Four Bulldog wrestlers advanced to the state tournament this weekend with impressive finishes at the Section 6AA Individual Tournament last weekend at Dassel-Cokato.
Caleb Vekved, Cody Ferris, Josh Lumley and Jaylin Hildebrandt all stamped their tickets to the state tournament by finishing either runner-up (Vekved, Lumley and Hildebrandt) or champion (Ferris) in the event.
The section tournament began with the 106-lb. weight class and Becker’s Logan Jurek in the spotlight. Jurek (17-19) came very close to making state, winning two matches and losing two to finish fourth.
Jurek lost his first round match 5-3 to Sam Stageberg (20-16) of New London-Spicer. He then had a bye and moved on to face Ryan Helgoe (10-19) of Big Lake and won by an 8-4 score. Jurek then scored a major decision (9-0) over Cameron Kowitz (4-5) of Foley, but lost to Jackson Penk (18-8) of Litchfield by a 9-4 score to end his state bid.
At 113-lbs., Lumley (22-8) took on Jacob Gagne (3-9) of Zimmerman and pinned him at 1:33. Lumley won a close, 2-0 match over Carsten Scherber (14-16) of Monticello and then lost to champion Quinn Young (31-3) of Annandale/Maple Lake. In Lumley’s next match, he beat Nathan Garceau (4-1) of Foley 5-1 to take home second place and a state spot.
At 120-lbs., Becker’s Kevin Andres (10-9) knocked off Zimmerman’s Nathan Thompson (10-16) by a score of 9-2 in his first round match. Andres was pinned by New London-Spicer’s Thomas Stageberg (31-4) at 1:26 to fall to the consolation round. Andres proceeded to beat Carter Mitchell (10-19) of Monticello by a 6-3 score, before losing by fall to Cullen Gallagher (25-7) of Annandale/Maple Lake at 3:57 to finish fourth.
Next up for Becker at 126-lbs., Colten Demant (15-17) lost to Ben Morris (9-14) of Big Lake by a 4-3 score in the first round. Demant received a second round bye, then beat Jacob Waalk (8-15) by injury default, Dylan Peterson (8-23) of NLS in OT by a score of 3-1 before losing by fall to Taylor Jurek (12-19) of Foley at 3:49 to finish fourth.
At 132-lbs., Adam Bauman (11-10) lost in a technical fall (15-0) to Ryan Anderson (15-8) of Litchfield. After a bye, Bauman lost by fall to Jacob Schmitz (9-4) of Dassel-Cokato at 2:55 to end his weekend.
Vekved (29-6) beat Simon Bryce (14-15) of Foley 3-0 in their first round match at 138-lbs., then lost by the same score to Treyton Austvold (27-3) of NLS in the second round. Vekved went on to beat Logan Nelson (16-14) of Litchfield by a score of 7-6, then beat Hunter Malachek (24-11) of Annandale/Maple Lake by a 4-1 score.
Vekved took home consolation champion honors when he beat Andrew Mergen (21-6) of Monticello to take second place.
At 145-lbs., Ferris (29-8) pinned Randy Kutz (13-18) of Foley at 3:29 in the first round, scored a technical fall (15-0) against Jacob Travis (5-22) of New London-Spicer and then won the championship bout by a score of 3-2 over Jack Anderson (26-6) of Dassel-Cokato.
Wrestling at 152-lbs. was Josiah Borst (11-9) who lost to Hunter Hicks (20-12) of Annandale/Maple Lake by a 7-2 score in the first round. Borst got a bye to advance and proceeded to knock off Chris Kisner (1-23) of Dassel-Cokato by a score of 6-0 to move on. Unfortunately, Borst ended up facing Hicks again and Hicks tallied a major decision (13-2) over the Bulldog wrestler, who finished fourth.
At 160-lbs., Frankie Baker (6-20) faced Logan Eckoff (23-6) of NLS in the first round and was pinned at 28 seconds of the match. Baker moved on after a bye, then lost by fall at 1:32 to Parker Millam (18-9) of Big Lake to end his tournament.
Hildebrandt (18-9) was up next at 170-lbs. and he scored a major decision (11-2) over Josh Soine (20-15) of NLS to advance in the first round. Hildebrandt moved on when Cory Schmidt (29-8) of Annandale/Maple Lake had to forfeit. Hildebrandt lost by fall to Carter Nielsen (38-0) of Foley before beating Soine again in the consolation championship to take second.
At 195-lbs., Trevor Goodrich (22-10) lost to Wyatt Kaping (21-9) of Litchfield, 12-5 to fall to the consolation round. After his bye, Goodrich beat Billy Johann (10-18) of Zimmerman by a 2-0 score before losing a 3-1 OT thriller to Jon Olson (19-19) of Foley to end his weekend of wrestling.
Chris Weberg (27-13) stepped to the mat for Becker at 220-lbs. and won a 9-2 decision over Matt Adrain (4-13) of Monticello to get off on the right foot. Weberg then lost a heartbreaking, 2-1 three overtime battle to Saylor Schmit (26-9) of Foley in his next match. Weberg took care of Logan Wagner (8-15) of Litchfield by a score of 5-2, then defeated Dillon O’Leary (19-11) of Big Lake by a 6-5 score. Weberg couldn’t avenge Schmit as the Foley wrestler ended Weberg’s run with a decision in the consolation championship match.
At heavyweight (285-lbs.), Casey Vesledahl (19-8) pinned Brok Huikko (19-7) of Dassel-Cokato at 1:37 to advance to the second round. Vesledahl was ultimately pinned by Brent Riddle (22-7) of Monticello at 5:54 to fall out of championship contention. Vesledahl then beat Tryston Bemboom (9-2) of Foley by a 4-1 score then beat Tristian Revering (13-12) of Litchfield by a 7-0 score. Vesledahl’s dream of a state birth ended when he was pinned by Brandon Knisley (24-3) of NLS at 43 seconds to finish third.
