Raiders Fall Short at Seciton 6A Tournament

by Coach Michael Arvidson

The Section 6A duals took place last Friday, the 13th, and didn’t disappoint for fans in the stands.  In what turned out to be very competitive matches and duals. The fans in attendance were treated to the edge-of-their-seat viewing with duals coming down to the very end.  BHVPP took on New York Mills in the quarterfinal round, and the Eagles arrived ready to go.  Adam Grabow got the Raiders on the board with a fall, but the Eagles evened it up at 6-6.  Isaiah Duberowski and Merrick Hoffman each earned major decisions, followed by a Wyatt Jares fall for the 20-6 lead. NYM answered with a major decision and pin, narrowing the gap to 20-16. Hudson Truax claimed a tech fall while the Eagles answered with a decision for the 25-19 lead with five weights to go. Gage Barthel and Tanner Schulke put the dual away with back-to-back falls to finalize the dual at 37-30, advancing the Raiders to the Semifinals.

The Knights from West Central Area/Ashby/Brandon-Evansville were the Semifinal opponent, as it would be the 9th straight year the two grappled in the Section tournament. The Raiders won the flip, so we had a fighter’s chance. Grabow sparked the scoring with a spladle for the fall. The Knights earned a major decision, and Duberowski responded with a fall for the 12-4 lead. A hard-fought decision at 127 went to the Knights with the Raider’s Logan Becker and Jares securing back-to-back falls to extend the BHVPP lead to 24-7. Truax’s late second-period takedown evened the match at 145, and he escaped and fended off attack after attack in the third to pick up the gritty decision. Preston Captain racked up the points for the technical fall, and it was 32-7. The Raiders would need one win or survival to pull off the upset in the final five bouts. However, the Knights’ strength is at the top, and it began with a tech fall at 160. They continued with a hard-fought decision at 172, and three six-point wins in the final three matches allowed the Knights to take the dual 33-32...

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