A big mid-season test for St. Pius X and St. Michael The Archangel Catholic.
The Warriors, who have won two consecutive state titles, are a contender to win the Class 4 state title. The Guardians also have enough talent to win the Class 3 state title in 2026.
The dual came down to two swing matches as St. Pius X freshman Cruz Enderle took on two-time state champion Landon Lane in the 120-pound bout and Guardian senior Braden Knipp took on Warrior senior Chalres Litzau at 175.
Both of those matches went in favor of St. Pius X as Enderle and Litzau came up with huge wins to help their team win the marquee matchup, 39-30 at St. Michael The Archangel Catholic High School.
Enderle pulled off the upset victory against Lane, who is a three-time state medalist and two-time champion. He didn’t let Lane score a single point as Enderle, who is ranked No. 5 in his division according to rankings, Enderle got a 3-point near fall and got a throw and another near fall in the final 8 seconds of the match to win a 11-0 major decision.
“I just went out there and wrestled smart and wrestled like me,” Enderle said. “I wrestled dominant.
“My technique could always be better. I wrestled calmly and collected and did what my coaches told me, too.”
St. Michael head coach Matt Infranca was disappointed with the match outcome.
“He’s a two-time state champion,” Infranca said of the No. 7-ranked Lane. “There is no excuse, as a senior, he has to win that match against a freshman. That proves to me that he’s not a 120 pounder. He needs to go back to 113 pounds.”
Litzau got the other big win as he trailed Knipp 9-2 after being taken down three times. Late in the second period, however, Litzau got a reversal and used a headlock to get a pin in 3:42 for the come-from-behind victory.
Following the match, the other St. Pius X wrestlers and coaches went into a frenzy as they exploded with cheers following the win as Litzau got plenty of high fives and pats on the back following his win.
“That just kind of happened in the moment,” Litzau said of the reversal and pin. “I came in looking to play defense and wrestle my match. When he shots, my plan was to stuff him. I caught him off guard with the reversal.”
Infranca said Knipp’s inexperience contributed to the loss.
“Braden just got over aggressive. He has not wrestled a lot. He hasn’t been in big matches like. He got his head tucked under and got caught. That was the dual right there.
“But it’s still early in the season. We love these duals and we want to win these duals. This one slipped away from us.”
Other Warriors to earn victories were Alex Hall (113), who pinned Luke Buulloc in 45 seconds; Jordan Bell (126), who used an inside cradle to pin Wyatt Avila in 1:18; Luke Cline (138), who pinned Chase Rosenstengle in 49 seconds; Landon McDowell (157), who earned a 17-1 tech fall victory over Rowdy Narron; and defending state champion Kyler Kuhn (285) won by forfeit.
Photos by Mark Lundy
For St. Michael, Parker Lutz (132), a three-time state medalist, took a 12-2 major decision over Goerge Bringus; Prestley Hartwig (144) took down Boyer Ward 14-8; Austin Stevick (150) dominated in a 20-2 tech fall win over Owen Corcoran; Brody Narron (165) pinned Easton Massey in 1:15; Cole Sackett (190) won by forfeit; and Brodie Purtle pinned Stone Searcy in 2:14.
