BARRETT — The Wadena-Deer Creek wrestling team came up against a tough No. 7 rated West Central Area-Ashby-Brandon-Evansville squad and went home without a score Tuesday, Feb. 15, at the Section 6A tournament.
Eli Benning duked it out with Reubens Swanson in the 152 class to finally reach a 17-6 major decision which brought Swanson four points. Ashton Danner overcame Brandon Wheeler in the 160 class to bring 10-4 decision. The closest matchup pitted WDC's Koby Endres with Beau Robinson in the 182 class. Robinson got the win with a 5-4 decision.
"Last night's first round of the team section was certainly a tough one," Coach Brad Wollum said. "But kudos to the Knights for their outstanding performance."
The Wolverines were the No. 8 seed and definitely the underdogs against West Central Area/Brandon-Evansville/Ashby, which is ranked No. 7 in Class A by "The Guillotine."
"Our WDC squad wasn't afraid of competition and that's been the mentality all season," Wollum stated. "Last night we had 3 athletes who traditionally wrestle JV, step onto the varsity mat because they want to do all they can for the team. That shows selflessness and sacrifice. No coach can ask more than that!"
The Knights advance to the semifinals where they will wrestle New York Mills. The fourth-seeded Eagles defeated No. 5 Osakis 42-25 Tuesday. In the other quarterfinal matches No. 2 Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie beat No. 7 Pelican Rapids 69-8 and No. 3 Border West edged No. 6 Otter Tail Central 45-36. The Raiders and Buccaneers will meet in the other semifinal.
The semifinals and championship will be held in New York Mills on Friday, February 18.
The Wolverines will now turn their attention to the Individual Tournaments. Madelyn Gallant will wrestle in the Girls' Section 5-8 Tournament in Sartell on Saturday, February 19.
"There are a lot of unknowns heading into her tournament being it's brand new, but we know she'll have a good performance," Wollum said. "She had a great taste of that in Pine Island only a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, few people follow women's wrestling. In fact, at the high school and collegiate level, Minnesota has some of the nation's and even a couple of the world's best female wrestlers."
Individual tournament is in Wadena
The Section 6A Individual Tournament will be held on Saturday, February 26 in Wadena. Doors open at 9 a.m. with wrestling starting at 10 a.m. Cost is $10 for adults and $6 for students K-12. Ticketing for the event is online only. While they do want to be handling money at the door, volunteers will help those who do not have internet or smartphone technology get into the event.
"We would like to handle as little money as possible at the door, but we also don't want to make coming to the event impossible for those who do not have the means to get in," according to WDC activities director Norm Gallant.
Get your ticket online by visiting
https://www.vancoevents.com/us/events/landing?eid=19329&
Results:
