Adam DeVlaeminck, Blake Mead, Mason Javers, Randy Sorensen and Brock and Cael Fier each claimed individual section championships for the Vikings, with Heydan Danielson and Quinton Anderson earning runner-up finishes. All 13 of the Vikings’ wrestlers who competed in the tournament went home with a medal, which are awarded to the top 6 wrestlers in each weight class.

The Vikings also had another pair of wrestlers that were just a true 2nd match away from the state tournament with Carson Javers and Nolan VanKuelen, showcasing Minneota’s depth.

“It just proves that what they’re [the wrestlers] are doing is right,” Minneota co-head coach Matt Myrvik said. “They’re putting in the time, they’re working hard, they’re proving it on the mat and they’re not wrestling scared. They wrestled aggressive, most of the time it worked to their advantage, couple of times it cost us a little bit, but right know they’re just very confident and they’re there for their teammates.”

Myrvik added that he felt that his team had 12 wrestlers place top 4 in their respective weight classes further shows the work that the kids and the coaches put into the training.

Photo by Jake McNeill: The Canby fan section reacts as Canby's Jordan DePestel pins his opponent in the 285-point Section 5A championship, Saturday in Canby.

“It’s pretty special [to see so many Vikings qualify for state]. There are a lot of kids that put in a lot of extra time, and it’s finally paying off,” DeVlaeminck said. “I just feel like we’re a pretty talented group and we’re pretty close.”

Canby also sent a wrestler to state with heavyweight champion Jordan DePestel while Quad County’s Jacob Savig earned a state berth with a runner-up finish in 215.

DeVlaeminck, a senior captain for the Vikings, capped off his final section tournament in style with a pin in the semifinals and a 7-4 decision over Benson’s Max Nygaard, ranked fourth in Class A. The 139 championship win marked DeVlaeminck’s fourth consecutive season winning a section title and fifth consecutive season qualifying for state as an individual.

“Just having the confidence that I’ve been doing this for my whole entire high school career, and just going out there and having fun,” DeVlaeminck said of his approach to the tournament. “No moment’s too big. Just continue wrestling, score points and have fun.”

DePestel ran right through the competition for Canby in the 285 bracket. After earning a 10-0 major decision in his opening match against Jaciel Cardenas, he pinned each of his next two opponents to earn his first individual state tournament berth. He also competed at state last year when the Lancers qualified as a team.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Minneota's Adam DeVlaeminck takes down his opponent in the 139-pound Section 5A championship match, Saturday in Canby.

“The feeling is unreal, it’s actually kind of fun,” DePestel said. “[I’m just excited about] the atmosphere. The atmosphere in that place [the state tournament] is something that’s hard to describe.”

Brock Fier and Cael Fier are Minneota’s lone other wrestlers who also competed in last year’s state individual tournament, each finishing as section runners-up last time around before getting on top this year in 172 and 215, respectively.

After struggling at points earlier in the season, Anderson found his rhythm down the stretch of the season and clinched a state tournament berth in 127. He won his first two matches via pin and major decision before falling in the championship against Benson’s Gavin Olson via 8-2 decision, but did not have to wrestle a true second match to secure his place due to how the consolation bracket shook out.

“It was a bunch of joy [qualifying] because of my ups and downs throughout the season,” Anderson said, noting that he had a stretch of eight straight losses in the middle of the season before bouncing back and closing the year with seven straight matches that he either won or lost in a close battle. He attributed the shift to the drive his teammates and coaches instilled in him.

“I’ve gotten way better over the year … I just had to remind myself of all my goals that I had over the year.”

Photo by Jake McNeill: Canby's Daven VanEngen (right) wrestles in the 145-pound Section 5A championship match, Saturday in Canby.

Savig placed third in last year’s section tournament, leaving him one spot shy of a state tournament qualification. This time around, he came away with a technical fall in the semifinals before falling to Cael Fier in the 215 championship. Still, he bounced back in the true second-place match with an 8-0 major decision over Jay Harkema.

“It feels great. I’ve been coming up short here since ninth great, so I’m finally getting there,” Savig said. “I just kind of wrestle it like another match> Can’t let it get to me that it’s something special, just have to wrestle.”

Savig added that the experience of competing on the biggest prep stage is something he’s been looking forward to and he’s ready for the opportunity with bigger goals in mind.

“Just wrestling underneath the lights in the big stadium, I hope to go in place, so I want to have that final night of wrestling,” Savig said.

Canby’s Daven VanEngen worked his way to the championship match in 145, but fell to three-time state champion Trey Gunderson via technical fall. He had one last shot to qualify for state in a true second match, but fell to Luke Garvick.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Minneota's Mason Javers celebrates winning the 160-pound Section 5A championship match, Saturday in Canby.

Minneota will kick off its state tournament at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul on Wednesday, when it enters the Class A team tournament as the No. 2 seed.

“I think it’ll be pretty fun with the team down there. I’ve never had that experience with the team, so hopefully it’ll be even better,” DeVlaeminck said.

The Vikings will take on LeSueuer-Henderson at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals and would wrestle the winner of No. 3 Chatfield and West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon/Evansville in the semifinals at 8 if they advance. The championship match is slated for Thursday at 7 p.m.

Heading into the tournament, Myrvik said the focus for the Vikings this week will mainly be on mental preparation as they work to get healthy after a busy few weeks of competition.

“I’m excited for it. We’re going to go out, hopefully do the best we can out there and place high,” Anderson added.

Photo by Jake McNeill: The Minneota bench reacts to a takedown by Randy Sorensen in the 189-pound Section 5A championship match, Saturday in Canby.

For the individuals, competition starts with the round of 16 on Thursday at 9 a.m., with the rest of the tournament continuing over the next two days.

RESULTS

MINNEOTA

133: Blake Mead, 1st place

Quarterfinals: Mead (MIN) def. Trevor Plass (BOLD) TF 16-1 3:22. Semifinals: Mead (MIN) def. Braydon Kierstead (PAYN) Fall 3:19. Championship match: Mead (MIN) def. Colton Noble (KMS) Dec. 10-3.

139: Adam DeVlaeminck, 1st place

Semifinals: DeVlaeminck (MIN) def. Devon Schmidt (PAYN) Fall 0:35. Championship match: DeVlaeminck (MIN) def. Max Nygaard (BEN) Dec. 7-4.

160: Mason Javers, 1st place

Quarterfinals: Javers (MIN) def. Arion Whitcup (BEN) TF 20-4 1:55. Semifinals: Javers (MIN) def. McCoy Detloff (BBE) TF 21-5 2:06. Championship match: Javers (MIN) def. Taytan Nielsen (KMS) TF 21-6 5:21.

172: Brock Fier, 1st place

Semifinals: Fier (MIN) def. Gabriel Bergstrom (BOLD) Dec. 13-8. Championship match: Fier (MIN) def. Darin Hippe (BEN) Fall 1:49.

189: Randy Sorensen, 1st place

Semifinals: Sorensen (MIN) def. Brennan Giese (CAN) MD 11-2. Championship: Sorensen (MIN) def. Adrian Young (BEN) Dec. 13-8.

215: Cael Fier, 1st place

Semifinals: Fier (MIN) def. Jay Harkema (KMS) Fall 3:04. Championship match: Fier (MIN) def. Jacob Savig (QC) Dec. 7-1.

107: Heydan Danielson, 2nd place

Quarterfinals: Danielson (MIN) def. Hudson Cole (QC) Fall 1:05. Semifinals: Danielson (MIN) def. Brody Nielsen (KMS) MD 18-7. Championship match: Tyson Meagher (PAYN) def. Danielson (MIN) MD 12-2.

127: Quinton Anderson, 2nd place

Quarterfinals: Anderson (MIN) def. Landon Deters (BBE) Fall 1:17. Semifinals: Anderson (MIN) def. Ben Drietz (CAN) MD 11-0. Championship match: Gavin Olson (BEN) def. Anderson (MIN) Dec. 8-2.

285: Carson Javers, 3rd place

Quarterfinals: Javers (MIN) def. Breck Martin (QC) Dec. 4-0. Semifinals: Javers (MIN) def. Taylor Ellingson (BEN) Fall 5:04. Championship match: Jordan DePestel (CAN) def. Javers (MIN) Fall 3:51. True 2nd match: Jaciel Cardenas (ACGC) def. Javers (MIN) Fall 2:17.

121: Nolan VanKeulen, 3rd place

Quarterfinals: Jack Cook (BEN) def. VanKeulen (MIN) Dec. 9-3. Consolation semifinals: VanKeulen (MIN) def. Kenneth Franet (ACGC) Fall 3:35. Third-place match: VanKeulen (MIN) def. Maddox Kockelman (CAN) Fall 5:10.

145: Brycen Myhre, 4th place

Quarterfinals: Luke Garvick (ACGC) def. Myhre (MIN) Fall 1:49. Consolation quarterfinals: Myhre (MIN) def. Jakob Martinson (BOLD) Fall 0:38. Consolation semifinals: Myhre (MIN) def. Levi Kerzman (PAYN) Fall 1:54. Third-place match: Garvick (ACGC) def. Myhre (MIN) TF 16-0 4:15.

152: Colton Bitker, 4th place

Quarterfinals: Bitker (MIN) def. Blaine Carroll (QC) TF 17-1 5:11. Semifinals: Cole Froehlich (KMS) def. Bitker (MIN) Fall 5:15. Consolation semifinals: Bitker (MIN0 def. Alex Weber (PAYN) Dec. 7-2. Third-place match: Joseph Sherwood (ACGC) def. Bitker (MIN) TF 18-0 3:23.

114: Derek Fier, 6th place

Quarterfinals: Nolan Roberg (PAYN) def. Fier (MIN) Fall 1:50. Consolation first round: Fier (MIN) def. Avery Geis (ACGC) TF 16-0 4:46. Consolation quarterfinals: Fier (MIN) def. Cody Cole (BOLD) Dec. 7-3. Consolation semifinals: Carson Olson (BEN) def. Fier (MIN) TF 19-3 3:30. Fifth-place match: Oswaldo Moreno (KMS) def. Fier (MIN) Fall 2:29.

CANBY

285: Jordan DePestel, 1st place

Quarterfinals: DePestel (CAN) def. Jaciel Cardenas (ACGC) MD 10-0. Semifinals: DePestel (CAN) def. Brice Messer (PAYN) Fall 5:33. Championship match: DePestel (CAN) def. Carson Javers (MIN) Fall 3:51.

114: Cash Antony, 3rd place

Quarterfinals: Antony (CAN) def. Cody Cole (BOLD) Fall 3:10. Semifinals: Nolan Roberg (PAYN) def. Antony (CAN) Dec. 7-1. Consolation semifinals: Antony (CAN) def. Oswaldo Moreno (KMS) Fall 1:15. Third-place match: Antony (CAN) def. Carson Olson (BEN) TF 18-3 5:16.

145: Daven VanEngen, 3rd place

Quarterfinals: VanEngen (CAN) def. Tate Kobbermann (BEN) Fall 3:20. Semifinals: VanEngen (CAN) def. Levi Kerzman (PAYN) Fall 1:51. Championship match: Trey Gunderson (KMS) def. VanEngen (CAN) TF 15-0 0:57. True 2nd match: Luke Garvick (ACGC) def. VanEngen (CAN) Fall 3:13

127: Ben Drietz, 3rd place

Quarterfinals: Drietz (CAN) def. Keaten Marwede (BOLD) TF 15-0 1:48. Semifinals: Quinton Anderson (MIN) def. Drietz (CAN) MD 11-0. Consolation semifinals: Drietz (CAN) def. Johnny Molenaar (KMS) Fall 1:09. Third-place match: Drietz (CAN) def. Jacob Meyer (ACGC) Dec. 5-0.

107: Logan Stoks, 4th place

Quarterfinals: Stoks (CAN) def. Bennet Elton (ACGC) TF 16-1 5:47. Semifinals: Tyson Meagher (PAYN) def. Stoks (CAN) Fall 0:44. Consolation semifinals: Stoks (CAN) def. Hudson Cole (QC) MD 17-8. Third-place match: Brody Nielsen (KMS) def. Stoks (CAN) Fall 1:08.

121: Maddox Kockelman, 4th place

Quarterfinals: Kenneth Franet (ACGC) def. Kockelman (CAN) Dec. 9-8. Consolation quarterfinals: Kockelman (CAN) def. Colin Peters (KMS) MD 18-6. Consolation semifinals: Kockelman (CAN) def. Jack Cook (BEN) MD 17-8. Third-place match: Nolan VanKeulen (MIN) def. Kockelman (CAN) Fall 5:10.

189: Brennan Giese, 4th place

Quarterfinals: Giese (CAN) def. Wyatt Rudningen (KMS) MD 11-2. Semifinals: Randy Sorensen (MIN) def. Giese (CAN) MD 11-2. Consolation semifinals: Giese (CAN) def. Logan Holien (ACGC) TF 19-3 5:38. Third-place match: Daniel Flint (PAYN) def. Giese (CAN) Fall 4:24.

215: Wesley Verhelst, 4th place

Quarterfinals: Verhelst (CAN) def. Sam Brick (PAYN) Dec. 6-1. Semifinals: Jacob Savig (QC) def. Verhelst (CAN) TF 15-0 5:13. Consolation semifinals: Verhelst (CAN) def. Simon Enriquez (BOLD) Fall 0:31. Third-place match: Jay Harkema (KMS) def. Verhelst (CAN) Fall 3:46.

133: Liam Citrowske, 5th place

Quarterfinals: Nolan Bierwerth (ACGC) def. Citrowske (CAN) Fall 3:02. Consolation semifinals: Braydon Kierstead (PAYN) def. Citrowske (CAN) Fall 1:10. Fifth-place match: Citrowske (CAN) def. Trevor Plass (BOLD) Dec. 13-12.

172: Lane Citrowske, Canby, 5th place

Quarterfinals: Gabriel Berstrom (BOLD) def. Citrowske (CAN) MD 11-2. Consolation semifinals: Brody Strauman (ACGC) def. Citrowske (CAN) Fall 3:49. Fifth-place match: Citrowske (CAN) def. Jake Holtkamp (KMS) Dec. 10-3.

139: Jaxson Ramberg, 6th place

Quarterfinals: Devon Schmidt (PAYN) def. Ramberg (CAN) MD 15-4. Consolation semifinals: Noah DeRoo (BBE) def. Ramberg (CAN) Fall 2:56. Fifth-place match: Kalan VanHeuveln (KMS) def. Ramberg (CAN) Dec. 11-8.

152: Taten Hoffman, DNP

Quarterfinals: Trey Zamarron (BOLD) def. Hoffman (CAN) Fall 2:23. Consolation first round: Alex Weber (PAYN) def. Hoffman (CAN) Fall 2:45.

160: Brett Stoks, DNP

Quarterfinals: McCoy Detloff (BBE) def. Stoks (CAN) Fall 3:54. Consolation first round: Arion Whitcup (BEN) def. Stoks (CAN) Dec. 6-4.

QUAD COUNTY

215: Jacob Savig, 2nd place

Semifinals: Savig (QC) def. Wesley Verhelst (CAN) TF 15-0 5:13. Championship match: Cael Fier (MIN) def. Savig (QC) Dec. 7-1. True 2nd match: Savig (QC) def. Jay Harkema (KMS) MD 8-0.

107: Hudson Cole, 5th place

Quarterfinals: Heydan Danielson (MIN) def. Cole (QC) Fall 1:05. Consolation first round: Cole (QC) def. Zecharia Sherod (ORT) Fall 1:47. Consolation quarterfinals: Cole (QC) def. Bryce Borgerding (BBE) MD 12-3. Consolation semifinals: Logan Stoks (CAN) def. Cole (QC) MD 17-8. Fifth-place match: Cole (QC) def. Bennett Elton (ACGC) Dec. 9-5.

285: Breck Martin, 5th place

Quarterfinals: Carson Javers (MIN) def. Martin (QC) Dec. 4-0. Consolation quarterfinals: Martin (QC) def. Levi Jones (KMS) Fall 0:45. Consolation semifinals: Brice Messer (PAYN) def. Martin (QC) Fall 2:37. Fifth-place match: Martin (QC) def. Taylor Ellingson (BEN) Fall 0:35.

152: Blaine Carroll, 6th place

Quarterfinals: Colton Bitker (MIN) def. Carroll (QC) TF 17-1 5:11. Consolation quarterfinals: Carroll (QC) def. Ethan Tolifson (BEN) TF 18-0 2:54. Consolation semifinals: Joseph Sherwood (ACGC) def. Carroll (QC) TF 15-0 1:32. Fifth-place match: Alex Weber (PAYN) def. Carroll (QC) Fall 3:44.

114: Mario Gradillas, DNP

Quarterfinals: Carson Olson (BEN) def. Gradillas (QC) Dec. 13-8. Consolation first round: Oswaldo Moreno (KMS) def. Gradilla (QC) Fall 3:27.

127: Easton Johnson, DNP

First round: Johnny Molenaar (KMS) def. Johnson (QC) Fall 1:43. Consolatio first round: Landon Deters (BBE) def. Johnson (QC) Fall 0:14.

172: Christian Vargas, DNP

Quarterfinals: Brody Straumann (ACGC) def. Vargas (QC) Fall 0:34. Consolation quarterfinals: Jake Holtkamp (KMS) def. Vargas (QC) Fall 0:40.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Quad County's Jacob Savig is announced as the Section 5A 215-pound runner-up at the individual section tournament, Saturday in Canby.