Raider Wrestling Takes Sixth At Team States: The Hastings Raiders wrestling team was not able to defend their thrilling state title, as a first round upset relegated the Raiders to the consolation round
1st Match: The Raiders faced off against Albert Lea, a familiar foe from the regular season. The first match was a 33-27 win for the Raiders, and it was again expected to be a close bout. That would prove to be the case.
The Raiders would start out with three wins in a row, before Albert Lea would rally in the middleweights to take a 27-14 lead. The Raiders would get a pin from Creed Peterson to cut it to 7 at 27-20, and Cristobal Estrada would win by fall as well to cut it to one at 27-26. But a crucial bout at 215 would result in a match sealing pin for the Tigers and Albert Lea led by 7 going into the final bout. Derrick Steinke would win by fall to end it, and the final score was 33-32 Albert Lea. This would send the Raiders to the Consolation Semifinals, where they had to win to keep their tournament alive.
2nd Match: The Raiders again opened up a big lead early over Forest Lake, taking the first 5 weight classes to lead 25-0. But Forest Lake would close the gap in the middleweight categories to cut it to 25-21. But that is as close as they would get, as the Raiders pulled away to a 37-27 win.
3rd Match: The Raiders would wrestle the Willmar Cardinals for a shot at 5th place. Beckett Edstrom would start things off with a pin to get the Raiders an early advantage, and like the Forest Lake matchup, the Raiders would open up an early lead. But Willmar would take several matches in succession en route to a 35-27 victory. The final results were as follows:
Champion: STMA
Second: Mounds View
Third: Shakopee
Fourth: Albert Lea
Fifth: Willmar
Sixth: Hastings
Did Not Place: Apple Valley, Forest Lake
The Raiders continued with individual wrestling action. Stay tuned for updates on those results.
Blake Beissel and Derrick Steinke were named to the All-Tournament Team (pictured). Picture credit to Hastings Wrestling
