14 February 2014

Wrestling: Tigers pin Rockets in section oepner

Taylor Venz defeated 10th-ranked Logan Soltau in the 126-pound bout (photo by Jim Lindquist)
Third-seeded Farmington hammered sixth-seeded Rochester John Marshall 60-12 in the quarterfinals of the Section 1AAA team tournament held Thursday night at FHS.

The Tigers won 11 of the 13 individual matches contested on the mat and scored bonus points in 10 of them. The winners also picked up six points by forfeit.

Seven different Farmington wrestlers scored six-point falls: Victor Gliva (106 pounds); Jamie LeDuc (120); Brayden Chapman (138); John Walz (170); Joe Hoeve (182); Trevor Frost (195) and CJ Wynings 285).

Kyle Benjamin registered a technical fall in the 145-pound bout and in the most anticipated match-up of the night, Taylor Venz scored a dominating 14-6 major decision over Logan Soltau, the state's 10th ranked 126-pounder. Venz is ranked sixth at 120 pounds.

Santana Perdomo won the only straight decision of the night for the winners with a 7-5 verdict over Darnell Wheatley in the 160-pound match. Joe Liden (160) picked up Farmington's final six points with a forfeit win at 152 pounds.

The win vaulted Farmington (15-11) into a semifinal match-up with Owatonna (20-3), the seventh-rated Class AAA team in Minnesota, Saturday afternoon in Rochester. The two teams met during the regular season where the Huskies scored a 36-15 victory. 

John Walz won by pin the the 170-pound match (photo by Jim Lindquist)