Wrestling: Grapplers second at Moorhead tournament

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Speaking this week, Rosemount wrestling coach Brett Larson was as honest as he could be.

The Irish finished a span of five dual meets in three days. They lost a close dual to Eden Prairie and then went 3-1 in four duals in Moorhead.

Larson felt things were going good.

“As good as they will get,” he said.

Dealing with a lack of expected depth, and short one or two weight classes each time out, Rosemount is dealing the best it can with its current circumstances.

The Irish lost 37-30 in a Lake Conference dual last week, and then went to Moorhead, where they took second place overall.

In the tournament set up, four teams from Minnesota compete against four teams from North Dakota. Rosemount beat Grand Forks Central, 55-16, and followed it up with a 55-18 win against Jamestown. The Irish beat Mandan, 49-15.

With both teams entering the final dual undefeated, Rosemount lost 43-30 to Fargo South, which is the third-ranked team in North Dakota.

“It was a great day,” Larson said. “Four matches in one day is a lot, and we had four good matches. Especially traveling overnight, on the bus for four hours, it’s a long weekend. But it was a good weekend for us. The guys did a nice job of how they represented Rosemount and how they competed.”

Five Irish wrestlers earned medals after going undefeated in the tournament.

Steve Levine, Tony Marthaler, Adam Jackson, Garrett Bothun, and Josh Francois each went 4-0. Bothun ran his season record to 20-0, while Levine is now 18-3.

The victory against Mandan was especially sweet after the Irish lost to Mandan last year.

“It was a match we felt we didn’t wrestle very well in,” Larson said. “So, to come back and beat them convincingly after that frustrating loss is a good comeback for us.”

The match against Fargo South also pitted Larson against a school his dad coached for several years.

Tyler Sandoz, Danny Rosa and Paul Domeier each went 3-1 during the tournament.

“It’s a long couple of days, but they really enjoy it,” Larson said. “And it’s a good time of the year for it. Now we’ll start to make that final push toward the end of the season and gear up for the section tournament.”

Levine, Domeier, Chad Marx, Bothun, Francois and Sandoz earned the points in the conference dual against Eden Prairie.

“A couple of those swing matches went against us,” Larson said. “We won six of the 14 matches and scored 30 points. It just wasn’t enough. It was a good effort. If we wrestled 10 times we might beat them a couple. They’re just bit better than we are right now.”

Tags: sports, prep, rosemount, wrestling, irish, minnesota