Dickinson falls short of finals, loses both duals
FARGO — An eight-year span for the Dickinson High wrestling team going home empty handed at the Class A state dual tournament is over.By: Royal McGregor, The Dickinson Press
- Devin Berger
- Austin Hutzenbiler
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FARGO — An eight-year span for the Dickinson High wrestling team going home empty handed at the Class A state dual tournament is over.
After an opening-round win against Fargo Davies on Thursday, the Midgets was saddled with a 63-5 semifinal loss against West Region rival Bismarck High on Friday afternoon at the Fargodome.
However, the Midgets didn’t let the lopsided loss effect their main achievement — being the first Dickinson team to place at the state tournament since 2004 when the team took third over Fargo South. They finished fourth after a 51-17 loss against Bismarck Century in the third-place dual.
“It’s nice to come in here and get fourth as a dual team, because we know we’re only losing three of the kids — three kids that will be dearly missed,” Dickinson co-head coach Cody Wolf said. “It’s nice to have a team you can look back on and say, we’re looking forward to next year. The kids can go back, look at this and get ready for next year.”
Despite losing big in the duals, Dickinson’s two toughest losses during the tournament’s second day came in a pair of semifinal matches in the individual tournament.
Dickinson’s Austin Hutzenbiler and Grand Forks Red River’s Rodell Johnson were tied at 6-6 in final minute of the 113-pound semifinals.
Johnson recorded a takedown with 19 seconds left to take an 8-6 lead, but Hutzenbiler didn’t give up. He nearly scored a reversal in final 19 seconds, but the whistle blew before he could finish.
Jaret Lee, a 106-pound freshman, lost 16-7 to Fargo South’s Marlo Bell. The two wrestlers met each other during the semifinals of the Dickinson Classic. Bell won that match 16-3.
“Jaret and Austin both wrestled extremely well,” Wolf said. “We just got into a few situations that were hard to overcome. When you get into those semifinals matches, it’s hard to give up back points and overcome that later on in the match.”
Jace Dukart, a 182-pound Dickinson junior, lost by an 8-7 decision in his opening match against Valley City’s Jordan Magnuson in the final second. Since, he’s picked up back-to-back wins to guarantee a place on the podium.
“I was kind of angry after my loss and I really wanted to place,” Dukart said.
Other wrestlers for Dickinson that are looking at least a top-eight finish are Devin Berger (126), Clayton Tangen (145), Dillon Clark (145) and Michael Cherwinski (152).
During the third-place match, Century held a 15-14 lead after Berger scored a pin over Chris Willits at 126 pounds. The Patriots, however, went back on the offensive with three straight wins, including six of the final seven matches.
“It’s been a long time since DHS has placed in the dual tournament and we got to bring back some hardware,” Dukart said.
In the team’s first dual against Bismarck, Dickinson junior Chris Sickler opened up the match at 220 pounds with a pin over Tommy Sease at 2:54.
Sickler was hoping the pin would spark the rest of the team. Instead, Dickinson fell on tough times, losing the 13 consecutive matches and even being tagged for a lost team point after Lee was charged with unsportsmanlike conduct.
“I wanted to go out and get us started,” Sickler said. “I also wanted to get that kid back for beating me at WDA.
“Bismarck is a tough team. There’s just something about them.”
Tags: state wrestling, dickinson midgets, sports, midgets, preps, wrestling
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