Last week, the Becker Bulldog wrestling team was represented by four athletes who earned a spot to wrestle in the Class AA State Finals held at STMA High School.  Two Bulldogs came away as place winners, with Caden DeWall earning second place at 182 pounds, while Kaden Nicolas finished in fifth place at 106 pounds.

“We are proud of these young men for their hard work and their good representation of their team and our community,” said Co-coach Matt Aho.

Nicolas drew Simley’s Brandon Morvari in the first round and wrestled him tough before falling in a 4-0 decision.  Morvari would go on to place third in the state.

From there, Nicolas scored a 5-4 decision over CAFA’s Gavin Peterson to secure a match for the consolation championship, (fifth place).  In that match, the Becker eighth grader was dominant in an 11-2 major decision over ALAR’s Mason Mcgrane.

At 145 pounds, Becker’s Lukas Paulson had a tough draw and opened with a 12-6 decision loss to the eventual state champion from Thief River Falls, Brandon Kasprick.  In his next match, Paulson dropped a close match, 3-2, to the eventual fifth place winner, WMML’s Bryce Burkett.

“Lukas battled the eventual champion, as well as the fifth place winner,” said Aho.

DeWall earned a spot in the 182 title match with a pair of impressive victories in his opening two matches.

In his opener, DeWall scored a 9-1 major decision over TCU’s Brody Rud before going into the semifinals and winning 8-4 over Byron’s Austin Freerksen.

In the finals, DeWall took on undefeated Bennett Berge from KAMA and fell in a 7-3 decision.

“Caden’s finals match was a hard fought 3-7 decision,” said Aho.

After the match, DeWall was able to keep his spectacular season in perspective.

“I’m grateful we were able to have a season and for all Becker wrestling has done for me,” said DeWall.

Becker’s final state wrestler, Kuschel, lost his two matches to the eventual third and sixth place finishers, but Aho credited him for his competitiveness in both matches.  

Overall, it was an impressive performance for the Bulldog wrestlers who had sent a total of 10 wrestlers to the State Prelims the previous week.

Aho and Co-Coach Jeff Zimmer heaped praise on their wrestlers, who excelled throughout the year to set a school dual meet win record and had just one regular season loss.

The two coaches felt that their wrestlers performed well under difficult circumstances.

“We were grateful to have a state tournament, but it most certainly was a very different experience this year,” said Aho.  “We are thankful for the tournament organizers, officials, competitors, and all others involved.”