Tiger eighth-grader Taylor Venz proved he can handle wrestling on the big stage, splitting four matches at the Class AAA State Individual Tournament held this past weekend at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Venz, who entered the state meet with an impressive 30-5 record, scored a second period pin over Willmar's Logan Walkow in his opening round bout on Friday before dropping a tough 5-3 overtime decision to Blaine Tschida of Coon Rapids in the 106 lbs. quarterfinals.
Later in the day on Friday, the Tiger standout defeated Stillwater's Christian Bahl 8-1 to come within a victory of the medal round.
Saturday morning, Trent Piepenburg of Alexandria defeated Venz 3-0 to eliminate him from the competition.
"I was extremely impressed with the composure and maturity Taylor displayed," Tiger coach Chad Olson said, "especially as an eighth grader making his first state tournament appearance.
"He finished as one of the top-eight 106-pounders in the state and was right there with the other placer winners. His two losses were to the 5th place finisher and the 4th place finisher...The future is very bright for Taylor and I am going to enjoy the ride."
Venz finished his eighth grade season with a final record of 32 wins and seven losses.
