Wrestling: Hastings to send eight to state meet

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The Hastings Raiders wrestling team had a solid performance at the Section 3AAA tournament in Rosemount this past weekend. The Raiders will be sending eight to the Xcel to compete in the 2010 Minnesota State Wrestling Tournament that starts Wednesday. All eight should have good opportunities for success at the Xcel this week. Hastings had six wrestlers reach the finals, with two others coming through the wrestlebacks to qualify for state. It was an impressive performance by the young men in a very good section.

Sophomore Eric Bauer qualified for his second state tournament with a 7-5 victory over Stephen Mincy of Apple Valley to win the section at 112 pounds. Bauer is ranked No. 2 at 112, behind defending state champion Mitch Bengtson of St. Cloud Apollo. Eric has a record of 41-1 on the season. He took first at the SEC conference tournament and followed that up with the Section title this weekend. Eric was also named to the All-Tournament team at the Clash in January. His sole loss of the season was to No. 2 AA Dylan Wright of Simley at the Minnesota Christmas Tournament in December. Eric’s first-round opponent is Pat Casey of Shakopee.

Junior Corey Latuff will be making his first appearance at the big show by winning his true second match against Connor Moore from Eagan 7-0 at 119 pounds. Latuff is ranked No. 6 at 119 pounds with a record of 34-8. Corey was the SEC Conference champ at 119 pounds, and he had a 5-1 record at the Clash. Corey’s first-round opponent is Ryan O’Kane of Maple Grove.

Junior Colten LaChance is going to be making his second appearance at the Xcel with his runner-up showing at 135 pounds after losing to No. 1 Brandon Kingsley of Apple Valley. LaChance is currently ranked No. 3 at 135 pounds. He has a 36-5 record with second-place finishes at the SEC and section tournaments. Colten took fifth at the Minnesota Christmas Tournament and finished the Clash with a 6-0 record. Colten’s opening round opponent is Adam Woltalla from Northfield.

Junior captain, Zach Rohr, was able to qualify for his fourth State Tournament appearance with a second-place finish to Devin Scott of Apple Valley at 140 pounds. Rohr is ranked No. 5 at 140 pounds and has a record of 33-6 on the season. He took first at the SEC Conference Tournament and was 5-1 at the Clash. Zach will look to improve on his fourth-place finish at state last year. Zack will see No. 4-ranked Jake Lillie of St. Michael-Albertville in his first match at state.

Junior, Jeff Engstrom, is making his second showing at the Xcel by winning his true second match over Garrett Bothun of Rosemount at 145 pounds. After losing to eventual champion Nate Bruner of Apple Valley in the semifinals, Engstrom ran the table, winning his last three matches to cap off a great weekend of wrestling. Engstrom is ranked No. 10 at 145 pounds. His season record is 16-8. Jeff took eighth at the Christmas Tournament, along with second-place showings at the SEC and section tournaments. Jeff will have a strong weight class at state with top-ranked and undefeated Dylan Ness of Bloomington Kennedy, and Forest Lake’s Charlie Janssen, to name a few of the wrestlers he might face. Jeff’s opening round opponent will be third-ranked Brandon Haluptzok of Centennial.

Senior captain Tyler Rohr will be at his fourth state tournament with his second-place showing behind No. 1-ranked Destin McCauley of Apple Valley at 152 pounds. Rohr is ranked No. 4 at 152 pounds, with a record of 32-9 in his senior season. Tyler will look to finish his season on the podium at the Xcel. Rohr took sixth place at the Christmas Tournament, along with a first-place finish in the SEC, followed by his second-place finish at the section tournament this weekend. Tyler will go against fifth-ranked Dawson Lovestrand of Bloomington in round one at state.

Sophomore Jake Swenson will be making his inaugural appearance at the Xcel with a runner-up placing behind No. 2-ranked Matt Hechsel of Apple Valley at 189 pounds. Swenson enters the state tournament unranked with a 26-14 record for the season. Jake has been wrestling well late in the season at 171 pounds but opted to jump up to 189 pounds because of a strong field at 171 with No. 1-ranked Zak Coates and No. 2-ranked Jake Waste in 3AAA. Swenson won the SEC conference title at 171 pounds and took second at 189 pounds at the Section 3 Tournament. Jake will see fifth-ranked, undefeated C.J. Hayes of Woodbury in his opening round match.

Senior PJ Mike will be ending his high school career with his first state tournament appearance after winning 7-0 in his true second match over Kevin Pattain of Park at heavyweight. PJ found himself needing to win three in a row after losing to Mitch Johnson of Eagan in the semifinals. Mike did just that with three convincing wins to reach the state tournament. Mike finds himself ranked No.6 at HWT in the last polls. PJ has a record of 33-10 on the season. He took seventh at the Christmas Tournament, went 5-1 at the Clash, and placed third at the SEC Conference to add to his second-place finish at sections. PJ’s opening-round opponent is Alex King of Eden Prairie.

Wrestlers finishing their season this last weekend were:

• Isaac Eichmann taking third but denied a true second when Luke Schmidt of Apple Valley defeated Yusef Hassen from Burnsville in the finals at 215;

• Jake Rachuy, wrestling up at 17 pounds, finished a strong fourth to cap off a solid sophomore year;

• Harry Bourgoin ended his high school career with 20 wins and a fifth-place victory over Jake Persons of Eagan 3-0.

• Isaac Bauer took sixth place after having to injury default in the semi-finals when he landed awkwardly on his neck and back. It was a tough way to end his freshman season but he will be tough to beat next year at 103 pounds; and

• DJ Yandrasits competed hard but was not able advance past the second round at 130 pounds.

Hastings had seven wrestlers named to the Section 3AAA All-Academic Team; they are Corey Latuff, Colten LaChance, Zach Rohr, Jeff Engstrom, Tyler Rohr, Harry Bourgoin, and Jake Rachuy.

Tags: sports, hastings, prep, wrestling