ST. PAUL — Seventeen area wrestlers entered Day 2 of the state individual wrestling tournament with a shot at a championship.
When the finals get underway Saturday night at the Xcel Energy Center, seven West Central Tribune-area grapplers will look to leave as the state's best.
Minnewaska led the way with two state finalists in junior Tyson Meyer and senior Dylan Jergenson.
Meyer, a defending state champion, advanced to the 170A finals with a 17-2 tech fall against GMLOS' Noah Sayles. Meyer will face TMB/WWG's Jace Paplow for the championship.
Jergenson beat Breckenridge's Daniel Erlandson in a 3-0 decision and will take on Dominik Vacura of Badger/Greenbush-Middle River in the 220A finals.
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A state champion two years ago at 106 pounds, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg's Will Magaard will try to finish his high-school career with another title after a 4-2 decision over Dover-Eyota's Taylor DeFrang in the 138A semifinals. Magaard will wrestle LPGE/Browerville's Mason Gode in a rematch of the Section 5A championship.
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa's Walker Bents and BOLD's Anthony Maher will also compete in state finals. Bents won by decision in his 106A semifinal match over Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted's Caleb Boese, 5-0, and will face off with GMLOS' Anthony Romero. Maher is a 160A finalist after a 3-0 decision against GMLOS' Daniel Smith and will take on Staples-Motley's Owen Bjerga in the championship.
Jude Link will try to become Dassel-Cokato/Litchfield's first-ever individual champ after winning his 152AA semifinal with a pin at 3 minutes, 34 seconds against Perham's Joe Stuckey. Link will face off with Fairmont/Martin County West's Payton Anderson.
