History was made today at Benson high school! This was FUN!
After back-to-back wins in rock 'em, sock 'em, take-no-prisoner fashion, the No. 5-ranked B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team has advanced to the state tournament for the third straight year while claiming the Section 5A championship. In today's semifinal round, the Jaguars pulled away from Canby in the upper weights for a 40-19 win. In the championship, the Jaguars overcame a right hook, a left hook and everything inbetween from Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg in a 38-25 state-qualifying win. The Fighting Saints initially held a 16-0 lead through the first three weights. The momentum shifted quickly and almost on a dime when Louie Tensen earned a pin at 126 pounds that electrified the Jaguar faithful.
Overall, in school history, the Jaguars have wrestled in section championship matches in 1997, 1998, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022 and now 2023. After losing in five section finals across 23 years, they are now 3-0 in the last three tries for state!
Recent history...in 2015, the Jaguars lost to A-C-GC in the section finals. In 2017, the Jaguars fell to K-M-S in the section finals. In 2020, the Jaguars lost to Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville in the section finals. In that Section 5A championship loss, the Wolves won by a 33-18 score on their way to the state championship match two weeks later, where they defeated A-C-GC 30-27 to forge a 34-3 final record. The Jaguars finished 20-4.
Below is a video featuring the end of the 152-pound match against K-M-S:
*Here's Hunter Laage battling at 160 pounds today against K-M-S:
**Here's video from the end of Carson Gilbert's match at 182 pounds and then footage from Talen Kampsen's 195-pound match against K-M-S:
EVERY win today in that K-M-S match was HUGE! It's hard to single out any one specific match in terms of how important it was. I can state with a high level of confidence that Carson Gilbert's pin at 182 pounds was a game changer. It clearly shifted momentum towards the Jaguars and gave them a 28-22 lead on the scoreboard. THAT was FUN!
That was a fantastic wrestling playoff atmosphere at Benson high school! As good as it gets at the high school level. This blog post will be put on pause tonight. It has been a long-a** day that started before 6 a.m. with an early-morning trip to Holdingford for youth basketball...then my Buick "took flight" for Benson high school and got me there just in time to see the 106-pound match before it ended against K-M-S. More to come before I have church tomorrow. I've been jacked up on adrenaline all day and into this evening, and that is about to wear off.
DON'T forget! The Belgrade Lions Pancake Feast (for all ages) is tomorrow at the B-B-E high school from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. This was boldly advertised on page one of the February 9 and February 16 issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
The Jaguars (19-5) will compete in the Class 1A state wrestling tournament on Thursday, March 2 at Xcel Energy Center. Before that! They have a huge day of action next Saturday, February 25, when they compete in the Section 5A individual tournament at Minnewaska Area.
In Section 6A, West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville defeated Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie 48-28 in the finals to advance to state.
In Section 7A, Royalton-Upsala put the hammer down and ended the seasons of both Holdingford and LP-GE/Browerville today. In the semis against the Huskers, the Royals won 40-31. Then in the finals against the Wolves, the Royals won 39-22. Down in Section 3A, defending state champion Jackson County Central advanced to state and has won 10 duals in a row. B-B-E has 11 straight wins to their credit.
