A Taylor-made State Champion

Taylor Venz 106-pound Class 3A Champion

Freshman Taylor Venz became just the second Tiger ever to win a state wrestling championship by capturing the 106-pound title at the 2013 Class 3A state meet held last week at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Jarred McCarthy is the only other Tiger to win state honors. He claimed the 140-pound crown in 2005.

"Taylor wrestled as well as he ever has," Farmington coach Chad Olson said. "He put a lot of time in during the off-season with the goal of winning a state title. To watch it come true for him was awesome."

Venz, who went 2-2 as an eighth-grader in last year's state meet, was dominant this year, winning four straight bouts, three by shutout, to claim the championship.

He began his trip to the title with a lopsided 11-0 victory over Louie Varland of North and then advanced to the semifinals with a 5-0 triumph over Centennial's Jack Bergeland.

In the semis, Venz went toe-to-toe with top-rated Mitch McKee of St.Michael-Albertville where he prevailed by a 9-6 count after trailing 5-0 heading into the third period.

"Taylor just kept going and going," Olson said. "He caught McKee on his back twice in the period. I have been around wrestling for a long time and that two minutes of wrestling is the best I have ever seen."

"The really cool thing was that most of the fans knew Taylor's match was No. 1 vs No. 2  and the entire arena erupted each time Taylor would score."

Venz put the finishing touches on his work of mat art with a convincing 6-0 win over Brad Osatiuk of Maple Grove in the finals.

The four victories at state ran Venz's final season record to an eye-popping 43-2, the best-ever season total by a Farmington wrestler. Venz closed the season with a 26-match win streak, four short of the school record set by his coach in 1995.

"There are two things that set Taylor apart," Olson said. "First, he has an inner drive that not a lot of kids have and second, he is very disciplined. He is good with his diet, good with his school work and he makes the correct choices."

Jamin LeDuc 6th place at 113 pounds.

Venz wasn't the only Farmington grappler to find his was to the award stand. Fellow freshman Jamin LeDuc defeated Spring Lake Park's 10th-rated Danny Chlebeck 2-1 and Forest Lake's eighth-ranked Luke McCord 4-1 in his first two matches to advance to the semifinals of the 113-pound bracket.

LeDuc lost to eventual champion Maolu Waoiwor of Apple Valley in the semis and eventually earned a sixth place medal. LeDuc finished his varsity season with a 33-5 record.

"Jamin had the post-season no one could have expected," Olson said. "He had to move up a weight class because Taylor dropped down.

"We were not sure how he would be able to compete giving up size like that but he is a grinder. He's not flashy, but he just keeps attacking."

Olson listed a couple of other reasons the the first year varsity performer has been so successful.

"Jamin doesn't pay any attention to names or rankings," he said. "He had no clue those two guys he beat were rated. He just assumes he can beat anyone.

"The other thing is that he practices with Taylor every day. When you practice with someone that good, you either get pounded on or you learn how to get better so you can compete."

Two other Tigers wrestled at state. Joe Hoeve lost his opening round bout in the 160-pound division and Kyle Benjamin went 0-2 in the 138-pound bracket. Hoeve finished his junior season 26-15; sophomore Benjamin closed with a 19-7 mark.