145 lbs. Champion
Carl Elmer swept four matches to win the 145 lbs. bracket at the 24-team Redwood River Riot held Friday and Saturday, Dec. 16-17, at Redwood Falls.
The Tigers entered varsity wrestlers in nine weight categories and tallied 58 points to rank 20th in the final team standings.
"We saw there were a lot of good teams in this meet so we thought it would be good to see teams and different styles of wrestling that we don't see during the year," Tiger coach Chad Olson said.
"The tournament also had a junior varsity bracket and we thought it would be a good opportunity to bring everyone."
Olson also wanted to keep Elmer matched up against quality competition and the state's fifth-ranked 145-pounder seemed more than up for the task.
Elmer (10-1) pinned his first three opponents and then after falling behind St. James' Giovanni Alverado 2-0 in the finals, rallied for a 3-2 victory.
"Carl's opponent eventually lost three points for stalling," Olson said. "He couldn't keep up with Carl's pace. That's two tournaments in a row that he has faced good competition and responded. He is really wrestling well."
Eighth-grader Kyle Benjamin made a big splash in his varsity debut, splitting six matches and finishing sixth at 103 lbs.
Seniors Josh Iverson (135) and Tyler Beckett (171) each ranked eighth in their weight class.
Eighth-grader Brayden Chapman won two of three matches at 119 lbs. before suffering an injury and having to sit out the remainder of the meet.
Some of the best news from the two-day meet for Farmington came out of the junior varsity meet where the Tigers had no less than nine grapplers score first place finishes.
The nine champions included Trevor Breezley, Tyler Engel, Jamin DeLuc. Victor Gliva, Taylor Venz, John Walz. Trevor Frost, Kelvin O'Brien and Jacob Gabbard.
Five other Farmington entrants finished second: Joe Ciotti, Ridge Raddatz, Joe Rucci, Donnie Drewery and Godfrey Mpetey.
"Overall, I was real happy with how we wrestled," Olson said. "For the third week in a row we improved."
The Tigers travel to Prior Lake Tuesday, Dec. 21, for a triangular with the Section 2AAA favorite Lakers and Pine Island. Over the holidays they make the long trek to Fargo, North Dakota for a big multi-state meet at the Fargodome.
