ST. PAUL - Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City came into the Minnesota State High School Wrestling Tournament with a 17-7 record, having cruised through the Section 5A tournament with easy wins over Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, Kimball and Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa.
But the Falcons didn’t find the going easy on Thursday, falling to Class A’s top-seed and state champion Minneota 55-16 and then losing to Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial 45-16 in the consolation bracket.
Minneota went on to defeat Zumbrota-Mazeppa 31-30 in the championship match after taking out Jackson County Central 49-23 in the semifinals.
The Vikings exhibited their dominance early, winning the first four matches - three by pin - and taking a 21-0 lead.
ACGC’s Cameron Whitcomb came through with a victory at 132, but the Vikings countered with four-straight wins to ice the match.
The Falcons’ Derek Dengerude picked up four points with a major decision at 170, Sheldon Rasmussen won at 195 and Cody Berghuis won by fall in 27 seconds at 220.
Against Lake Crystal-Wellcome, Aaron Lane and Rylan Molinaro won at 106 and 113 to stake the Falcons to a 7-0 lead. But LCW won the next eight matches to take command.
ACGC’s Sheldon Rasmussen won by decision at 182 and Cody Berghuis pinned his man at 220.
Quarterfinals
Minneota 55, ACGC 16
106: Austin DeVlaeminck, M, pin Aaron Lang 0:47
113: Brock Buysse, M, dec. Rylan Molinaro 3-2
120: Brendan Reiss, M, pin A.J. Schmidt 1:01
126: Kyle Hennen, M, pin Brennan Holien 1:36
132: Cameron Whitcomb, A, dec. Henry Pesch 7-1
138: Bryce Brunner, M, pin Jacob Whitcomb 1:12
145: Alec Engler, M, pin Tylor Mortenson 4:57
152: Leo Buysse, M, maj. dec. Jase Peterson 10-2
160: Nicholas Esping, M, pin Cullen Hoffmann 1:42
170: Derek Dengerud, A, maj. dec. Thomas Hering 11-1
182: Cole Hennen, M, pin Tanner Fester 1:40
195: Sheldon Rasmussen, A, dec. Nathan Bueltel 6-4
220: Cody Berghuis, A, pin Everett Van Hecke 0:27
285: Trent Esping, M, pin Johnathon Behm 1:03
Consolation
LC-Wellcome 45, ACGC 16
106: Lang, A, dec. Caleb Clobes 7-4
113: Molinaro, A, maj. dec. Riley Bohnert 17-5
120: Brandon Loborde, L, dec. Schmidt 9-4
126: Levi Marsh, L, maj. dec. Holien 11-2
132: Louie Sanders, L, pin Shane Whitcomb 3:27
138: Wallace Michels, L, dec. Cameron Whitcomb 3-2
145: John Welsch, L, maj. dec. Mortenson 11-3
152: Damon Schmalzriedt, L, maj. dec. Peterson 8-0
160: Matt Sheetz, L, dec. Dengerud 5-4 4 OT
170: Dalton Elliott, L, pin Fester 0:29
182: Rasmussen, A, dec. Nate Neitzel 5-4
195: Shane Nelson, L, pin Tanner Berghuis 0:52
220: Cody Berghuis, A, pin Andrew Radke 4:39
285: Ben Gilman, L, pin Behm 0:47
