Local Wrestlers Successful At State

On Thursday, the Foley wrestlers won the Class 2A Consolation Championship. On Saturday, they sent 4 to the individual finals. Unfortunately, the Foley Four came up just short.

John Dierkes and Justin Henry came into the tournament unseeded, but that didn’t stop them from putting together a great run. Dierkes started the tournament by knocking off the 3^rd seeded wrestler in the Class 2A 138 pound bracket, by a score of 9 to 4. He followed that up by winning his next 2 matches by just 2 points each time. However, his run would end in the finals, as he fell to Bennett Berge of Kasson- Mantorville by a score of 1-0.

170 pounder, Justin Henry, would also open up the state tournament with a big upset, beating 4^th seeded Matthew Jeska. He followed that up with a 4-1 victory in the quarterfinals, and was a winner by fall in the semifinals. He fell in the finals by a 7-5 score, and finished as Foley’s 2^nd state runner- up.

2^nd seeded Saylor Schmit was the third Falcon to wrestle in the finals, but was unable to overcome first seed Bobby Striggow of Orono. Schmit would lose by way of a 9-2 decision.

Foley’s fourth finalist was 2017 defending state champion, Mitch Trigg. The Falcon heavyweight would get down early in the finals, but showed great will power and battled his way back. Unfortunately, he would run out of time and fall by a score of 8-7.

Senior Nate Garceau was the 5^th Falcon to stand on the podium, placing 4^th in the 113 pound weight Class

The St. Cloud Tech Tigers also had a great showing at the State tournament. Senior Austin Brenner would place 2^nd, making him an impressive 5- time state place winner. The future North Dakota State Bison rolled to the finals, before falling to Payton Robb of Owatonna by an 8-2 decision. Alex Kern would place  5^th at 126, Dallas Hooper placed 4^th at 145, and sophomore Isaiah Green took 5^th at 220.

Other Area Placewinners

Jason Kasella- Royalton- 2^nd at 220A

Jackson Held- Royalton- 4^th at 160A

Marshall Meehl- Royalton- 5^th at 182A

Cole Fibranz- Sartell- 3^rd at 220AAA

Gabe Zierden- Albany-  4^th at 182AA