 |
| Taylor Venz won the 113 lbs. division with a 3-0 record (file photo by Jim Lindquist) |
Hudson (Wisconsin) won the team title with 183 points, 11 more than runner-up Scott West. Host North finished a distant third at 117, followed by Park of Cottage Grove 112.5, Chaska/Chanhassen 112, Henry Sibley 107.5, Farmington 99, Lakeville South 98.5, New Richmond (Wisconsin) 92, Woodbury 90, Northfield 88, South St. Paul 82, Eagan 75 and Turtle Lake (Wisconsin) 16.
Farmington placed 10th in the same tournament in 2011.
Venz, a freshman, scored pins in his first two matches and then recorded a 6-4 win in the title bout to win the 113 lbs. title.
LaDuc, another ninth grader competing in his varsity competition, recorded a pin and two technical falls before eking out an 8-6 overtime win in the finals to claim the 106 lbs. class.
Junior Joe Hoeve, ranked seventh in the state at 160 lbs. coming in, placed fourth in the toughest bracket of the meet. Hoeve won his first two bouts, including a 7-1 verdict over his sixth-ranked opponent from South St. Paul, before losing the next to two state-ranked wrestlers.
Junior Jake Rudeen won his opening round match and then lost two straight to place fourth.
Sophomore Kyle Benjamin dropped his first match before rallying for three straight wins and a fifth place finish at 132 lbs.. Benjamin won his last three decisions by lopsided scores of 15-0, 15-0 and 13-0.
Sophomore Matt Rustad finished 2-2 at 138 lbs. and junior Chris McCue went 1-2 in the 182 lbs. weight class for the Tigers.
Farmington returns to the mat next Saturday with a trip to the talent-filled Prior Lake Invitational.
"We are better than we were last year at this point." Tiger coach Chad Olson said. "There is still a lot we need to improve on if we think we are going to be able to compete at with Simley and Prior Lake next weekend."
