HURON -- One change late in the match turned out to be just what the Mitchell High School wrestling team needed Friday night.
The Kernels beat ESD rival Huron 34-31 thanks to a personnel change and a big win from heavyweight Kyle Larson.
The Kernels were down by three points heading into the 215-pound match, so head coach Travis Carpenter switched around Wes McPherson -- who was scheduled to wrestle at the heavyweight spot -- with Kyle Larson, who was slated to wrestle at 215 pounds.
McPherson won a 9-8 decision against Matt Halter to tie the score at 31, and Larson came up with an 8-2 decision over Eric Witte at heavyweight to give Mitchell its three-point margin of victory.
"We had Kyle Larson weigh in at 215 pounds, and basically we had him weigh in .1 pounds over 189 so he could wrestle heavyweight," Carpenter said. "That paid out for us. That move probably won us the dual."
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Another big win for Mitchell came at 171 pounds from Cole Johnson. He recorded a pin against Nathan Klusman to close the gap for the Kernels, then Jordan Reiner earned a forfeit at 189 pounds, and that's when Carpenter decided to flip-flop McPherson and Larson.
"It's a really good win for us," Carpenter said. "It was kind of similar to the Yankton dual a couple weeks ago where you had momentum, you lost momentum, and in the end the kids really came through. Obviously, when you win a conference dual, it's a big feather in your cap. Huron was a preseason favorite to win (the conference), so this was a big victory."
The Kernels, who had not wrestled since Dec. 18, since the Sioux Falls Washington Invite scheduled for Dec. 20 was canceled, got off to a slow start. They gave up 15 points -- including a pin -- in the first three matches, then won two matches before giving up another pin. Mitchell gave up four pins on the night, but ended up winning eight of the 14 matches.
"I think we came out a little bit flat, but we've always got to do what we have to in the lower weight classes to keep ourselves in the dual," Carpenter said. "If we can do those types of things, then our upper weight classes where we have (Jordan) Reiner, Larson and (Austin) Havlik and those kids, we'll have a chance to win. We got better as the night went on (Friday)."
The Kernels are now 9-3 on the season in dual meets. They wrestle Brandon Valley Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Brandon.
Mitchell 34, Huron 31
103: Cain Glanzer (H) pinned Lakin Neugebauer, 5:39; 112: Braden Binger (H) won by forfeit; 119: Michael Johnson (H) dec. Justin Lopez, 13-2; 125: Nick Kummer (M) dec. Dylan Harvey 8-4; 130: Jason Greenway (M) dec. Shane LaFortune, 5-1; 135: Derrick Walraven (H) pinned Steve Skinner, 5:48; 140: Trevor Hupp (H) defeated Ryan Buck; 145: Brent Havlilk (M) dec. Travis Iverson, 15-4; 152: Josh Harvey (H) pinned Logan Smith, 2:43; 160: Austin Havlik (M) pinnedd Nick Dumke, 1:26; 171: Cole Johnson (M) pinned Nathan Klusman, 3:44; 189: Jordan Reiner (M) won by forfeit; 215: Wes McPhearson (M) dec. Matt Halter, 9-8; 285: Kyle Larson (M) dec. Eric Witte, 8-2.
