by Bruce Karnick

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The Hastings wrestling team had punched their ticket to state as a team the week before individuals took place and now, 11 individual boys have punched that ticket to wear the Raider blue and gold and join the two Raider ladies on the mats at Xcel for the state individual wrestling meet on Mar. 4 & 5.

Individuals is an intense day for everyone especially the 90 wrestlers from eight teams who compete. Hastings, St. Thomas Academy, Park of Cottage Grove, Eagan, Two Rivers, Woodbury, East Ridge and St. Paul Central were all part of the competition at Two Rivers High School on Feb. 26.

Here are the final results for Hastings. Out of 14 wrestlers, 11 are headed to state. Of the

14 wrestlers, all 14 finished in the top three of their bracket. Two of the state participants are eighth graders.

106: Blake Beissel- 1st(state)

113: Trey Beissel- 2nd(state)

120: Mark Svoboda- 2nd(state)

126: Jack Bainbridge- 2nd(state)

132: Peyton Erickson- 3rd

138: Creed Peterson- 2nd(state)

145: Josh Route- 1st(state)

152: Aiden Erickson- 1st(state)

160: Zander Hallis- 1st(state)

170: Ian Pepple- 1st(state)

182: Rico Cooper- 1st(state)

195: Tyler Miller- 3rd

220: Austin Leflay- 2nd(state)

285: Blake Clemons-3rd At section events, the section coaches vote for Coach of the Year and Assistant Coach of the Year. Both of those accolades were won by Hastings. Head Coach Tim Haneberg earned Coach of the Year and Assistant Coach of the Year went to Josh McLay.

The quest for the Class AAA State Title continues for the team at Xcel Energy Center on Mar. 3 at 9:00 a.m. when session one begins against Anoka. Should Hastings win, they will wrestle again at 1:00 p.m. against the winner of Apple Valley and St. Michael Albertville. The winner of that match moves on to the team championship, Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. and the loser of the second match will wrestle at 5:00 p.m. to determine third place.

Individual wrestling starts Mar. 4 and goes all day. This is where there is true chaos trying to keep things straight. www.trackwrestling.com is where live stats, including schedules and mat assignments can be seen for each weight class. Click BROWSE, then Tournaments and search MSHSL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS. That will get you started. The boys kick things off Friday and the girls close it on Saturday.

Photo by Sarah Wasvick

At 152, Aiden Erickson upset the state’s number one wrestler Brad Little with a 7-4 decision to take the section championship.