State wrestling success!

Four members of the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Jaguars wrestling team battled in the opening round of the Class 1A state tournament this afternoon (Friday, Feb. 26) at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

At 106 pounds, Canon Swanson defeated Taylor Ludwig of Eden Valley-Watkins by fall (4:53) to improve to 28-5 on the season. He advances to the state quarterfinals, which begin tonight at 6:30 p.m. Swanson's opponent will be freshmen Jeron Matson (41-1) of Kenyon-Wanamingo.

At 113 pounds, Tyler Bents lost in a 6-3 decision to undefeated (38-0) sophomore Hunter Burnett of Pipestone Area. Bents awaits the outcome of Burnett's quarterfinal match to learn if he will get a chance to keep wrestling in the wrestlebacks.

At 152 pounds, Colby Schramel improved to 33-4 on the season with a come-from-behind win by 8-4 decision over Cody Dravis (13-3) of Park Rapids Area. He also advances to the state quarterfinals, where he faces senior Dietrich Balsbaugh of Trinity School at River Ridge, who is 40-1 on the season.

At 195 pounds, Ben Thompson won by fall (2:54) over Tanner Fester of Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. In the state quarterfinals, Thompson faces senior Sam Erckenbrack (36-1) of New York Mills, the No. 2 seed in his division.

Check back later tonight for updates on how the Friday night wrestling went for the Jaguars.

Updates late on Friday night!

Colby Schramel improved to 34-4 with an improbable win by a 4-3 decision against the state's top-seeded wrestler in the 152-pound division! Schramel now faces Bailee O'Reilly (39-4) of Goodhue in the Class 1A state semifinals. O'Reilly advanced to the state semifinals with a first-round win by fall (1:48) and then a quarterfinal win also by fall (5:40).

Ben Thompson lost a tough match in the state quarterfinals against the state's No. 2 seed in his division by a 2-0 decision in overtime. Then in the wrestlebacks, Thompson faced junior Everett VanHecke of Minneota and won by a 3-1 decision.

Tyler Bents lost a 7-3 decision to sophomore Tanner Schermerhorn (35-5) of Frazee in his wrestleback match to finish his state tournament run. His final season record was a terrific 24-8.

Canon Swanson lost in the state quarterfinals by fall (1:35) to the state's top seed in the 106-pound division. In his wrestleback match tonight, Swanson won by a 4-2 decision.

The consolation quarterfinals begin at 9:30 a.m. at Xcel Energy Center, while the Class 1A state semifinals begin at 10:45 a.m.