TURNING POINT — Martin County Red Bull wrestler Max Olson (top) attempts to turn Rocori opponent Grady Minnerath during their 220-pound consolation semifinal match in the Class AA individual state meet on Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. (Photo courtesy of Travis Rosenau/New Ulm Journal)

ST. PAUL — Martin County Red Bull senior Max Olson put an exclamation point on the final match of his outstanding high school wrestling career.

The No. 5-ranked Olson earned the slap of the Xcel Energy Center canvas in 1:47 by pinning No. 6-ranked sophomore Ian Larrabee of Hibbing during the Class AA individual state meet’s 220-pound fifth-place showdown on Saturday in St. Paul.

Olson also generated a fifth-place showing at 220 pounds during the Class AA individual state competition last season.

Olson, who capped his senior prep mat season with an impressive 38-8 overall record, built a 5-2 lead over Larrabee before utilizing a cross-face cradle to press his Hibbing opponent’s shoulders flat.

“Honestly, Max wanted to come out fast and finish early against Larrabee,” said Red Bulls head coach Adam Williamson. “He wanted to be aggressive because the first period in those wrestleback matches are only one minute long, so you can’t really set too much up.”

In Saturday’s consolation semifinals, Olson built respective leads of 2-0 and 6-2 over No. 3-ranked junior Grady Minnerath of Rocori during the first two periods.

Minnerath reversed Olson to open the third segment before the Red Bull senior standout escaped and received a stalling point en route to a 7-5 edge on the scoreboard with time winding down.

“I thought Max did a good job of controlling the match until late in the third,” said Williamson. “Max got in on a shot, but Minnerath got his hips in the right position to defend the move.”

The Rocori junior phenom then recorded a takedown to knot the match at 7-all and more importantly, put Olson to his back. Minnerath then earned the slap of the canvas with only 4 seconds remaining to advance to the Class AA 220-pound bronze-medal match.

“Max Olson simply does not get pinned, so you have to give credit to Minnerath for being a heckuva wrestler,” said Williamson. “When those two squared off, it was another rematch from last season.”

Indeed. Minnerath avenged a loss to Olson during the 2022 individual state meet’s fifth-place match. Olson pinned Minnerath in 1:51.

Minnerath went on to post a 6-2 winning decision over No. 4-ranked senior Marco Reyes of Tri-City United during the bracket’s bronze-medal match on Saturday.

Olson kicked off Day 2 in St. Paul by pinning unranked Annandale/Maple Lake sophomore Nathan Klatt in 1:53 during the consolation quarterfinals.

The Martin County captain recorded the only takedown of the opening 1-minute wrestleback period via a double-leg shot.

Olson then notched a reversal from the down position to open the second frame before pressing Klatt’s shoulders to the mat in 1:53 to advance to the medal round portion of the state meet.

“Max finished his career with another state medal, so that’s something to be very proud of,” said Williamson. “He put together quite a final season, producing 30 pins out of his 38 wins. He led our team in dual-meet points this year and those pins really added up to help us have another great season overall.”