The Hastings Raiders closed out the regular season in strong fashion Friday night, claiming the Section 3AAA team championship in Woodbury with a decisive 58-13 victory over St. Thomas Academy in the finals. The win sends the Raiders back to the state tournament for the seventh straight year and 11^th time in 13 seasons.

The Raiders earned a first-round bye, then powered past Park 56-15 in the semifinals before overwhelming St. Thomas Academy 58-13 in the championship dual.

In the semifinal against Park, Hastings set the tone early. At 107 pounds, Sullivan McNamara won by fall in 1:49 over Nolan Gelhar. Rowan Henson dropped the 114-pound match, losing by fall in 0:49 to Nolan Bloch, but the Raiders quickly responded. Grant Cook delivered a fall in 3:32 at 121. Beckett Edstrom followed with a fall in 1:59 at 127. William Bainbridge added a 20-3 technical fall in 2:51 at 133, and Trey Beissel secured a 21-6 technical fall in 1:43 at 139.

David Bauer lost by major decision 18-4 at 145. Brock Lundstrom answered with a fall in 2:55 at 152. Levi Hoffman dropped a 20-4 technical fall at 160. Kasen Esterby pinned his opponent in 3:14 at 172. Xavier Timm added a 13-5 major decision at 189. Adrian Fuchs earned a fall in 3:33 at 215, and Finnley Olsen closed the dual with a fall in 1:47 at heavyweight.

The championship dual started with two losses on paper, but the bigger picture told a different story.

Carter Kohner was pinned in 1:14 at 107. At 114, McNamara stepped in and lost by major decision 10-1 to Connor Bischof, limiting bonus points and keeping the dual within reach.

“We made a little change with our 107 pounder, Sullivan McNamara,” head coach Tim Haneberg said. “What we were trying to do there was save a couple bonus points, which he ended up doing. Instead of giving up a pin or a tech, he just got majored. So, he did awesome. In my opinion, that set the tone for the whole team.”

From there, Hastings’ lineup delivered win after win.

At 121, Edstrom won by fall in 0:59. Bainbridge followed with an 18-1 technical fall in 3:11 at 127. Donavin Ward needed just 40 seconds to secure a fall at 133. Beissel, who has stacked up bonus points all season, pinned his opponent in 1:47 at 139.

“He knows what’s expected of him,” Haneberg said of Beissel. “In a dual like this, every point is important. Getting the pin is important.”

Rocco Iallonardo earned a 21-5 technical fall in 5:43 at 145. Presley McCrae followed with a fall in 0:50 at 152. Mark Svoboda recorded a fall in 4:44 at 160. Hoffman rebounded at 172 with a fall in 1:34. Timm added another fall in 3:09 at 189.

At 215, Fuchs lost 13-10 in sudden victory. Hastings sealed the title at 285, where Elijah Christopher secured a fall in 1:40.

Haneberg said the preparation can be stressful, crediting assistant coach Paul Vite for mapping out lineup possibilities and match scenarios, but in the end, it comes down to execution.

“If you look at the scores, our kids came to wrestle,” Haneberg said. “It’s always fun to win, no matter what.”

The section title marks the sixth straight team state appearance for Hastings. The Raiders will compete at the state team tournament midweek, with individual sections to follow. The program already has seven girls qualified for state, and the boys will look to add to that total next weekend at the section individual match.