Brendon Flynn (Photo by Noah Clooten)
FARGO — After all the chaos over two days of individuals, the three-day wrestling tournament concluded with the dual tournament on Saturday.
Devils Lake’s run was short-lived. It lost to Bismarck in the first round, then was eliminated by Fargo Davies in a consolation dual.
“I’m okay with what happened today,” Devils Lake boys’ wrestling coach Brendon Flynn said. “We knew it was gonna be a tough road. But they came out, they competed and that’s what it’s about. And just fighting for each other, and coming out as a family and finishing as a family, whether we win or lose. So I’m extremely proud of what we did this year. Things could be different if we’re healthy, but it is what it is.”
All three of the Firebirds’ finalists were dealing with injuries. Neither Rylan Samuelson nor Braxton Rance were able to compete in either dual. Owen Lindstrom also sat out the first dual after popping his bursa sac.
Lindstrom did come back for the second and final dual of the day — and he made some history in the process. Lindstrom recorded the 33rd pin of his senior year, breaking the Devils Lake school pins record for a single season. Previously, Lindstrom had already set the all-time school records for wins and pins.
“So that was bittersweet for him,” Flynn said. “Getting to finish what he started and set out to do this season, that’s a big deal.”
He wasn’t at 100% health-wise, but he powered through to finish his high school career with a flash.
“For sure he popped his bursa sac, but we’re hoping that that’s all,” Flynn said. “We’re hoping that it’s not a tear in the knee.”
Coby Dronen Levitt and Logan Charboneau were also out on an injury-riddled final day of the tournament.
Besides Lindstrom, Devils Lake got wins from Nate Steinhaus, Wesley Fisk, Max Volk and Tucker Bennett in an eventual loss to Davies.
“It’s a lot of firepower out,” Flynn said. “We had some young guys step in there. One won a match; one was super close… I’m just super proud of what they did. No complaints from anything. Just super proud and grateful for this opportunity today.”
First dual
Seeded No. 4 from the East, Devils Lake lost 76-0 in the first round to Bismarck, the No. 1 seed from the West.
The Demons had 10 pins out of the 12 matches that were played. The Firebirds also had one open spot, in the 215. That was usually Rance’s spot during the regular season.
For most of the match, Steinhaus (160) was the only Firebird to even get a point during a match. He was down 4-1 before getting pinned.
Daniel Charboneau took an early 3-0 lead in the 139 — the second-to-last match of the dual. But his opponent went ahead 4-3 with a takedown and eventually pinned him.
Easton Encinas (172) and Fisk (114) each lost by technical fall.
Second dual
The loss to Bismarck sent Devils Lake to the consolation bracket, where it faced Fargo Davies, the No. 3 seed from the East. The Eagles previously beat the Firebirds 43-24 during the regular season. This time, it was a 40-24 win for Davies.
Steinhaus won by decision, 6-0, to start the dual with a win for Devils Lake. He had a takedown in each of the first two periods and didn’t surrender a single point.
The next five matches all went to the Eagles, though, as they built 24-3 lead. Encinas, Aiden Stiven and Jeremiah White all got pinned in that stretch.
Carter Ironheart, in his first match of the state tournament, put up a valiant fight in the 215. He had early leads of 3-0 and 6-2, then still had an 8-5 advantage at the end of the second period.
His opponent tied it with a takedown, and the two wrestlers exchanged escapes before a key takedown put Davies over the edge. Ironheart got one escape to finish things out but ultimately took a loss by decision, 12-10, in a match that came down to the wire.
Cooper Dahm, competing in the 107, took a close loss by decision in the fifth straight loss for Devils Lake. He was down 4-0 in the second period, but came back with a pair of takedowns to go up 6-4 in the third period.
It was knotted up at 6-6 moments before the buzzer. But Dahm got taken down right before the end, and he had to settle for a defeat.
Fisk, the individual fifth-place winner in the 114, won by major decision, 16-3. He scored 16 unanswered points after facing a 3-0 deficit.
Max Volk took a win in the 121 by technical fall. It was complete domination for Volk, who built an 18-0 lead in just two periods.
After Lindstrom’s record-setting pin — which took only 28 seconds — Devils Lake had narrowed the overall score to 24-18 in Davies’ favor.
But Mitchell Gerhardt (133) and Daniel Charboneau (139) each lost by technical fall, 18-0 and 15-0, respectively.
Tucker Bennett, the individual seventh-place winner in the 145, won by pin at 1:34 in his match. He already led 6-0 at the time with a pair of takedowns. Davies led 34-24 going into the final match of the dual.
Kameron Kraft lost in the 152, by a 17-1 technical fall, to finish things out. And so the Firebirds’ run in the 2025 state wrestling tournament was officially complete.
But they had a lot to be proud of.
“God just continues to keep blessing us,” Flynn said. “This year was a true test of adversity. We battled with injuries all year, as you can clearly tell today. And for us to still compete and finish even in the top 10 as a team [in individuals], for what we brought to state, that’s a testament to these kids and what they’ve bought into. And it’s just a blessing every year.”
