Wresting success at state - UPDATES! and Speech heads south

In his Class 1A state wrestling opener this morningat Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Noah Jensen won by an 8-5 decision to advance to the quarterfinals. Jensen, an eighth grader, is one of four members of the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team who are competing in the individual state tournament today.

Jensen's first-round opponent was a fellow eighth grader, Kiptyn Thompson of Fosston/Bagley, who had a 31-10 record. Jensen improves to 35-7 and now faces Paynesville seventh grader Tyson Meagher (34-4) later tonight.

At 160 pounds, B-B-E senior Brett DeRoo won a 17-2 tech fall (4:05) against Redwood Valley's Zachary Guggisberg in his state opener today. In the state quarterfinals, DeRoo faces Border West senior Brody Nachbor (35-9).

In his state opener at 215, B-B-E senior Carson Gilbert won by fall (2:30) against LBW's Tommy Miron (16-20). Gilbert, now 36-0 overall, faces Chatfield junior Will Boelter (39-8) in the state quarterfinals.

In his state opener, B-B-E senior Hunter Laage (30-8) will face Fertile-Beltrami senior Jack Leiser (20-10). That match has not happened yet as of noon.

Update: at 285, Hunter Laage trails by a 4-3 score in the third period against Fertile-Beltrami's Jack Leiser. Final: Leiser 4, Laage 3. Additional individual state tournament updates will be posted later this afternoon.

In other news...
The B-B-E speech team has departed the high school for the long trek south to the Driftless Area of southeastern Minnesota. Part of their travels include the Chatfield high school invitational tomorrow, while other time features team bonding with the overnight trip.

Here they are heading out in two school vehicles...


At the team state wrestling tournament...
In the Class 1A team state consolation championship held yesterday, No. 5-seeded Canby defeated United North Central 34-28 to take fifth place. Staples-Motley, the No. 2 seed at state, defeated top-seeded Chatfield 33-16 in the championship last night.

Friday evening state update...
In his state quarterfinal match, Noah Jensen lost an incredible battle by an 11-7 decision to Paynesville's Tyson Meagher. Jensen will compete later tonight in the wrestleback round.

In his state quarterfinal match, Brett DeRoo won by fall (2:42) against Border West's Brody Nachbor. DeRoo (40-2) advances to the state semifinal round, which takes place tomorrow morning. Update: DeRoo will face the No. 2 seed in the 160-pound bracket: senior Ayden Miner (42-4) of Chatfield.

In his state quarterfinal match tonight, Carson Gilbert won by fall (4:54) against No. 9-ranked Will Boelter of Chatfield to move on to the 215-pound semifinals. In tomorrow's semifinals, Gilbert faces No. 3-ranked Le Sueur-Henderson junior George Doherty (32-2).

Laage's season has concluded.

Another Friday night update: in the 107-pound wrestlebacks, Noah Jensen won a 17-1 tech fall (2:13) against New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva seventh grader Grahm Jacobson (21-22). This keeps his season alive as he guns for tomorrow's third-place match...but he's not there yet.

If you're reading this far, this blog post is a wrap. A NEW blog post is coming later tonight featuring additional state wrestling notes and also an update on the boys' basketball game at Hancock.

Wrestling state finals! Hanson takes gold! (Again!) - VIDEOS

The state wrestling championships are almost a wrap at Xcel Energy Center, and our B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team has officially concluded the season. The entire 2023-2024 season came down to a handful of very special performances by four members of the team in the finals round tonight. For three of the four, they all finished the tournament with exciting wins and all by falls: Ryan Jensen for third at 139, Tanner Viessman for fifth at 145 and Carson Gilbert for third at 215.

The best was saved for last, and B-B-E senior Maximus Hanson is our first-ever back-to-back state champion!! He battled through a scoreless first period in the 172 championship against Crookston senior Carter Coauette. The second period shifted in favor of Hanson after he earned an escape with 21 seconds elapsed. With 32 seconds to go in the second period, Hanson got a takedown and a two-point near fall for a 5-0 lead. Final: Hanson 10, Coauette 5. It's a win by a decision!

**Here's a video featuring a good portion of Hanson's first period:


Hanson joins Class of 2022 graduate Walker Bents as a two-time state champion. Bents won individual state titles in 2020 and 2022. As a junior, Hanson won the 170-pound title after entering the tournament as a No. 3 seed.

Here's a video featuring the pre-championship handshakes with all classes of wrestlers on the arena floor at Xcel Energy Center:


**Announcement: the wrestling team will have a welcome-home ceremony tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the high school. Spread the word!