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North Branch 57, Benilde-St. Margaret's 18

Three years ago, Benilde-St. Margaret's had just one - yes, one - varsity wrestler, which made for some pretty quick duals. The Red Knights now have six varsity spots filled, but the result is the same - a decisive win for all of their opponents. Benilde outscored the Vikings 18-9 in the six contested matches, but eight forfeits gave the Vikings a 57-18 win last Thursday, January 6 at Benilde-St. Margaret's in St. Louis Park.

Individual Results vs. Benilde-St. Margaret's

103 - Arik Steele lost by fall

112 - Aaron Senne lost by decision

130 - Jake Kostik won by fall

140 - Jim Juntunen lost by decision

145 - Patrick Mork won by decision

152 - Joe Call lost by fall

Reid Johnson, Jake Pilz, Mike Vogel, Zack Sundly, Andry Freel, Stuart Frink, Justin Bergerson and Austin Niederkorn all won by forfeit.

Tom Keating Memorial Tournament (Foley, MN)

Jake Kostik (131) was the only individual champion for the Vikings at the Tom Keating Memorial Tournament in Foley last Saturday. Kostik's first place finish and Justin Bergerson's second place finish propelled the Vikings to a fifth place finish overall as a team.

"This was kind of a tough week for us," said Viking head coach Tony Aho. "The guys had been wrestling so well and the expectations are going up. Although we beat Benilde and made the top five of a sixteen team tourney, the guys are capable of so much more. We know that the season is long and that there will be times where a team will struggle, so we are not worried about it. This is an outstanding group of young men that will learn from this and be ready to attack the rest of the season."

Tournament Team Results - Top 5

Foley 257, Monticello 227.5, Sauk Rapids-Rice 145, Holdingford 120, North Branch 118

Tournament Individual Results

120 - Reid Johnson 5th

126 - Jake Pilz 5th

131 - Jake Kostik Champ

136 - Mike Voge l 8th

141 - Jim Juntunen 8th

146 - Patrick Mork 5th

172 - Andy Freel 5th

190 - Stuart Frink 4th

216 - Justin Bergerson 2nd

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