February 24, 2005 at 7:59 a.m.
Bergerson going back to state
Bergerson going back to state
The North Branch senior is known for his ho-hum attitude, but not this time of year. A state-entrant the last two seasons, Bergerson wrestled his way through the section 6AAA individual portion of the tournament last weekend and came out with a second place finish. That means, for the third straight year, Bergerson will represent North Branch at the state wrestling meet this weekend in St. Paul. Bergerson (28-3) will wrestle Elk River’s Tyler Hemmesch (34-2) in the first round on Thursday night. The winner of that match has a favorable path to the semifinals where they will most likely meet up with Steve Larson of Apple Valley. Larson is 28-0 this season.
At sections, Bergerson opened up with two pins before losing in the finals to Andy Robinson of St. Francis.
“He has the best draw he’s had in his three years at state,” said Aho, North Branch head wrestling coach. “He pinned some solid kids at sections. We know he can go there and place, we know he has it in him.”
As for the rest of the Vikings, wrestling in arguably the toughest section in the state, Zack Backus just missed a trip to state by finishing third at 189 pounds. Backus lost to Billy Blumhoefer of Cambridge-Isanti for true second.
At 171 pounds, Cory Haley turned some heads by finishing fourth, Bill Oehlers did the same at heavyweight, and at 135 pounds, Jeff Holmgren was the only other Viking to place. Holmgren finished sixth in his weight class.
“That is arguably the best section in the state. There were many state-ranked wrestlers who did not qualify because of the stiff competition. Our guys were ready to go, but sometimes you need a little luck and we couldn’t find much,” remarked Aho. “We have never had a larger group of seniors and they did a tremendous job leading this team this year and I will miss them very much. Our underclassmen are talented and coachable which will allow them to be successful in the years to come.”
Section 7AAA Individual Tourney
North Branch results-
103- Erik Kostik DNP
112- Cory Crowell DNP
119- Boyd Suparat DNP
125- Chris Newham DNP
130- Nick Grandt DNP
135- Jeff Holmgren 6th
140- Vince Zaffke DNP
145- Ryan Decorsey DNP
152- Joe Lofboom DNP
160- Cody Gallmeier DNP
171- Cory Haley 4th
189- Zack Backus 3rd
*215- Jeremy Bergerson 2nd
Hwt- Billy Oehlers 4th
*Qualified for state
Anderson falls short, takes
third overall
For Chisago Lakes, Luke Anderson was favored to advance to state at 160 pounds, however, lady luck wasn’t exactly on his side either. Anderson lost to Cole Swenson of St. Francis in overtime, 3-2. Because Swenson lost in the finals, Anderson never got a chance at true second, officially eliminating the senior. Despite going 3-1 last weekend at the section tournament, Anderson’s one loss was enough.
“He’s one of the hardest workers you will find,” said Shawn Frederixon, Chisago Lakes head wrestling coach. “He was there everyday before school lifting and running. He definitely worked hard enough to be a state entrant but it didn’t happen. In that section, there were a lot of wrestlers who went home without a state berth.”
Aside from Anderson, three other Wildcats placed at the section tournament, all taking fifth overall. Mitch Anderson, Brian Jones, and Bobby Ferrier each lost their first match before fighting back to place.
“We were hoping for a couple more place-winners but the match-ups didn’t work in our favor. It’s a tough section,” remarked Frederixon. “We definitely made some big strides as a team this season though. We broke the school record for most dual wins in a season, and with the exception of Luke, everybody will be back next year. That’s exciting.”
The Wildcats finished the season 17-20 overall as a team.
Section 7AAA Individual Tourney
Chisago Lakes results-
103- Mike Michaelson DNP
119- Mitch Anderson 5th
125- Brian Jones 5th
130- John Hogie DNP
135- Kelby Kowalenko DNP
140- Bobby Ferrier 5th
145- Dan Gemuenden DNP
152- Chad Stenson DNP
160- Luke Anderson 3rd
215- Adam Gemuenden DNP
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