The Raiders got rolling in the Section with dominating victories posting a 9-2 opening round.  Winners of the semifinal round would shower up for the day as Championship and 3rd place matches were not wrestled once those wrestled were guaranteed to advance.  Bennet Arceneau picked up a fall.  David Revering followed suit.  Deagen Captain earned a hard-fought decision.  Aiden Larson captured a major decision.  Reese Thompson earned a pin and the bottom five put up a perfect day advancing to the Championship.  Brock Peterson dropped his match to the 2nd ranked kid.  Mason Schroeder glued his opponent.  Hunter Dean pushed the repeat button and did the same.  Gideon Ervasti like the idea so he joined the club.  James Grant dropped a decision to the top seed and Hayden Captain handled his opponent to help the Raiders have a 9-2 round. 

On the backside of the bracket, Blake Sumstad bowed out 0-2 and Justin Koehn went home 1-2 on the day.  Peterson and Grant secured falls to earn their way to the 3rd Place matches and advance.  The Raiders posted a 21-6 record on the day advancing 11 wrestlers to the State Preliminary.

The State Preliminary was held on Saturday at Long Prairie.  Having Section 5A and 6A paired for this tournament made the brackets loaded with talent from some of the best teams in the state.  The two surviving wrestlers from each bracket would truly have to earn it to make the 8-man State tournament.  When the dust settled, BHVPP would send 3 individuals onto next weekend.

 Peterson had the toughest draw against a 2nd ranked opponent.  After entering the consolation side, he found the 9th ranked kid waiting for him.  He put him on his back early but couldn’t seal the deal and went down 0-2 on the day.  Arceneau dropped his opening match.  He bounced back with a pin on the back side and dropped the next round to bow out in the 5th/6th place match.  Deagen Captain followed a similar route on the day going 1-2 in a loaded 120-pound bracket.  Schroeder grabbed a quick fall and then dropped back-to-back matches for the 5th/6th place finish.  Thompson wrestled great on the day picking up a late third period fall before losing the semifinal round.  He kept his hopes alive with a major decision and was leading the 3rd place match until getting pinned in the third to settle for 4th. 

 Hayden Captain had another solid day opening with a fall before losing to the top ranked heavyweight in the semifinals.  On the back side, he did his job earning a major decision and a fall to capture a 3rd place finish.  Larson had the nerves get the best of him in the opening round, but then became a man on a mission as he navigated the wrestlebacks with a fall and two decisions earning a true second match.  Aiden would go down in defeat after earning a well-deserved 3rd place.  Grant took a different route as he defeated the 5A top seed in the opening round and grabbed a pin in the Semifinals.  He then dropped the Championship match and the true second match by decisions to finish 3rd. 

Revering took the similar path as Grant with two falls to earn a spot in the finals.  After falling in the Championship match, he picked up his third pin of the day for a true second finish and a spot in the State Eight.  Ervasti opened with a fall and major decision for his showdown with the top ranked 195 pounder.  After going down in defeat, he handled his business for true second and advanced to next weekend’s individual portion of State.  Dean put on a show with a fall and major decision to make the finals.  There he wowed the crowd pulling out his edition of the flying squirrel and earning a pin as the Champion of the 170-pound weight class. 

 It was a great day of march matness as we placed seven wrestlers into the top four of the State Preliminary and advanced three individuals to the State Eight.  David earned the five seed and Hunter and Gideon both grabbed the six seed heading into next Saturday’s competition.  Thankfully, we have one more week to work with a great group of kids as the team takes on Jackson County Central in the State Semifinals at 9am Saturday with the Championship and 3rd place duals to take place around 11am.  #BHVPP #marchmatness #allforoneoneforall 

106-Bennet Arceneau - Fall Riley Reese (SM) 5:11, Fall Matt Noll (BRK) 3:49
                Bennet advanced to the Championship

113-David Revering - Fall Sam Olson (WCAABE) 1:21
                David advanced to the Championship

120-Deagen Captain - Fall Alex Martel (BRK) 2:49, Dec. Colbe Tappe (SM) 5-2
                Deagen advanced to the Championship

126-Aiden Larson - Fall Ben Peterson (BW) :40, Maj. Dec. Solomon Wales (WCAABE) 10-2
                Aiden advanced to the Championship

132-Reese Thompson - Fall Eli Benning (WDC) 5:08, Fall Patrick Forcier (BW) 2:17
                Reese advanced to the Championship

138-Blake Sumstad - Maj. Dec. by Reed Leabo (OTC) 19-5, Fall by Conner Dobson (SM) 1:24
                Blake did not place

145-Justin Koehn - Fall by Aidan Ruddy (BRK) 1:14, Fall Blake Neelan (SM) 5:23, Fall by Logan Schleske (OTC) :53
                Justin placed 5th/6th

152-Brock Peterson - Fall Hunter Rust (NYM) 1:30, Fall by Jordan Lohse (WCAABE) 4:41, Fall Seth Stroeing (WDC) 1:38
                Brock advanced to the 3rd Place Match

160-Mason Schroeder - Fall Kaden Holt (PR) :19, Fall Jaxon Rich (OTC) 5:58
                Mason advanced to the Championship

170-Hunter Dean - Fall Hunter Martin (SM) 3:09, Fall Kade Olson (WCAABE) 4:16
                Hunter advanced to the Championship

195-Gideon Ervasti - Fall Cody Barthel (NYM) 1:13
                Gideon advanced to the Championship

220-James Grant - Fall Bode Roberts (NYM) 2:31, Dec. by Daniel Erlandson (BRK) 5-2, Fall Kale Rich (OTC) 2:57
                James advanced to the 3rd Place Match

285-Hayden Captain - Fall Tim Wells (BAR) 1:32, Fall Justin Blascyk (WCAABE) 4:57
                Hayden advanced to the Championship