Four wrestlers going to state meet

The Staples Mat Men were a tough force at the Section 8AA Individual tournament this past weekend.

Four Cardinals finished in first or second place, earning trips to state wrestling, and four others placed third.

“I was very pleased with the team’s overall performance this weekend,” Coach Dan Bjerga commented. “It is encouraging to see improvement throughout the season. We had 12 wrestlers place in the top six of the section, eight of which are underclassmen, so the outlook for next season is promising.”

Jordan Bendson (152) and Dylan Shequen (171) both finished the weekend as Section 8AA champs. “Bendson had a flawless

tournament, winning all four matches without a point being scored on him,” Bjerga said.

Bendson ended the first three matches by fall, and in the finals he defeated a tough Perham wrestler, Charlie Schmitz (record 34- 2) by a 4-0 score. “Jordan wrestled very smart in the finals. Schmitz is very good at takedowns, and Jordan did a great job at defending his shot, and then countering to score his own takedown.”

Shequen also had some very stiff competition in his weight bracket. In the semifi nals he faced Jesse Laugen from Little Falls, who had a record of 31-7, but Shequen defeated him, 6-5. This put him in the finals against the number one seed in the section, Alex Feldt of Detroit Lakes, who had beaten him earlier this season 11-8.

“Dylan came out and scored an escape, a takedown and four near fall points to put him ahead 7-0, and then he just hung on to win 7-5.”

Both the Cards 215 pound and 189 pound wrestlers are also headed to state this week. Ryan Detloff, at 215, had a great meet; in the semi-finals he took on Cooper Wilson of Foston (31-4), who he had lost to twice this season. This time Detloff was out for revenge, and scored a takedown in the first period and beat Wilson 3-1.

In the finals he met Colton Thorson, who is ranked first in the state and has a record of 40-0. Although Detloff lost this match he hung in there and lost by just four points

Bjerga said that he was very proud of Ryan and Dylan, and the way they were able to revenge the losses of earlier this season. “It shows just how hard they have worked throughout the season to improve.”

Sophomore Blake Petrich will also be representing the Cardinals this week in St. Paul. He placed second in the 189 class, behind a tough Fosston wrestler. “Blake’s best match of the tournament came in the semifinals as he once again defeated Perham’s Chris Scheidecker in a very close match of 11-10.”

Three Cards placed third and were very close to qualifying for state. Blake Miller (103) had a great tournament and won four matches, losing just one.

At 130, Sam Duberowski lost in the semifinals to Luke Conger of Foston, but Sam came back solid, winning the next two matches and almost getting a chance for a true second match. Unfortunately, Conger lost in the last minute of the finals match which eliminated the possibility of a true second match.

“Sam really deserved a trip to the state tournament. He is one of the hardest working kids on the team and has come a long way this season.”

Taylor Bendson, who wrestles at 145, lost in the finals, which forced him to wrestle a true second match, where Alex Hensch came out on top. Bendson had been in and out of the lineup this season with injuries, and this was only his second meet after being out for a couple of weeks. “We’re expecting some big things from Taylor next year and hope he can stay injury free,” Bjerga remarked.

At 160, Brent Lisson was given the chance to fill this position since starter Chandler Trout wasn’t able to participate. Although this was up two weight classes from where he normally wrestles, Lisson accepted the challenge and had five great matches, earning third place. “I was very impressed with Brent’s performance; he will be fun to watch in the coming years.”

Four other Cardinal wrestlers placed at sections, Jordan Heldman (112, fourth place), Brady Killian (fifth at 125), David DeYonge (285, fifth place) and Brandon Flickinger (sixth at 140).

The four boys who qualified for the state tournament began Wednesday in the first round. Class AA individuals in the championship round are scheduled to wrestle each day at 4 p.m. through Saturday.