After their team’s impressive third place finish last Thursday at the state Class AA wrestling tournament, four Becker Bulldogs turned their focus to the individual tournament and the results were just as impressive. Mason Doucette came out on top of the 152 pound bracket to claim a state championship, while Kaden Nicolas also wrestled extremely well and finished as the runner-up at 113 pounds.
Landen Kujawa finished in 4th place at 120 pounds, while Bryce Kuschel didn’t place, yet finished off a strong season and career by going 1-2 in his 285 bracket and picking up a state tournament pin in his second round match.
Title
For Senior Mason Doucette, his state title was the culmination of many years of hard work on the wrestling mat. After winning the title, he had time to reflect on the huge accomplishment.
“I’ve always been proud to rep a Becker singlet,” Doucette said. “I love this town and the atmosphere has always been great. It still doesn’t feel real.”
In the final match, Doucette had to once again face Kasson-Mantorville’s Logan Vaughan, the same wrestler who had defeated Mason 7-3 in Thursday’s team tournament just two days prior.
“I was actually very calm and relaxed heading into the match, I knew I had nothing to lose and I was just very happy to be wrestling in the state finals,” Doucette said. “I figured in order to give myself a chance I was gonna have to catch him in a pinning combination.”
That’s exactly what happened, as Doucette’s second period pinfall came via the near side cradle, a move he says he works on all the time.
“It’s been one of my favorite moves since youth wrestling,” Doucette said.
His journey to the final match was impressive, as he scored an opening round 5-0 decision before pinning his second opponent. In the semifinals, Doucette needed to go to the Ultimate Tie Breaker and scored a 3-2 victory to secure his place in the finals.
Overall, he reflected fondly on this season as well as his career as a Bulldog wrestler.
“I am very happy with how my career ended up, I do wish I would’ve tried and cared a little more my 7th-9th grade year, I battled an injury that kept me out of sophomore year but I am sure glad I came back my junior year,” Doucette said. “I ended my career one shy of 100 wins with 99.”
Fab Frosh
For Freshman Kaden Nicolas, the journey to the state title match was filled with quality opponents, each of whom had over 30 wins on the season. But Nicolas was up to the challenge, opening the tournament with a third period fall, followed by a 12-6 decision to get to the semifinals. Once there, Nicolas won a 7-3 decision over Hibbing’s Christian Jelle, who had advanced to the semifinals by defeating Big Lake’s Cash Sixberry by a score of 6-4.
Nicolas wrestled well in the final match, but ran into Simley’s Brandon Morvari, who had been ranked at the top of the weight class for most of the season. Morvari picked up a 4-0 win for the title, but Nicolas looked back on his season with great respect for what he had accomplished.
Nicolas was reflective after his final match, as he soaked in the incredible atmosphere.
“I’m very grateful for the experience of wrestling at Xcel Energy Center and sending our seniors out right!,” Nicolas said. “Individually I’m very blessed for the opportunity even though it was not the outcome I had hoped for. I will forever cherish the experience.”
All Tourney
Landen Kujawa put together a nice run in the tournament to finish in 4th place at 120 pounds and he also received a great honor, being named to the Class AA All-tournament team for his efforts in helping the Bulldogs secure the team 3rd place finish.
His journey included a fall in the opening round, followed by a 3-2 decision to reach the semifinals, where he fell 4-1. In the third place match, he lost a very close match, 5-3.
Bryce Kuschel opened the tournament with a 7-0 loss to Gannon Rosenfeld, who would go on to place 3rd in state. In his next match, Kuschel pinned his opponent in the second period before dropping a super close 2-0 decision in his final match in a Bulldog singlet.
Congratulations to all four Becker wrestlers who represented their school admirably at the state tournament,.
