By Bruce Karnick

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717 individual wrestlers from across the state from 199 teams participated in the 2022 Minnesota State Individual Wrestling Tournament Thursday through Saturday. Of those 717 wrestlers, in four divisions, Class A, AA, AAA and Girls, 54 total wrestlers were crowned champions, 14 in each class for the boys and 12 for the girls.

The fact of the day is, for the boys, 15 of the 16 kids in each weight class fought with everything they had and still did not reach the end point of the bracket, the coveted State Championship. The road to being the best in Minnesota is a difficult one and making it to Xcel Energy Center is something that each and every wrestler should be proud of. Being part of the elite 16 that make it is a huge honor and Hastings had wrestlers in 11 of the 14 weight classes for the boys.

The first match is one of the most important to win. When a wrestler loses the first match, there is no guarantee of a second. The way the meet works for the first-round loss is called wrestle backs. For example, Bob wrestles Mike and Mike loses. Bob moves on and now wrestles Ryan. As long as Bob beats Ryan, Mike gets a second chance. If Bob loses, Mike is officially eliminated from the tournament.

Just like duals, individual meets follow the same weight class order from 106 up to 285. To keep it simple, the list will start with those eliminated in the first round.

113 – Austin Laudenbach (Apple Valley) 44-7 won by tech fall over Trey Beissel (Hastings) 41-8 (TF-1.5 3:58 (16-1)) 120 – Sulley Anez (Willmar) 38-10 won by fall over Mark Svoboda (Hastings) 21-15 (Fall 0:47) 126 – Lincoln Vick (Waconia) 39-8 won by tech fall over Jack Bainbridge (Hastings) 40-9 (TF-1.5 4:59 (15-0)) 170 – Darrin Kuyper (Northfield) 43-7 won by decision over Ian Pepple (Hastings) 37-11 (Dec 5-2) 220 – Nate Beberg (Andover) 38-3 won by major decision over Austin Leflay (Hastings) 31-10 (MD 9-1) The elimination of the above five wrestlers left six in the tournament.

138 – Creed Peterson Champ. Round 1 – Carter Ban (Anoka) 51-7 won by fall over Creed Peterson (Hastings) 22-20 (Fall 0:57) Cons. Round 1 – Owen Bouthilet (Stillwater Area) 46-14 won by fall over Creed Peterson (Hastings) 22-20 (Fall 4:22) Peterson was eliminated. 145 – Josh Route Champ. Round 1 – Josh Route (Hastings) 33-14 won by major decision over Evan Fankhanel (Moorhead) 9-7 (MD 17-4) Quarterfinal – Cole Becker (St. Michael-Albertville) 46-4 won by major decision over Josh Route (Hastings) 33-14 (MD 15-3) Cons. Round 1 – Daunte Sasse-Doering (Elk River) 22-10 won by fall over Josh Route (Hastings) 33-14 (Fall 4:41) Route was eliminated 152 – Aiden Erickson Champ. Round 1 – Jacob Whitaker (Anoka) 36-6 won by fall over Aiden Erickson (Hastings) 24-9 (Fall 3:37) Cons. Round 1 – Brad Little (Woodbury) 45-8 won by fall over Aiden Erickson (Hastings) 24-9 (Fall 0:34) Erickson was eliminated 160 – Zander Hallis Champ. Round 1 – Jed Wester (St. Michael-Albertville) 42-3 won by fall over Zander Hallis (Hastings) 23-8 (Fall 2:49) Cons. Round 1 – Peyton Hermann (Lakeville South) 27-3 won by tech fall over Zander Hallis (Hastings) 23-8 (TF-1.5 4:49 (15-0)) Hallis was eliminated Hallis, a senior and first-year true varsity starter made leaps and bounds this year on the team, he explains what he learned this year.

“Never give up on your dreams and work hard every day. Don't take shortcuts, have fun with your team and appreciate them,” he said.

Did Hallis have fun with his team at state? “Yeah. That was a blast. It was awesome. It was by far the best season I've ever had. I'm glad I went out and wrestled. It was great year to end on.”

With the others eliminated, that left two in the tournament, Jericho “Rico” Cooper and Blake Beissel.

182 – Rico Cooper. Champ. Round 1 – Jericho Cooper (Hastings) 40-10 won by fall over Ryan Kuyper (Northfield) 26-18 (Fall 3:11) Quarterfinal – Alex Riley (Waconia) 40-7 won by tech fall over Jericho Cooper (Hastings) 40-10 (TF-1.5 4:24 (16-0)) Cons. Round 1 – Jericho Cooper (Hastings) 40-10 won by fall over Gavin O`Neill (Farmington) 25-12 (Fall 3:56) Cons. Round 2 – Jericho Cooper (Hastings) 40-10 won by decision over Dylan Peper (Rochester Mayo) 36-10 (Dec 2-1) Cons. Semi – Jaden Burandt (Anoka) 45-10 won by decision over Jericho Cooper (Hastings) 40-10 (Dec 4-3) 5th Place Match – Ismael Kante (Park Center) 29-5 won by major decision over Jericho Cooper (Hastings) 40-10 (MD 9-0) Cooper by far had the most difficult tournament. He wrestled three times during the team event on Thursday and then wrestled six more times as an individual placing sixth. The sixth-place finish put him on the podium and earned him all-state honors. He was also honored with a spot on the all-tournament team.

The final wrestler standing was Blake Beissel. Beissel had earned and held on to the number one ranking in Class AAA for the state during the regular season and he was the one to beat at this tournament at 106. Beissel had some of the more exciting matches, especially the championship match.

Champ. Round 1 – Blake Beissel (Hastings) 49-2 won by fall over Caden Staab (Northfield) 26-26 (Fall 0:46) Quarterfinal – Blake Beissel (Hastings) 49-2 won by major decision over Chase Mills (St. Michael-Albertville) 41-10 (MD 10-0) Semifinal – Blake Beissel (Hastings) 49-2 won by decision over Luke Koenen (Wayzata) 48-6 (Dec 4-0) The championship match was close the entire time with both wrestlers keeping each other at bay. By the time the first six minutes of regulation were over, the match was tied 2-2. That led to sudden victory overtime. Beissel was in the up position and within a few seconds, he scored the takedown to win the championship 4-2.

1st Place Match – Blake Beissel (Hastings) 49-2 won in sudden victory – 1 over Davis Parrow (Farmington) 35-5 (SV-1 4-2) The normally stoic sophomore rarely shows emotion after a match because he immediately starts to focus on the next match. After capturing the state title, he flexed yelling “LET’S GOOOOOOO!!!!!,” the team’s accidental mantra of the season. Beissel returned to shake his opponent’s hand then the opposing coaches’ hands. Once he turned to his coaches, he couldn’t contain himself running full speed to Coach Pete Kranz leaping into his arms. To many, the leap seemed like a happy kid celebrating with his coach. To those in the know, it was a happy grandchild hugging his grandfather – an extremely touching moment. After, he jumped over to coach Josh McLay.

McLay explained the connection to the family, “It's a pretty awesome experience. You know me and Chad (Blake’s father) grew up together and wrestled together all the way through. With me not having any boys and him having them, he moved right next door to me to make sure that I had easy access to them. I guess, I just get choked up thinking about it. This kid puts in so much work, he does all the little things. A lot of times in this sport, hard work does not pay off and for him it did. And I couldn't be more proud. He's such a great kid on and off the mat. He's an advocate of our AVID program that we have in town, and he was just at the middle school the other day and recruited kids for that you know, when he should be focusing on getting ready for state, but that's the type of kid he is. He's a giver and he's a true leader on and off the mat. He’s just a great kid, but that tells you he does all the little things all the time. He's working out seven days a week, morning, noon and night and the kid just eats, sleeps wrestling. He’s a true mat rat and to see his hard work pay off, and to be a part of his family like this is just something truly special. His grandpa was my coach. So, you know, to be there and be a part of that is just a blessing. I just feel lucky to be a part of it. And that's what's special about Hastings wrestling, we're a big family. We take care of each other and are happy to be a part of it.”

The trio made their way off the mat with Beissel in the lead. He ran up the steps at Xcel frantically looking for his dad and mom, but he did not know they had moved. Dad was waiting for him at the exit of the arena floor and Beissel scored another 2-point takedown on dad. Another round of hugs were exchanged and the search for mom started. He found her but did not have an easy path. He didn’t care, he climbed over seats and people to get to her for the kind of hug every mom dreams of.

The touching sequence continued in the halls under Xcel. Beissel sat down with tears of joy, in the hall in disbelief, the win finally sinking in. That is when Haneberg found him. Shortly after, Coach Paul Vaith found them, all three sharing a moment that will forever stay between them.

Blake Beissel returned home a champion. Along with the win, Beissel was also awarded a spot on the All-Tournament team and All-State Individual honors.

The wrestlers have two more things to look forward to, the team banquet and a steak dinner at Wiederholt’s.

Blake Beissel wrestles in the championship match.

113-TreyBeissel