Entering the late afternoon medal match session on Saturday, No.29 Kasson-Mantorville had a razor thin lead on No. 32 Shakopee, 208 to 207-1/2. Ten Komets wrestlers were competing to determine their placement finish: three for first, five for fifth, and two for seventh; while the Sabres countered with eight in placement bouts: five for first and three for third.
Kasson-Mantorville went 3-0 in championship bouts, including wins by a single point in the program's opening and closing matches. Patrick Kennedy mustered a 3-2 victory over Kenny O'Neill (Prior Lake) in the opening match at 170 pounds, while No. 1 Brady Berge upended No. 2 Jake Allar (St. Michael-Albertville) 4-3 in the closing featured bout at 160; Berge used a takedown with 18 seconds left to cap off the bout, and become just the second wrestler to become a five-time Christmas Tournament champion. In between, Noah Ryan added a championship at 220 pounds
Shakopee was much less successful in championship bouts, mustering just a 1-4 record, the one title coming from No. 6 Aaron Cashman at 113 pounds. No. 11 Brent Jones and No. 15 (at 152) Alex Lloyd suffered defeats to unranked opposition at 132 and 145 pounds respectively; Jones falling 7-4 to Sam Stuhl (Ellsworth, Wis.) and Lloyd losing 4-3 against Peyton Robb (Owatonna). Max Crowe lost a 4-2 decision at 106 pounds to Anthony Talamonti (Marian Catholic, Ill.), while Alex Crowe lost 6-2 in the tiebreaker to Jared Franek (West Fargo, N.D.)
The Komets only went 2-5 in their other medal bouts, but it was enough to muster 225 points and a tournament title; while Shakopee went 2-1 in consolation finals, earning 216-1/2 points at tournament's end, with Carson Manville (126) and Sam Webster (138) taking home third place medals.
The third middle-weight finals upset came at 138 pounds, where two-time state runner-up Tyler Eischens (Anoka) upended No. 6 Jake Bergeland (Centennial) by a 4-2 score.
Missing the event due to potentially adverse weather/travel conditions was No. 36 Apple Valley, while the fourth nationally ranked team slated to compete was No. 33 Anoka. The Tornadoes finished fourth in the tournament with 149.5 points, anchored by the championship from Eischens. Four other wrestlers placed, all between third and sixth.
Finishing third in the standings was Kaukauna, Wis. The Ghosts amassed 152 points on the strength of six lacers, led by the third place finish from Keaton Kluever (285); a trio of wrestlers placed fourth, while single participants earned sixth and eighth respectively.
Joining Kasson-Mantorville with multiple weight class champions were Marian Catholic, Ill. and West Fargo, N.D. Each of whom had a pair stand on top of the podium. No. 19 Kendall Norfleet (182) joined Talamonti in earning gold for Marian Catholic, while No. 4 Brandon Metz (285) joined Franek in winning a title for West Fargo.
In a showdown of nationally ranked wrestlers at 120 pounds, No. 18 Patrick McKee (St. Michael-Albertville) beat No. 3 (at 113) Travis Ford-Melton (Marian Catholic, Ill.) by a 4-2 decision. Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young (Sunnyside, Ariz.) at 126 pounds and No. 10 Daniel Kerkvleit (Simley, Minn.) at 195.
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