Wrestling: Wrestlers 3rd at Eastview tourney

• Image

Rosemount 119-pounder Kwame Owusu tries to escape the grasp of a Henry Sibley opponent during last Thursday’s dual meet in Rosemount.
• Image

Rosemount wrestlers took third at a tournament at Eastview this weekend.

Talk about it

With a dual meet and an individual tournament scheduled for a three-day stretch at the end of last week, the Rosemount wrestling team had a busy schedule.

The competition also provided a strong challenge for the Irish.

Rosemount has faced quality competition this season, but the rest of the regular season might bring about some new tests.

The Irish lost a home dual against Henry Sibley, 45-24, and two days later placed third in the Eastview individual tournament. Scott West won the Eastview team title with 280.50 points. Coon Rapids was second with 146.50 and Rosemount had 143.50 points.

“In the past it’s been by far our toughest individual tournament,” Irish coach Brett Larson said. “Scott West is ranked No. 4 in (Class 2A) and Coon Rapids is one of the top teams in the state. We actually had a great day. Into the tournament you look at the seedings and there was a lot of good wrestlers in all the weights. Getting third there and being just three points out of second, overall it was a very good day.”

Rosemount placed 11 wrestlers at the tournament.

Adam Jackson won the title at 152 pounds, winning an overtime decision in the finals against Eastview’s Mitch Rechtzigel, who is ranked No. 8 in the state in Class 3A at 152 pounds. Jackson ran his record to 23-0 and is ranked No. 5.

Josh Francois lost a 2-1 decision in the finals against a River Falls opponent at 160 pounds, taking second place. Steve Levine added a second-place showing at 125 pounds.

Jon Bishop was third at heavyweight and teammate Stefan Sauer also added a fifth-place finish at heavyweight.

Dan Rosa finished third at 103 pounds and Adam Hedin was third at 112 pounds. Hedin came back from a loss in the first round to win through the wrestlebacks and take the consolation finals.

Paul Domeier added a fourth-place finish at 130 pounds. Jacob Pruter placed fifth at 189.

Kwame Owusu and Colin Busho each finished sixth in their respective brackets.

Larson expected a close competition against Henry Sibley, but the Irish fell short, taking five individual wins.

“It was a big match for sections and it’s why they are on our schedule,” Larson said. “The last couple of years they’ve been the third best team in our section and we knew that going in. We knew we had to have a few things go our way.”

Rosa, Levine and Nicholas Paxson earned pins. Busho added a win at 140 pounds.

“We had a couple close matches where we had leads and couldn’t finish,” Larson said. “Obviously when you get a lead, you want to wrestle well and finish the match. We didn’t do that.”

Tags: sports, rosemount, irish, prep, wrestling