Writing the story proclaiming the Raiders Wrestling Team as Section Champions never gets old but there is one small problem. Losing track of how many times to write “back-to-back” champions. Winning several years in a row is the stuff that starts heading toward dynasty qualifications, but it becomes easier to lose track of the number of years in a row. Since joining the Journal in August 2020, the Raider Varsity Wrestling team has been to the state tournament every year, including this year, which is absolutely incredible and a testament to the strength of the program, but that also spoils all of us as Raider fans.
Officially, the back-to-back question was answered by head coach Tim Haneberg and even he had to go back and look at things to be sure. This is the sixth straight year the Raiders have been to the state tournament as a team.
As the top seed in the section, the Raiders had a first-round bye. In the second round, they had a very tough match against a very good Park of Cottage Grove team where they won 38-28. Not quite as dramatic as the 33-32 comeback win at state against St. Michael / Albertville in 2023, but pretty close. The second round of matches put the Raiders against Woodbury where they won handily 50-21.
The individual results for the two section matches are:
Versus Park
107 McNamara, Sullivan (Hastings) over Bloch, Nolan (Park), Default, 6-0
114 Edstrom, Beckett (Hastings) over VanHorn, Jackson (Park), Fall 1:26, 12-0
121 Jubinal, Jaxon (Park) over Zajac, Landon (Hastings), Tech Fall 22-7, 12-5
127 Iallonardo, Rocco (Hastings) over Fulfillent, Oni (Park), Tech Fall 18-0, 17-5
133 Beissel, Trey (Hastings) over Jubinal, Kyler (Park), Fall 0:54, 23-5
139 Jubinal, Kyler (Park) over Ward, Donavin (Hastings), Decision 12-7, 23-8
145 Little Soldier, Taylon (Hastings) over Chilton, Joey (Park), Tech Fall 17-2, 28-8
152 Carr, Zack (Park) over Peterson, Fletcher (Hastings), Tech Fall 20-3, 28-13
160 Olson, LeRoy (Park) over Svoboda, Mark (Hastings), Fall 0:51, 28-19
172 Mullen, Gunnar (Park) over Boardman, Barret (Hastings), Fall 1:27, 28-25
189 Hoff, Hunter (Hastings) over Rainwater, Gabrial (Park), Tech Fall 16-0, 33-25
215 Wright, Jesse (Park) over Fuchs, Adrian (Hastings), Decision 17-10, 33-28
285 Christopher, Elijah (Hastings) over Boston, Jairus (Park), Tech Fall 16-1, 38-28
Final Score: 38 – 28
Versus Woodbury
107 McNamara, Sullivan (Hastings) over Tokin, Ben (Woodbury), Tech Fall 18-2, 5-0
114 Edstrom, Beckett (Hastings) over Andrada, Adrian (Woodbury), Fall 3:51, 11-0
121 Osburn, Pierce (Woodbury) over Zajac, Landon (Hastings), Fall 1:25, 11-6
127 Iallonardo, Rocco (Hastings) over Calderon, Calvin (Woodbury), Fall 1:36, 17-6
133 Beissel, Trey (Hastings) over Gonzales, Moises (Woodbury), Fall 2:04, 23-6
139 Little Soldier, Taylon (Hastings) over Tokin, Dino (Woodbury), Fall 6:14, 29-6
145 Peterson, Fletcher (Hastings) over Coffey, Jonah (Woodbury), Fall 0:48, 35-6
152 Little, Brad (Woodbury) over Brockman, Bennett (Hastings), Fall 0:26, 35-12
160 Svoboda, Mark (Hastings) over Wedan, Reggie (Woodbury), Fall 6:13, 41-12
172 Lunemann, Nic (Woodbury) over Esterby, Kasen (Hastings), Maj Dec 14-2, 41-16
189 Hoff, Hunter (Hastings) over Puglisi, Luke (Woodbury), Decision 9-8, 44-16
215 Fuchs, Adrian (Hastings) over Taveirne, Parker (Woodbury), Fall 4:07, 50-16
285 Folks, Mitch (Woodbury) over Christopher, Elijah (Hastings), Tech Fall 20-5, 50-21
Final Score: 50 – 21

With the Section Team win, Hastings will make another trip to Xcel Energy Center for the team wrestling competition on Thursday, February 27 with the first match starting at 9:00 a.m. The eight teams that made the State Tournament are:
Section 1 Albert Lea Area
Section 2 Prior Lake
Section 3 Hastings
Section 4 Stillwater Area
Section 5 St. Michael-Albertville
Section 6 Shakopee
Section 7 Elk River
Section 8 Bemidji
The matchups have yet to be decided, but the top five teams are ranked with four and five seeds playing each other and the top three starting the tournament against a random draw from the bottom three teams. There is a possibility that Hastings will be seeded as one of the random draw teams.
Up next for Hastings is the individual section meet on Feb. 22 starting at 9:00 a.m. at Park of Cottage Grove. The top two from each weight class advance to the individual state meet on Feb. 28 and Mar. 1 at Xcel.