COLD SPRING -- The Bemidji High School wrestling team is already state-tournament bound, but three Lumberjacks earned a little extra credit with individual berths at the Section 8-3A Tournament at Rocori on Saturday.
Kaleb Beam took first place at 285 pounds, while Chance Hinrichs and Peter Moen were second at 152 and 195, respectively.
Beam ran through the heavyweight field, starting with a pair of pins over Moorhead’s Christian Vega (0:49) and St. Cloud Tech’s Carlos Agee (3:01). That put Beam in the championship match, where he won a 3-1 decision over Willmar’s Charlie Farhat.
Hinrichs reached the 152-pound championship with two pins himself, but he lost the title to Brainerd’s Braden Kramer. Hinrichs rebounded just fine, though, picking up a 13-0 major decision over Willmar’s Grant Deegan for true second.
Moen followed the same formula to reach the title match. After two pins in the quarterfinals and semifinals, Moen lost a 4-0 decision to Willmar’s Lincoln Shinn. Moen earned his state spot with a true-second win over Brainerd’s Cade Barrett through a third-period pin at 5:14.
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Elsewhere for BHS, Seth Newby (120 pounds), Joe Hudson (126), Nic Geiger (182) and Chase Smith (220) all took third in their respective brackets.
Bemidji head coach Rance Bahr was also named Section 8-3A Coach of the Year, while Jacks assistant Brian Solum won Section 8-3A Assistant Coach of the Year.
The Class 3A Individual State Tournament will take place Friday-Saturday, March 1-2, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
