WRESTLING: 8 Lumberjacks headed to state tournament, tying school record

ST. CLOUD -- Eight Bemidji High School boys wrestlers earned berths in the state individual tournament on Saturday at the Section 8-3A individual meet, tying a program record set in 2004 and matched in 2021.

Headed to state for the Lumberjacks are seniors Hunter Heim, Dane Jorgensen, Seth Newby and Coy Olsen; junior Parker Orvik; sophomore Gavin Osborn and freshmen Gabe Morin and Nick Strand.

The top two finishers in each weight class advance to state, which will be held March 2-4 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The Bemidji wrestlers will have their first-round matches on Friday, March 3.

Morin (40-8) won the title at 106 pounds with an 11-0 decision over Dane Ellingsberg of Moorhead.

Strand (42-5) pinned Moorhead's Michael Jenkins in 2:32 to take the crown at 113.

At 120, Osborn (15-10) finished second to Willmar's Cavin Carlson, losing the final by fall in 2:43, but earned the second state berth by fall in 1:10 over Jaxson Derosier of Brainerd.

Heim (27-10) placed first at 126, winning an 8-5 decision over Cade Ostrowski of Brainerd.

Jorgensen (45-1) won the 152-pound title with a 6-0 decision over Jaxon Kenning of St. Cloud Tech.

Seth Newby (41-4) took first at 160, pinning Jonah Anderson of Buffalo in 2:19.

At 170, Olsen (36-14) claimed true second place with a 13-5 major decision over Ryan Kloeckl of Little Falls. Olsen had pinned Damien Bentho of Brainerd in 5:28 in the third-place match to earn the opportunity to wrestle for the second state berth.

Orvik (25-6) won the true second match at 220 with a 3-2 decision over Donovan Lund of Sartell-St. Stephen. He had lost the championship match to Eli Wiskow of Brainerd 10-8.

At 132, Brody Castonguay (31-14) took fourth, losing to Joey Wilczek of Little Falls in the third-place match.

At 138, Alec Newby (32-13) fell to Noah Cameron of Little Falls in the fourth-place match.

Bemidji's Spencer Ness (17-18) finished sixth at 182 pounds, falling to Jack Olstad of Moorhead 7-4.

At 285, Tom Paquette (26-24) took fifth place with a pin in 3:34 over Tucker Mugg of Sartell-St. Stephen.

Also at Saturday’s meet, Bemidji assistant coach Kristin Monkman was named the Section 8-3A Assistant Coach of the Year. Monkman is the first female to take home the honor. She will receive her award at the state meet.

Between their boys and girls wrestling teams, the Lumberjacks are sending 15 individuals to state competition, surpassing last season’s inaugural program record of nine.