Wrestling: No. 5 Anoka edges Tigers

Joe Hoeve scored a pin in the 195-pound match (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Fifth-rated Anoka (Class AAA) edged Farmington 33-29 in a hotly-contested non-conference dual meet held Friday night in Anoka.

Although coach Chad Olson's grapplers didn't come home with the upset win, the visitors gave the perennial state power all it could handle.

"Each team won seven matches, but they earned more bonus points," Olson said. "It is a great reminder for us heading into next weekend at team sections."

Anoka jumped to a quick 7-0 lead after two matches before the Tigers reeled off four straight of their own to forge a 17-7 advantage.

Included in the run were a pin by Jamin LeDuc (120), major decisions by Taylor Venz (126) and Matt Rustad (132) and a three-point decision by Brayden Chapman.

The lead was short-lived, however, as the Tornados turned the tables again by taking the next four matches to go back on top 27-17.

John Walz won a decision at 182 pounds and Joe Hoeve followed with a win in the 195-pound bout to cut the deficit to a point at 27-26 before a pin in the 220-pound match sealed the victory for Anoka.

Godfrey Mpetey closed out the night on a positive note for the Tigers with a win in the 285-pound match.

The Tigers will now wait for the Section 1AAA tournament seeding and their opponent in next Thursday's opening round.

Tiger Scoreboard: February 8, 2014

Girls Basketball
Farmington 54 Red Wing 48

Boys Basketball
Red Wing 72 Farmington 71

Wrestling
Anoka 33 Farmington 29

Gymnastics
Missota Conference Championships at Chanhassen
Farmington finished 4th with a team score of 135.95

Wrestling: Tigers sweep at Stillwater

Kyle Benjamin went 2-0 at the Stillwater triangular (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The Tigers began their taper toward the post-season with a sweep of Central (Norwood-Young America) and Stillwater at a triangular meet held Thursday night in Stillwater.

Farmington dominated Central 64-6 in the opener and then downed host Stillwater 39-25 in the nightcap.

Six of the 13 Farmington wins against Central came via pins, including Victor Gliva (106 pounds), Jamin LeDuc (113), Taylor Venz (126), Bryaden Chapman (138), Joe Liden (152) and John Walz (170).

Kyle Benjamin scored a major decision in the 145-pound match and four other Tigers posted three-point decisions: Matt Rustad (132), Santana Perdomo (160), Trevor Frost (195) and Godfrey Mpetey (220).

Joe Hoeve (182) and CJ Wynings (285) each picked up six team points on forfeits. The only Central points came in the 120-pound class where the Tigers elected to forfeit.

In the win over the Ponies, LeDuc and Hoeve provided the only falls for the winners although they did pick up six points in a forfeit in the scheduled 126-pound bout. Gliva scored a technical fall.

Farmington led 12-9 after five matches before Chapman, Benjamin and Liden rattled off consecutive decisions and Walz scored a major to give the visitors a comfortable 31-15 advantage. Mpetey wrapped up the victory with a decision in the 220-pound match.

"We had a great night of wrestling," Tiger coach Chad Olson said. " We challenged our wrestlers to be more aggressive and go for bonus points and they responded well.

The Tigers get back on the mat tonight (Friday) when they travel to Anoka for their regular season finale. The Section 1AAA team tournament begins next Thursday.

Ferm named Section 1 Triple "A" winner

Isabelle Ferm (photo by Jim Lindquist)

FHS senior Isabelle Ferm has been named the Section 1AA female recipient of the Triple "A" Award for excellence in academics, athletics and the arts.

Ferm was chosen from a quality field of local winners from the section's 16 member schools. As one of eight Class AA selections from around the state, she will be honored at a recognition ceremony to be held during the weekend of the state boys basketball tournament.

One of the eight Class AA finalists will receive a college scholarship from the Minnesota High School League worth $1000. Those winners will be announced at the recognition ceremony.

Ferm has compiled a 3.978 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) while taking several Advanced Placement (AP) and in-school college courses.

In athletics, she has excelled in soccer and track and field, twice earning all-state honors in soccer where she was the Missota Conference Player of the Year and a member of the StarTribune's second all-Metro team.

Former Tiger soccer coach Rob Carpentier endorsed Ferm's nomination for the Triple "A" Award and says she is a deserving winner.

"Her attention to detail is excellent," he said. "She consistently shows this quality in the classroom, on the field and on the track. She takes pride in doing the so-called 'little things' well...

"Perhaps her most endearing quality is her boundless and constant optimism. She has a personality that finds the proverbial silver lining in virtually any situation. It is often infectious and make her a pleasure to be around."

Ferm has been a varsity track standout since her freshman year and competed at the Class AA state meet three times. At the state finals, she has been to the awards podium five times. Last spring she anchored the 4x400 relay team to a runner-up finish.

In the area of the arts, Ferm has been a four-year member of the high school choir and competed in the High School League-sponsored Solo/Ensemble Contest where she received a Superior rating. For the past two years she has been a member of the New Dimension, the school's top level choir.

"Izzie has performed solos at solo-ensemble contest and has been given solos within our choir," FHS choral director Megan Dimich said.

"In class, she is an exceptional leader and fantastic sight-reader. She is kind and encouraging to those around her. She's been a wonderful addition to our program."

Ferm has not decided on where she will attend college but plans to major in exercise science while continuing to participate in both track and choir.

Boys Hockey: Make that 14 straight

Austin Martinsen 2 goals (photo by Jim Lindquist)

The top line of Justin Novak, John Siebenaler and Austin Martinsen provided all of the offensive juice and goaltender Gage Overby registered his second shutout of the season in Farmington's 3-0 Missota Conference win over Chanhassen Thursday night at Schmitz-Maki Arena

The victory was the 14th straight for the Tigers who need only one win in their final two conference games to clinch their first Missota championship since the winter of 1975-76. Farmington is 19-3-1 overall and 11-0-1 in conference play.

"We got to a very strong goalie early," Tiger coach Keith Revels said. "We had a much better conversion rate than our first meeting....

"We played very well defensively and only took three penalties, although two were on top of each other. We killed a 5-on-3 for about a minute and a half where we blocked a number of shots and cleared rebounds of the ones that got through."

Novak broke the scoring ice with a power play goal from Siebenaler and Tyler Jette at 9:53 of the first period. Six minutes later a score by Martinsen (from Novak and Siebenaler) made it 2-0.

Martinsen closed out the scoring early in the second period on an assist from Novak. Martinsen's goal was his team-leading 18th of the season.

Gage Overby second shutout of the season (photo by Jim Lindquist)

Overby posted Farmington's third shutout in its past six games with an 18-save performance. The Tigers outshot the Storm by a 31-18 margin.

"We did what we had to do to net another win," Revels said.

The Tigers can sew up the conference title next Thursday night when they entertain Shakopee at Schmitz-Maki Arena. Saturday they close out the regular season with a road game at Chaska.