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9 Red Bulls trample way to state individual meet

DAWSON — Thursday will begin a busy three days for the Class AA, No. 4-ranked Fairmont/Martin County West Red Bulls. Not only will the team be in the state tournament, but the Red Bulls have nine wrestlers qualifying for the individual state tournament after the second day of the Section 3AA tournament on Saturday.

“Our kids just continue to go out there and what they do for us is just amazing,” Red Bulls head coach Adam Williamson said. “It’s just a fun time and exciting to watch.”

Last year, the Red Bulls only had four wrestlers advance to the state tournament.

“(We have) some returning state qualifiers and a lot of new faces, so that’s a lot of fun to see the progression and improvement in the kids in our wrestling program,” Williamson said.

No. 2-ranked 106-pounder Lucas Jagodzinske was the first Red Bull to stamp his ticket to the Class AA state individual tournament at 9 a.m. Friday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. After a 2-2 tie after the first period, Jagodzinske outdueled New London-Spicer’s Blake Vagle, 7-3, to pocket the title.

Jagodzinske had pinned Carter Brandes of New Ulm in 1:10 in the semifinals to reach the finals.

No. 1-ranked Jaxson Rohman used two technical falls to earn his third consecutive 106-pound section championship.

A 23-6 victory over Redwood-River Valley’s Owen Bertram allowed Rohman the finals appearance and a 19-4 technical fall on Marshall’s Hsa Khee Lar granted him the top spot on the medalist platform.

No. 8-ranked Connor Simmonds opened his tournament with a 2:41 fall on Jed Feuchtenberger of MAHACA. The Red Bull freshman then used a 7-2 lead after two periods to beat Marshall’s Hsa La Eh, 10-2.

Red Bulls 132-pounder Jordan Wolter, who finished third last season, earned his first-place finish via a 3:03 pin against Cole Ranweiler of New Ulm. Wolter recorded a 7-2 decision against NLS’s Sam Stegeberg to get to the finals.

Payton Anderson, who is ranked fourth at 138, used a last-second takedown on New Ulm’s No. 9-ranked Sean Howk in the third period to win the championship, 3-1. The title victory came on the heels of Payton Anderson’s 15-0 technical fall on Keaton Haas of Dawson-Boyd United.

No. 3-ranked, 182-pounder Collin Steuber completed his final section individual tournament with a first-place finish. The senior Red Bull defeated Marshall’s Elijah Sterner via a 20-3 technical fall in the semifinals and beat Austin Schmitt of Dawson-Boyd United, 7-2, in the championship match.

No. 8-ranked, 145-pounder Miles Fitzgerald; No. 9-ranked, 152-pounder Nathan Simmonds; and No. 8-ranked, 170-pounder Tristan Lange placed second in their weights to qualify for the state tournament.

Fitzgerald beat Redwood-River Valley’s No. 9-ranked Tayte Harazin in the semifinals, 2-1, but fell to 145-pound champion No. 3-ranked Hunter Ranweiler of New Ulm, 3-0, for the runner-up spot.

Lange took a 7-5 semifinal win over RRV’s Mason Rummel to get to the finals, but Marshall’s Wyatt Martin pinned Lange in 4:43 for the 170-pound title.

Nathan Simmonds started the day with a 6-4 overtime semifinal victory over Brayden Donkersloot of Worthington. No. 5-ranked New Ulm grappler Tanner Stark got the 9-3 win over Nathan Simmonds, causing the Red Bull to have to wrestle a true-second match against RRV’s Devin Johnson.

Nathan Simmonds earned his state tournament bid on the strength of a 7-4 decision over Johnson.

“That’s tough when you come off a loss in the finals and then have to kind of work yourself back up, get over the loss and get things back positive and warm up for a match,” Williamson said. “That was great for Nathan to overcome that and come out on top.

“I’m proud of him.”

Dawson-Boyd United’s Trevon Johnson beat Red Bulls 126-pounder Cale Steuber, 11-2 in the semifinals. Cale Steuber rebounded with a 5:45 pin on Lucas Hodges and beat RRV’s Maverick Goblirsch, 3-2, to earn a third-place finish.

Parker Anderson and Jacob Rahn both placed fifth, while Conner Tordsen finished sixth for Fairmont/Martin County West.

Zach Stahl of Marshall earned the slap of the canvas over Parker Anderson in 1:39 to send the Red Bull into the 170-pound wrestleback bracket.

Jayden Renken of Luverne beat Parker Anderson, 9-2, but Parker Anderson used 1:27 to pin Kendrick Bickett of Worthington for the fifth-place finish.

Rahn, who wrestled at 195, lost a 7-6 decision to NLS’s Nick McKenzie. Rahn rebounded from the loss with a 1:59 fall on MAHACA’s Bain Laine.

At 220, Colby Wenninger of New Ulm pinned Tordsen in 3:56 before Zach Felcyn of Marshall took a 4:35 pin on Tordsen as the Red Bull finished sixth.

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