HALF-NELSON — Fairmont/Martin County West Red Bulls wrestler Taylor Austin (top) uses a half-Nelson technique to turn Watertown-Mayer opponent Jack Entinger in their 138-pound match during Class AA state team quarterfinal action Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Austin went on to post a 13-2 major decision. (Photo by Greg Abel)

ST. PAUL — It took the seventh tiebreaking dual-meet criteria — most technical falls — for No. 4-seeded Watertown-Mayer to send Fairmont/Martin County West to the Class AA state team wrestling consolation bracket on Thursday morning, but the No. 5-seeded Red Bulls bounced back with a second-round 51-23 victory over Totino-Grace to earn a spot in the fifth-place match late Thursday afternoon.

Unfortunately for Fairmont/Martin County West, the Thief River Falls Prowlers reeled off four wins in the final five matches of their consolation championship clash to snap a 20-all tie en route to a 40-25 comeback team triumph over the Red Bulls in St. Paul.

The Red Bulls, who captured second place in the Class AA state team event during both 2018 and 2020, converted No. 4-ranked 220-pounder Max Olson’s 20-9 major decision at heavyweight into four key points to knot the score at 30-all with Watertown-Mayer in Thursday’s morning quarterfinal clash at the Xcel Energy Center.

After eliminating the first three criteria — which are centered around unsportsmanlike actions, both the Red Bulls and Royals had won seven matches, with each netting two falls, to cause the tie to be broken by most technical falls. Unfortunately for Fairmont/Martin County West, the Royals’ No. 2-ranked 160-pounder Bryce Burkett earned the dual meet’s lone five-point win to propel Watertown-Mayer to the championship semifinals by an official 31-30 decision over the Red Bulls.

No. 3-seeded Becker went on to edge Watertown-Mayer for the bronze medal by a 29-28 decision, while No. 1-seeded Simley hammered No. 2-seeded Kasson-Mantorville for the Class AA team state crown, 47-21. It was the fourth consecutive state wrestling championship for the No. 1-ranked Spartans.

Trailing 9-0 after the first two matches against Watertown-Mayer, Rylan Cutler and Jesse Potts combined to inch the Red Bulls to a 10-9 lead on the team ledger. Cutler produced an 11-3 major decision at 120 pounds, while Potts needed a mere 1:17 to flatten his 126-pound opponent.

Taylor Austin and No. 5-ranked Kain Sanders later delivered back-to-back wins for Fairmont/Martin County West to build a 20-12 margin against the Royals. Austin garnered a 13-2 major decision at 138, while Sanders earned the slap of the canvas in 3:35 during his 145-pound clash.

After Burkett’s technical fall tied the team score at 20-all at 160, Carver Roman countered with a late reversal to squeeze by No. 8-ranked Tanner Burmeister of the Royals, 6-4, at 170.

Wyatt Williamson later transformed the Red Bulls’ 24-23 deficit into a two-point lead by downing Kyler Burmeister by an 8-2 decision at 195, but the Royals answered when No. 8-ranked Ashton Congdon earned a fall in 4:54 at 220 to create a 30-26 lead for his lineup.

Olson upended No. 9-ranked Hunter Stein in a heavyweight bout, but the Red Bull junior’s 20-9 major decision proved the equalizer on the scoreboard at 30 points apiece.

“It was psychologically draining losing by criteria in our opening dual, but we (coaching staff) told the kids that they have to have a short memory, get back on the mat right away and get back on the winning track,” said Red Bulls head coach Adam Williamson, whose lineup ended the dual-meet season with a 24-3 overall record. “I was proud of the way our guys stayed aggressive and focused, and went after a lot of bonus points in the consolation semifinal against Totino-Grace.”

Once again, Cutler and Potts proved Fairmont/Martin County West’s catalysts during its second clash of the day against Totino-Grace. Cutler netted a 15-6 major decision at 120 before Potts earned his second fall of the day by getting his hand raised in 2:52 at 126.

Austin later added a 22-7 technical fall at 138 before Sanders’ 50-second pin at 145 triggered the Red Bulls’ fall-filled scoring stampede en route to a 51-23 victory over Totino-Grace.

Aden Welcome coasted to a fall in 1:38 at 152, Rohman required just 30 seconds to add six more team points at 160 and Wyatt Williamson mathematically clinched the dual-meet triumph by earning the slap of the canvas in 3:19 during 182-pound action.

Alec Thompson (220) and Olson (285) contributed respective falls in 2:42 and 46 seconds to close out the Red Bulls’ second-round stampede to the consolation championship clash.

For the third straight dual, Cutler and Potts helped the Red Bulls stem the early tide — this time against Thief River Falls — during action at 120 and 126, respectively. Cutler assembled a textbook take-down-and-release technique to coast to a 17-5 major decision for four key team points before Potts improved his seasonal record to 45-0 by recording his third fall of the day in just 1:28.

Cooper Steuber built an 8-1 first-period lead at 132 before producing a 14-1 major decision to swing a 14-12 lead on the team ledger to the Red Bulls.

Sanders earned a hard-fought 6-1 decision at 145 to once again inch Fairmont/Martin County West back in front of the Prowlers, 17-16. Rohman battled to a down-to-the-wire 6-4 victory at 160, but Thief River Falls countered by getting a 19-3 technical fall at 170 from Cody Wienen, a 27-second fall from 182-pounder Damon Ferguson, a 12-9 comeback win by 195-pounder Paul Dehate and a fall in 1:49 by heavyweight Collin Bruggeman.

Olson, who proved a perfect 3-for-3 on the canvas on Thursday, delivered yet another less-than-a-minute fall by pinning his Prowler opponent in 50 seconds at 220.

The Red Bulls’ Rylan Cutler (120), Jesse Potts (126), Kain Sanders (145), Carver Rohman (160) and Max Olson (220) return to the Xcel Energy Center at 9 a.m. today to open the Class AA individual state preliminaries.

Blue Earth Area’s Kean Hicks (170), Adam Schavey (182) and Cory Kitchel (195) will kick off the Class A individual state preliminaries at 9 a.m. today in St. Paul.

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Class AA State Team Quarterfinals

Watertown-Mayer 31, Fairmont/Martin County West 30 (by criteria)

106: Titan Friederichs (WM) pinned Torrey Paplow, 0:28.

113: Parker Jackson (WM) dec. Berent Kosbab, 6-4.

120: Rylan Cutler (FMCW) major dec. Aaron Bury, 11-3.

126: Jesse Potts (FMCW) pinned Eli Hamberger, 1:17.

132: Jonah Hamberger (WM) dec. Cooper Steuber, 6-0.

138: Taylor Austin (FMCW) major dec. Jack Entinger, 13-2.

145: Kain Sanders (FMCW) pinned Steven Duske, 3:35.

152: Patrick Duke (WM) dec. Aden Welcome, 4-3 OT.

160: Bryce Burkett (WM) tech. fall Gage Cyphers, 16-1.

170: Carver Rohman (FMCW) dec. Tanner Burmeister, 6-4.

182: Jackson Drahos (WM) major dec. Riley Allen, 12-2.

195: Wyatt Williamson (FMCW) dec. Kyler Burmeister, 8-2.

220: Ashton Congdon (WM) pinned Alec Thompson, 4:54.

285: Max Olson (FMCW) major dec. Hunter Stein, 20-9.

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Consolation Semifinals

Fairmont/MCW 51, Totino-Grace 23

106: Austin Herbst (TG) pinned Torrey Paplow, 0:50.

113: Jackson Refsnider (TG) major dec. Berent Kosbab, 16-5.

120: Rylan Cutler (FMCW) major dec. Sean O’Brien, 15-6.

126: Jesse Potts (FMCW) pinned Parker Lang, 2:52.

132: Ethan Sylvester (TG) major dec. Cooper Steuber, 13-3.

138: Taylor Austin (FMCW) tech. fall Johnathan Weikel, 22-7.

145: Kain Sanders (FMCW) pinned Gabe Cran, 0:50.

152: Aden Welcome (FMCW) pinned Alex Temple, 1:38.

160: Carver Rohman (FMCW) pinned Gherig Burnes, 0:30.

170: Michael Loger (TG) dec. Gage Cyphers, 5-2.

182: Wyatt Williamson (FMCW) pinned Mac Bouwman, 3:19.

195: Charlie Baker (TG) pinned Riley Allen, 0:56.

220: Alec Thompson (FMCW) pinned Rafael Montejo-Cortez, 2:42.

285: Max Olson (FMCW) pinned Owen Swedberg, 0:46.

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Consolation Championship

Thief River Falls 40, Fairmont/MCW 25

106: Maverick Iverson (TRF) pinned Torrey Paplow, 1:40.

113: Nick Svir (TRF) pinned Berent Kosbab, 3:31.

120: Ryan Cutler (FMCW) major dec. Noah Jacobson, 17-5.

126: Jesse Potts (FMCW) pinned Owen Dvorak, 1:28.

132: Cooper Steuber (FMCW) major dec. Keigan Hermanson, 14-1.

138: Kale Geiser (TRF) major dec. Taylor Austin, 16-6.

145: Kain Sanders (FMCW) dec. Ethan Lane, 6-1.

152: Brady Kasprick (TRF) major dec. Aden Welcome, 17-9.

160: Carver Rohman (FMCW) dec. Griffin Lundeen, 6-4.

170: Cody Wienen (TRF) tech. fall Gage Cyphers, 19-3.

182: Damon Ferguson (TRF) pinned Riley Allen, 0:27.

195: Paul Dehate (TRF) dec. Wyatt Williamson, 12-9.

220: Max Olson (FMCW) pinned Jolson Sargent, 0:50.

285: Collin Bruggeman (TRF) pinned Alec Thompson, 1:49.