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| Taylor Venz 106-pound champion at Eastview (photo by Jim Lindquist) |
The Tigers brought only seven wrestlers to the individual tournament with three finding their way to the awards stand.
"That is the benefit of an individual tourney," Tiger coach Chad Olson said. "You can enter a limited team, but your individuals still get great competition."
Taylor Venz, the second-ranked 106-pounder in Minnesota, continued his stellar 2012-13 season, winning three straight matches against quality competition and capturing the 106-pound title.
Venz, (26-2), scored a technical fall in the quarterfinals, decisioned Shakopee's Alex Lloyd 14-9 in the semifinals and then dominated Stillwater's fifth-ranked Christian Bahl 10-2 in the title bout.
Matt Rustad also had a good day in the talent-filled 126-pound division. Rustad (16-9) defeated ninth-ranked Brandon Peters of Faribault for the consolation championship.
"Matt is really wrestling well," Olson said.
Jamie Scavone added a fifth-place performance in the 220-pound bracket. Scavone went 2-2 for the tournament, winning the exciting fifth place match by a 2-1 decision.
"Jamie battled all day and was in a lot of close matches," Olson said.
Olson said his team continues to battle back from its bouts with injury and illness, but the luxury of having a full lineup is still not in the immediate future.
"We are probably two weeks away from having our full lineup back," he said. "The goal is to have everyone back by February 8 when we wrestle Anoka and then springboard from there into the team sections."
Next up on the regular season schedule is a non-conference home triangular next Thursday with Waterville-Elysian-Morristown and Scott West.
