Wrestlers tied at the top of the CLC

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In highlight reel action, Class AAA’s No. 1 ranked wrestler, Tom Bouressa of Alexandria, faced Class AA’s No. 1 ranked Josh Campion of Fergus Falls in the heavyweight contest that decided the outcome of Tuesday night’s Central Lakes Conference match.

It was Bouressa who came out on top of a 5-3 decision, handing Campion his first loss of the season. Bouressa remains undefeated so far this season.

Bouressa finished in fourth place in last year’s State Class AAA tournament, while Campion was fifth in the Class AA division.

“The Cardinal wrestling team has had its share of last-minute victories this season, and the match against Fergus Falls wasn’t any different,” said Cardinal head coach Tom Ellison. “It was a packed gym in Fergus Falls as the anticipation was high for the match-up of two No. 1 heavyweights in the state.

“What the crowd wasn’t counting on was that the matches leading up to the heavyweight showdown would be equally exciting in this CLC dual,” he said of the match in which both teams battled hard not only to win, but to keep their losses small. “That is the interesting aspect of wrestling. You can go out and give your best effort and still lose your match, but by keeping the point spread small in your defeat, you can actually save team points and come off the mat knowing that you just recorded a small victory inside of your loss.

“Several Cardinal wrestlers accomplished that in last night’s match. It was everyone on the team who contributed to our 30-27 victory.”

Fergus Fall’s other state-ranked wrestler, 215-pound Colton Thorson (No. 3), earned an 8-2 decision over Isaac Meyer.

Eighth ranked Taylor Morical picked up a pin at 125 pounds in 2:21, while fourth ranked Charlie Kirscht added a fall at 130 pounds in 2:41.

Alexandria also got wins from Riley Gustafson at 119 pounds, Lucas Betterman at 135, Adam Patrick at 152 and Josh Betterman at 171.

ALEXANDRIA 30, FERGUS FALLS 27

103 – Tyler Giza, FF, dec. Gage Sonczalla 10-5, 112 – Abbot Aho, FF, pinned Brian Eipperle 3:24, 119 – Riley Gustafson, Alex, pinned Jake Hauge 4:30, 125 – Taylor Morical, Alex, pinned Dustin Teberg 2:21, 130 – Charlie Kirscht, Alex, pinned Derek Tebert 2:41, 135 – Lucas Betterman, Alex dec. Matt Laugen 4-1, 140 – Alex Hensch, FF, dec. Cole Ellison 4-0, 145 – Jordan Ringquist, FF, dec. Adam Klinkner, 152 – Adam Patrick, Alex, dec. Bryant Marquedant 11-6, 150 – Dan Revering, FF, dec. Josh Hobbs 7-4, 171 – Josh Betterman, Alex, dec. Jesse Laugen 3-2, 189 – Ryan Jacobson, FF, won by forfeit, 215 – Colton Thorson, FF, dec. Isaac Meyer 8-2, HWT – Tom Bouressa, Alex, dec. Josh Campion 5-2.

HEADING TO TOURNEY

Alexandria is set to open Section 8AAA team tournament on February 21 at Buffalo

Section 8AAA individual wrestling will be held on February 28 at St. Cloud Tech

The State tournament will be held March 4-7 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul

Tags: wrestling, alexandria, cardinals, fergus, falls, otters