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Jeremy Bergerson’s first round opponent last Thursday at the state class AAA wrestling tournament was even better than Tony Aho expected. That was the bad news for Bergerson as he fell to Elk River’s Tyler Hemmesch 18-3. Hemmesch went on to place third at 215 pounds.

“He was a lot better than I remember, Jeremy beat him last year,” said Tony Aho, North Branch head wrestling coach. “He definitely did something in the offseason. He just dominated.”

However in the first round of wrestlebacks, Bergerson responded by defeating Matt Ransdell of Osseo 6-1 to stay alive. Now in his third year at state, the win was Bergerson’s first career win at state. He did it by taking his opponent down in the third to score enough points to win. Up to that point, the match was tied 1-1.

“He was still very tentative. The biggest thing for Jeremy has always been trusting himself and just going for it,” mentioned Aho. “He finally did that in the third and almost pinned the guy. It was nice to see him just let loose.”

His third match at state was just as tight, however this time, Bergerson came out on the losing end. Facing Patrick Mahan of Owatonna, Bergerson trailed 4-3 with time winding down in the third. Desperate to make a move- he did. Unfortunately, it didn’t work as Mahan held on to win. The loss not only eliminated Bergerson from the tournament but it left him one win shy of a medal.

“He had a chance with 20 seconds left with a front headlock. He does that right and he gets it but he did it wrong and he didn’t get it. It’s unfortunate because he was the better wrestler,” commented Aho. “Although Jeremy was unable to reach his goal of a medal, he did a fantastic job of representing North Branch. Many wrestler’s are unable to reach state once, let alone three times. When one does make it, he has to have everything go his way to be successful. Unfortunately, Jeremy came up just short but he should be very proud of his accomplishments.”

Bergerson finished his senior season with 30 wins for the second straight year. He finished 30-7 overall.

Class 3A state wrestling meet

Individual results (NB only):

215- Jeremy Bergerson

Lost 18-3 to Tyler Hemmesch (ER)

Def. Matt Ransdell (Osseo) 6-1

Lost 4-3 to Patrick Mahan (Owat.)

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