State wrestling Day 1: Boys’ first two rounds and wrestle backs

FARGO — After the first two rounds of state wrestling on Thursday — and the first round of wrestle backs — seven Firebird boys remained alive.

The Fargodome stands were lined with fans. Numerous schools were represented, from Class A, to Class B, to boys, to girls. The atmosphere was loose and the crowd was loud as all of the wrestlers got settled in and took the mats for their initial competition.

“It’s just a lot of energy,” said Devils Lake boys’ wrestling coach Brendon Flynn, who’s been to state as both a wrestler and as a coach. “And that’s where I go back to controlling your emotions. I can either accept the fact this is here, or I’m gonna lose focus on what I’ve gotta do. Some guys thrive under it. I love pressure… If there’s pressure on you, you’re doing something right. So it’s a lot of fun.”

First round

Among the 11 boys who made it to state, five of them took first-round victories.

Wesley Fisk started the day with a major-decision win over Bismarck Century’s Triston Martin, 14-4. Fisk was the No. 8 seed in the 114 weight class, and Martin was the No. 9 seed.

Max Volk took a loss by pin in the 121, but Rylan Samuelson — Devils Lake’s second contestant in the 114, and an eventual state finalist — pinned Valley City’s Carter Coghlan just 20 seconds into his match.

Owen Lindstrom, true to his 121 weight class, pinned his first-round opponent in one minute and 21 seconds. Lindstrom was seeded No. 2 in his bracket, starting his state finals run with a win over No. 15-seeded Liam Wadlow from Grand Forks Red River.

Mitchell Gerhardt and Daniel Charboneau each took a loss by pin — Gerhardt in the first period of his match, and Charboneau in the second period of his. Charboneau led 5-4 after one period but lost control and found himself stuck.

Tucker Bennett got Devils Lake back in the win column with a major decision over Vincent Lengenfelder from Bismarck St. Mary’s, 11-3. Bennett came into the tournament seeded No. 6 in the 145.

The Firebirds hit a bit of a skid in the middle of the day. They lost by three technical falls in a row: Coby Dronen Levitt in the 152, Nate Steinhaus in the 160 and Easton Encinas in the 172.

But Braxton Rance — Devils Lake’s eventual third state finalist — capped off the first round with a win. Seeded No. 3 in the 285, he pinned No. 14-seeded Liam Neff from Minot 14 seconds into the second period. He was already up 11-0 in his match anyway.

Quarterfinals

And so, the five victorious Firebirds continued on into Thursday’s quarterfinals. Three of them won again to advance to the semifinals.

Fisk lost by a pin just 14 seconds into his match. That ended the day for Fisk, sending him to Friday’s consolation bracket.

Samuelson, though, got a win in the 114. He won by decision, 11-4. Lindstrom got his second pin of the day in the 121 quarterfinals, coming at 2:42 in his match.

Bennett had a narrow 4-3 lead in the first period of his 145 quarterfinal. But he lost by a pin at 1:05. He joined Fisk in the second round of wrestle backs on Friday.

Rance won by major decision in the 285 quarterfinals. He led 7-0 at the end of the first period, which was narrowed to 7-4 in the second period.

But Rance came up with a key takedown near the start of the third period. He scored the final seven points of the match to win by a 12-point margin.

First-round wrestle backs

The six Firebirds who lost in the first round all competed in wrestle backs on Thursday. Two of them advanced to the next round, while the other four were eliminated.

Volk and Gerhardt each lost by pin in the 121 and 133, respectively, bringing their individual state tournament runs to an end. Volk’s pin came at 3:17, while Gerhardt’s came at 1:54.

Charboneau stayed alive, though, in the 139. He went up 3-0 on a takedown and then pinned his opponent, Red River’s Miles Larson, 50 seconds in.

Dronen Levitt also came up with a win in the first round of wrestle backs. He won by technical fall at 2:01 after running the score up to 15-0 over Bismarck Legacy’s Mason Duchsherer.

Charboneau and Dronen Levitt, with their wins, both joined Fisk and Bennett in the second round of wrestle backs on Friday.

“Super proud of the way they’re going. They both have really good draws coming back,” Flynn said of Fisk and Bennett. “Same with Daniel Charboneau. They all three got really good draws coming back to end up state placers. So we’re just excited for them.”

Steinhaus took a loss by pin at 1:27 in the 160. Encinas lost by technical fall, 19-4, at 3:29 in the 172.

That made seven Firebird boys still alive, in total, heading into Thursday evening’s semifinals. Samuelson, Lindstrom and Rance all made it to the tournament’s penultimate round.