallie Spates – DNP
155 – Alyssa Leonard – 2nd
155 – Astri Stow – 4th
155 – Helen Peltier – 5th

Boys JV
127 – Brandon Stein – 0-2 – DNP
127 – Caleb Vang – 1-2 – DNP
152 – Grady Newman – 3-0 – Champion
160 – Sawyer Deitner – 0-2 – DNP
172 – Luke Marier – 2-2 – DNP
189 – Sawyer Johnson – 3-2 – 6th
189 – Kamel Benyahia – 3-1 – 2nd
215 – Colton Johnston – 3-1 – 2nd
285- Cavan Lumby – 2-2 – 4th
285 – Owen Stow – 3-2 – 6th