INDIVIDUAL STATE QUALIFIERS — Martin County Red Bulls wrestlers Aden Welcome (left), Max Olson (center) and Carver Rohman will compete in the Class AA individual state meet Friday and Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. (Photo courtesy of Adam Williamson).

ST. PAUL — Luck of the draw, fate or destiny.

No matter how area prep wrestling fans want to coin it, Max Olson — Martin County’s 220-pound senior standout — is not taking anything for granted during his final appearance in the Class AA individual state meet.

The No. 5-ranked Olson, the Section 3 champion who carries a 34-6 record onto the mats on the Xcel Energy Center’s floor at 9 a.m. Friday, will tie up with Big South Central Conference foe and unranked Matthew Veroeven (29-9) of Waseca in a preliminary match.

Ironically, Olson flattened Veroeven in only 56 seconds during the conference tournament on Jan. 14 before dispatching the Waseca freshman in a mere 20 seconds 10 days later in a regular-season triangular.

“Sometimes facing a familiar opponent is good and sometimes it’s bad — one never knows,” Red Bulls head coach Adam Williamson said in reference to Olson’s first-round draw. “All I know is that Max isn’t looking past anyone and is taking an approach of one opponent at a time.

“Ironically, if Max wins against Veroeven, he would probably face (Marco) Reyes from TCU (Tri-City United) in the second round.”

Olson also defeated Reyes during the regular season by a 6-2 decision for the 220-pound championship at the TCU Invitational on Jan. 7 in Montgomery.

“Overall, I think we received good seeds and I like our guys’ chances of reaching the (medals) podium,” Williamson said in reference to 145-pound senior Aden Welcome and 160-pound senior Carver Rohman earning top-six showings. “To win it all, you have to beat the best wrestlers throughout the state and that’s what our guys are prepared to do.”

The No. 5-ranked and Section 3 gold medalist Rohman (42-1) squares off against unranked Colten Black (39-6) of Cannon Falls in Friday’s Class AA preliminaries at the St. Paul-based athletic facility, while the No. 10-rated and Section 3 champion Welcome (36-4) locks up against unranked Cyrus Jones (20-8) of Minneapolis Edison.

In the Class A individual state competition, unranked Blue Earth Area junior Kade Gaydon (27-15) ties up with No. 7-ranked DJ Rock (44-5) of Luverne in the 160-pound division during Friday’s opening round, while unranked Parker Meyers (36-5) of Blue Earth Area battles No. 6-ranked 170-pounder Luke Bieniek (28-4) of Holdingford at the Xcel.

If Meyers wins his opener, the Blue Earth Area senior standout would face either No. 1-ranked Collin Boese (36-3) of Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted or No. 4-ranked Landon Lehnertz (33-5) of Dover-Eyota in the 4 p.m. quarterfinals on Friday.

Eight of the 16 state qualifiers in the Class A 170-pound field are ranked, with No. 2 Tate Hermes (35-5) of Medford anchoring the lower half of the bracket. Hermes, who defeated Meyers for the Section 2 crown, captured runner-up state honors at 160 in 2022.

If Gaydon wins his 160-pound preliminary, the Buc junior would face either No. 2-ranked Jake Nagel (35-4) of Frazee or No. 4-ranked Tucker Zigan (37-7) of Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville in a 4 p.m. championship quarterfinal back at the Xcel Energy Center on Friday.

Half of the 16 state competitors in the 160-pound division of Class A are ranked, with No. 1 Gavin Gust (45-2) of Dover-Eyota representing the top threat in the upper half of the bracket.

In the 160-pound division of Class AA, nine of the 16 state qualifiers closed out the season in the top 10 rankings, including Rohman at the No. 5 spot.

If Rohman wins his preliminary clash, the Martin County senior would face either No. 4-ranked Evan Farley (40-9) of New Prague or No. 6-rated Adam Jurek (38-8) of Becker in a 4 p.m. championship quarterfinal in St. Paul on Friday.

If Rohman would win back-to-back matches, he could face No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Griffin Lundeen (45-0) of Thief River Falls in a 9 a.m. championship semifinal on Saturday.

The Class AA 145-pound bracket also features nine ranked competitors, including No. 1-ranked and undefeated Koy Buesgens (50-0) of New Prague.

Buesgens, who has committed to wrestle for North Carolina State next season, has compiled an incredible 99-1 record over the past two prep mat campaigns.

Buesgens struck gold at 138 pounds in 2022, captured the 126-pound Class AAA state crown in 2021 and placed third at 106 in 2020.

Buesgens grapples No. 7-ranked Cole Rudnitski (33-6) of Foley in their preliminary 145-pound clash on Friday in the upper portion of the bracket.

If the Red Bulls’ Welcome defeats Jones in their opening match at 145, the Martin County senior would face either No. 4-ranked Joseph Kennedy (38-6) of Kasson-Mantorville or No. 5-ranked Landon Church (27-3) of Scott West at 4 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinals.

If Max Olson of the Red Bulls can collect back-to-back victories on Friday, he most likely would square off against another Division I wrestling commit in Saturday’s 9 a.m. semifinals at the Xcel Energy Center.

Simley senior Gavin Nelson (46-0), who will wrestle for the Minnesota Gophers next season, is one of eight ranked qualifiers in the Class AA 220-pound bracket.

Nelson, the defending 220-pound state champion, opens Friday against unranked Nathan Klatt (34-9) of Annandale/Maple Lake.

Totino-Grace junior Cy Kruse, who’s ranked No. 2 in the light heavyweight bracket with a 42-0 seasonal record, faces unranked Brock Marty (34-13) of Morris Area/Hancock Area/Chokio-Alberta in the lower half of the 220-pound Class AA bracket.