Photo by Sam Thiel Members of the Marshall wrestling team raise their trophy after taking second place in the Class AA team tournament Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.

ST. PAUL – Marshall coach Justin Bouwman said they wanted to put Tiger wrestling on the map.

His wrestlers agreed, and put on a state tournament performance that they’ll remember for a long time.

In their first-ever trip as a team, the No. 4 seeded Tigers strung together a pair of hard-fought, emotional victories before competing until the very end and taking second place in the Class AA bracket Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center.

Despite the tough outcome in the final, Bouwman said he’s extremely proud of the way his team competed all season and how they were able to see the success grow before their eyes because of their ability to buy into what they were doing.

“When we started way back in November, we talked with the kids about how they needed to buy in, and they bought in and it shows. This is how it shows, when you finish the season 20-2 and a you have a group of guys that do everything for each other,” Bouwman said. “They’re always there for each other and pick each other up. We wrestled some really good teams; in the first couple of duals, we had some things that went our way and we were on fire and the kids were just on a roll. And then you wrestle a really good Simley team, they’ve been here a lot and it shows.”

Championship

Marshall vs.

No. 2 Simley

After a pair of emotional victories, the Tigers had one final opponent in front of them on the biggest stage in the Class AA championship match against No. 2 seed Simley.

The Tigers knew things weren’t going to come easy against the Spartans, who had defeated Mahtomedi 67-9 and Waconia 47-15 to reach the title bout. Looking to get out to a solid start, Marshall found just that, winning the first two matches on a major decision victory from Dylan Louwagie and a decision by Hsa Khee Lar to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead early, but Simley answered right back with four consecutive pins to take a 24-7 advantage.

Unfortunately for Marshall, the Spartans continued its strong stretch, picking up a couple of technical falls and a major decision to take a 37-7 lead. Simley would then close out the match with five more victories to take the 56-7 win.

Quarterfinals

Marshall vs. No. 5 Foley

Earlier in the day, the Tigers got their tournament started with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 5 Foley. Looking to gain momentum early, Marshall jumped right out of the starting gates, as Dylan Louwagie earned a pin before Condezo (7-0), Hsa Khee Lar (12-6) and Hsa Law Eh (7-2) all won by decision and Lucas Hodges won by pin to give Marshall a quick 21-0 lead.

Foley would answer right back, though, winning the next five bouts by a pair of pins and three decisions to tie things up at 21-21 heading into the 182-weight class.

In need of a spark, the Tigers turned to Elijah Sterner, and the senior provided. Sterner defeated Max Henne with a major decision victory (13-2) before Zach Stahl followed it up with a 6-0 decision win to give Marshall a 28-21 lead. Needing one more bout to move on, Jaiden Bahr was able to earn a hard-fought pin over Foley’s Carter Svihla in the 220-weight class to push the Tigers’ advantage to 34-21 before Marshall ultimately advanced to the semifinal round with a 34-25 victory.

Semifinals

Marshall vs. No. 1 Perham

Moving on to the semifinals, the Tigers would have a tall task in front of them when they squared off against the No. 1-ranked team in Perham. As it did in the quarterfinal, Marshall got out to a hot start, winning its first four matches, as Dylan Louwagie, Hsa Khee Lar, Condezo and Hsa Law Eh all won by decision to give the Tigers a 12-0 lead.

Perham wouldn’t go down without a fight, though, as the Yellow Jackets took the next three of the next four bouts to cut the deficit to 15-13. Marshall had a response, however, as Grant Louwagie earned a key pin over Matthew Bush at the 160-weight class to extend Marshall’s lead to 21-13.

The Yellow Jackets battled right back, taking the next two bouts by technical fall and major decision to make it a two-point match at 24-22 going into the final two bouts. At 220 pounds, Bahr found himself locked in a tight battle with Perham’s Dawson Kellogg. Battling back and forth, Bahr was able to hold on and defeat Kellogg with a huge 3-1 decision, fighting through an injury he suffered during the match.

With the Tigers now holding a 27-22 lead, the Yellow Jackets needed a pin in the heavyweight match if they were going to reach the title match. In another down-to-the-wire contest, Marshall’s Zack Felcyn was able to keep Perham’s Rowdie Lindquist from earning a pin, securing the Tigers’ spot in the championship match.

Bouwman said their resiliency was shown throughout the semifinal time and time again, and it all started with the lightweights providing that early spark.

“Our lightweights got us going and it got that momentum going,” Bouwman said. “And then some people needed to do some jobs, and everybody knows their role and what they’re supposed to do and how they’re supposed to get it done and they just kept fighting and didn’t let it die on us.”

Marshall ends its season with a 20-2 record. Going into next season, Bouwman said their biggest takeaway is having the experience of this run under their belts and continuing to build more to the program.

“Now we know what it’s like and now we know what those big matches mean,” Bouwman said. “We’ve got to step up and continue to go and keep bringing kids and building the program like we are.”

And as for if he feels Marshall is on the map yet, Bouwman believes they’ve made a great start.

“I think some people know where we’re at now,” Bouwman said. “And it’s exciting to see and these guys are willing and ready to do more.”