3 falls helped Tigers win 3 straight
After a middle-of-the-pack finish in a season-opening tournament and four straight dual meet losses to state-ranked teams, the Tigers are on a roll.
This week they ran their winning streak to four with wins over Eastview, Richfield/Edina and Minnetonka to even their season record at 4-4.
"It is fun to watch how contagious winning and wrestling with aggression and attitude can be," Tiger coach Chad Olson said.
Thursday night at Eastview the score couldn't have been any closer as the the Tigers and Lightning finished the match deadlocked in a 37-37 tie. Farmington got the win on a tie-breaker.
"They had to go to the eighth tie-breaker to decide the winner which was total first points scored," Olson said.
Thirty of the Farmington points came on pins by Taylor Venz (106), Kyle Benjamin (120), John Walz (126), Joe Liden (132) and Dakoda Louis-Dupay (220). Jacob Goddard added a major decision at 113 lbs. and Bret Hoffman scored a 3-2 decision in the 285 lbs. bout.
A day later at the Richfield Triangular the Tigers opened with a 39-34 verdict over the host Spartans. A major decision by Venz followed by consecutive falls by Benjamim, Goddard and Walls and a technical fall by Brayden Chapman provided a 27-0 lead. Later, Joe Hoeve (165) and Louis-Dupay added pins to ice the victory.
"We did not wrestle great vs Richfield/Edina," Olson said, "but we came back with great intensity against Minnetonka."
The lower weights again provided an early cushion in the 55-24 win over the Skippers with the Tigers winning the first six matches to spurt to a 35-0 lead. Venz, Benjamin, Walz, Liden and Jake Rudeen (138) all posted pins with Gabbard adding a technical fall.
In the upper weights Tyler Engel (195) and Louis-Dupay registered falls; Hoeve (152) won by technical fall and Ridge Raddatz (160) claimed a three-point decision.
"The wrestlers are understanding great wrestlers win big and most of our wins were by bonus points," Olson said.
The early season individual records reflect the current four-match winning streak. Venz leads the way with an 11-1 mark. Gabbard is 6-2, Benjamin 5-1, Walz 7-4 and Hoeve 6-5.
"I am going to have to go through the history of Farmington wrestling to see when the last time we won four duals in a row," Olson said. "I think it must be about 10 years."
The Tigers will be looking to make it five in a row Thursday, Dec. 22, when they entertain Lakeville South at the FHS auxiliary gym.
