BHVPP Raiders qualify three for the State Tournament Elite Eight
by Coach Michael Arvidson
BHVPP came into the individual section last Tuesday on a high note from the team’s success the previous weekend. The tough schedule and hard work of the season had them ready to go once again as 11 of the 13 wrestlers advanced to the State Preliminary.
The postseason format was changed this year due to COVID. Normally, the top two from the Section advance directly to a 16-man bracket at State. This year the top four advanced to the State Preliminary and were cross-bracketed with Section 5A in an 8-man bracket. The four State Preliminary sites sent the top 2 to the State for an 8-man bracket.
The Raiders got rolling in the Section with dominating victories posting a 9–2 opening round. Winners of the semifinal round would shower up for the day as championship and third-place matches were not wrestled once those wrestled were guaranteed to advance.
Bennet Arceneau picked up a fall. David Revering followed suit. Deagen Captain earned a hard-fought decision. Aiden Larson captured a major decision. Reese Thompson earned a pin and the bottom five put up a perfect day advancing to the Championship.
Brock Peterson dropped his match to the second-ranked kid. Mason Schroeder glued his opponent. Hunter Dean pushed the repeat button and did the same. Gideon Ervasti like the idea so he joined the club. James Grant dropped a decision to the top seed and Hayden Captain handled his opponent to help the Raiders have a 9–2 round.
On the backside of the bracket, Blake Sumstad bowed out 0–2 and Justin Koehn went home 1–2 on the day. Peterson and Grant secured falls to earn their way to the third-place matches and advance. The Raiders posted a 21–6 record on the day advancing 11 wrestlers to the State Preliminary.
The individual matches were as follows: . . .