Hastings finished fourth at the Class AAA state team tournament, and the Raiders did it the hard way, with three duals in two days, plenty of bonus points early, and the kind of long, loud week that makes every coach appreciate a quiet car ride home. But for the Raider coaches.

The final team standings had St. Michael-Albertville in first place, Shakopee second, Stillwater third, and Hastings in fourth, with Elk River fifth and Apple Valley sixth. Hastings opened the tournament by beating Elk River 45-23 in the quarterfinals, then fell 45-12 to St. Michael-Albertville in the semifinals and closed the team portion with a 58-10 loss to Stillwater in the third-place match.

Coach Tim Haneberg called the overall team performance “really, really good,” and said the format gives the sport more wrestling and a true double elimination feel, even if the week itself can be a grind. He talked about early starts, late nights, and the wear and tear that comes from spending long hours on hard floors in the tunnel area, with limited warmup space and a lot of moving parts to keep track of. He also noted the way security improved after the first day, when the lines to get into the building were slow, then smoothed out once more gates and metal detectors were added.

On the mat, Hastings’ quarterfinal against Elk River was where the Raiders looked most like themselves, fast starts, big finishes, and enough pins and technical falls to make the scoreboard feel like it was always leaning Hastings’ direction.

The dual began at 107 pounds with freshman Sullivan McNamara wasting no time, he won by fall in 0:24, and the Raiders bench was up and moving right away. The middle of the lineup kept building, with Beckett Edstrom getting a fall at 121, Will Bainbridge adding another fall at 127, and Trey Beissel pouring it on at 133 with a technical fall, 18-3 in 1:15. Mark Svoboda followed later with a fall at 160, and the closing stretch was a bonus-point parade, Kasen Esterby won by fall at 189, Adrian Fuchs won by technical fall at 215, and Elijah Christopher finished the dual with a technical fall at heavyweight.

Haneberg pointed to that early run as a tone setter, he mentioned the big pin to start, Edstrom’s ability to get a fall in a key spot, Bainbridge’s pin after a match earlier in the year that had been more controlled, and the way Beissel kept attacking even after getting banged up, which, in the coach’s words, set a tone for the rest of Beissel’s weekend.

The semifinal against St. Michael-Albertville was a different kind of dual, and Hastings needed to squeeze points out of every opportunity. The team score ended 45-12, but there were several Raider wins that stood out for both the scorebook and the moment. At 121, Grant Cook picked up a 9-7 decision, and at 127, Bainbridge won 2-1 in tiebreakers. Svoboda added an 11-7 decision at 160, and Christopher closed with a 3-2 sudden victory win at 285. Even in losses, Hastings kept competing, and Haneberg said he was proud of the way the Raiders wrestled in matches where the team score did not look close, but the effort and standard stayed high.

The final dual for third place matched Hastings with Stillwater, and it ended 58-10. The Raiders’ points came at 121, where Edstrom won by fall in 1:19, and at 172, where Esterby won by major decision, 10-2. The rest of the lineup saw some tough results, including several falls and technical falls, and Stillwater pulled away as the dual went on. Still, Hastings walked away with a fourth-place finish in Class AAA, and that matters in a tournament where nothing is given and every round adds another layer of pressure, noise, and fatigue.

Haneberg talked about how challenging the week can be to manage, especially with both boys and girls competing, and how the schedule shifts can make it hard to keep brackets, warmups, and timing straight. Even so, the Raiders handled the pace, the environment, and the high stakes, starting with a quarterfinal that featured pins and technical falls across the lineup, and ending with a team trophy.

Hastings scored 45 points in the quarterfinal win over Elk River, 12 points in the semifinal against St. Michael-Albertville, and 10 points in the third place dual against Stillwater. The match-by-match details from all three duals are listed below.

Quarterfinals, Hastings 45, Elk River 23

107, Sullivan McNamara, Hastings, won by fall in 0:24 over Jacob Hartl, Elk River

114, Rowan Henson, Hastings, lost by fall in 3:38 to Aiden Tribon, Elk River

121, Beckett Edstrom, Hastings, won by fall in 5:08 over Ian Lessard, Elk River

127, William Bainbridge, Hastings, won by fall in 1:38 over Brayden Hawes, Elk River

133, Trey Beissel, Hastings, won by technical fall 18-3 in 1:15 over Andre Ringwelski, Elk River

139, David Bauer, Hastings, lost by major decision 17-3 to Walker Gaulrapp, Elk River

145, Rocco Iallonardo, Hastings, lost 12-6 by decision to Mason Freeman, Elk River

152, Presley McCrae, Hastings, lost by technical fall 17-1 in 4:19 to Dylan Peters, Elk River

160, Mark Svoboda, Hastings, won by fall in 5:22 over Talon Sasse, Elk River

172, Levi Hoffman, Hastings, lost by technical fall 21-5 in 4:26 to Lars Nelson, Elk River

189, Kasen Esterby, Hastings, won by fall in 3:33 over Wyatt Lease, Elk River

215, Adrian Fuchs, Hastings, won by technical fall 17-2 in 4:27 over William Johnson, Elk River

285, Elijah Christopher, Hastings, won by technical fall 18-3 in 3:16 over Logan Hopkins, Elk River

Semifinals, St. Michael-Albertville 45, Hastings 12

107, Sullivan McNamara, Hastings, lost by technical fall 20-5 in 5:26 to Jackson Thorn, St. Michael-Albertville

114, Rowan Henson, Hastings, lost by fall in 1:09 to Landon Thoennes, St. Michael-Albertville

121, Grant Cook, Hastings, won 9-7 by decision over Ryder Refsland, St. Michael-Albertville

127, William Bainbridge, Hastings, won 2-1 by tiebreaker over Eli Schultz, St. Michael-Albertville

133, Donavin Ward, Hastings, lost by fall in 3:51 to Brody Bergeron, St. Michael-Albertville

139, David Bauer, Hastings, lost by technical fall 18-1 in 1:35 to Chase Mills, St. Michael-Albertville

145, Rocco Iallonardo, Hastings, lost by fall in 0:10 to Lincoln Robideau, St. Michael-Albertville

152, Presley McCrae, Hastings, lost by major decision 14-2 to Gavin Jackson, St. Michael-Albertville

160, Mark Svoboda, Hastings, won 11-7 by decision over Henrik Sperlazza, St. Michael-Albertville

172, Kasen Esterby, Hastings, lost by major decision 12-0 to Joe Scully, St. Michael-Albertville

189, Xavier Timm, Hastings, lost by fall in 1:02 to John Murphy, St. Michael-Albertville

215, Adrian Fuchs, Hastings, lost 10-4 by decision to Phil Harris, St. Michael-Albertville

285, Elijah Christopher, Hastings, won 3-2 in sudden victory over Roman Drew, St. Michael-Albertville

Third place match, Stillwater 58, Hastings 10

107, Carter Kohner, Hastings, lost by fall in 1:34 to Chase Lawrence, Stillwater

114, Sullivan McNamara, Hastings, lost by major decision 14-3 to Brodie Lawrence, Stillwater

121, Beckett Edstrom, Hastings, won by fall in 1:19 over Elijah Hunter, Stillwater

127, William Bainbridge, Hastings, lost by major decision 11-3 to Noah Nicholson, Stillwater

133, Gage Cook, Hastings, lost by fall in 5:16 to August Hartung, Stillwater

139, Donavin Ward, Hastings, lost by fall in 3:29 to Axel Rogotzke, Stillwater

145, David Bauer, Hastings, lost by major decision 10-2 to Isaac Leonard, Stillwater

152, Brock Lundstrom, Hastings, lost by fall in 4:30 to George Jones, Stillwater

160, Levi Hoffman, Hastings, lost by technical fall 21-6 in 0:57 to Grayson Eggum, Stillwater

172, Kasen Esterby, Hastings, won by major decision 10-2 over Braden Hatalla, Stillwater

189, Xavier Timm, Hastings, lost by technical fall 19-4 in 3:41 to Cael Spates, Stillwater

215, Adrian Fuchs, Hastings, lost by fall in 0:54 to Cohen Lumby, Stillwater

285, Finnley Olsen, Hastings, lost by fall in 1:13 to Jordan Gunderson, Stillwater