ST. PAUL — Upsetting giants was Garrett Aldrich’s specialty this season.

That trend continued through the two-day section and state tournaments and culminated in a Class AA state title Saturday at the Xcel Center for the 106-pound freshman from Albert Lea.

View a photo gallery from Day 2 of the state tournament.

“I’m a little speechless right now,” Aldrich said after he beat Cole Jones of Grand Rapids with a 10-8 decision in the championship match. “I’ve got to say, it feels good.”

Aldrich was the underdog, according to The Guillotine’s rankings.

He was No. 5 in the polls, and Jones was No. 3. However, that didn’t faze Aldrich. He’d already upset No. 4 Jake Gilva of Simley in the quarterfinals and beat A.J. Bethea of Hibbing in the semifinals after Bethea beat No. 2 Anthony Phillipson of Pequot Lakes/Pine River in the first round.

In the section tournament Aldrich also faced stiff competition. He beat Kasson-Mantorville’s Keaten Schorr, ranked No. 6, in the team and individual tournaments. Schorr proceeded to state as the Section 1AA runner-up. In the first round, he stunned defending champion Tucker Sjomeling of Delano, who was ranked No. 1 and brought a 41-0 record to state.

Schorr was the only ranked wrestler Jones faced at the state tournament on his road to the title match. Jones dismissed Schorr in the semifinals with a 7-4 decision.

In the championship match, Aldrich jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first period. However, Jones rallied to tie the score at six in the second. In the third period, Aldrich stayed aggressive and built a 10-8 lead that he protected for the last minute.

“It was an absolute battle out there,” said Albert Lea head coach Larry Goodnature. “Those last 20 to 30 seconds; it was back and forth. That match right there just about gave me a heart attack. It was fun, and he deserves to be state champion.”

Goodnature and his son, assistant coach Brian Goodnature, wore hearts on their sleeves the whole match. The first thing Aldrich did after the referee raised his arm was run over and embrace them.

Aldrich said his coaches provided guidance, and he wanted to thank his teammates for training with him throughout the season.

“My workout partners, they’ve been great this whole year,” Aldrich said. “I’ve learned a lot from them. Everyone’s been great. Friends, family, all the way up.”

The other 106-pounders on Albert Lea’s roster are Ryleigh Bure, Zach Glazier, Jesse Hernandez, Noah Nelson and Brody Nielsen.

Triston Westerlund, Devin Nelson and Dereck Samudio also qualified for Day 2 of the state tournament.

 

Westerlund takes 3rd

After finishing as the state runner-up at 182 pounds in Class AAA last year, Albert Lea’s Westerlund took third place at 195 pounds Saturday at the Class AA state tournament.

Westerlund, ranked No. 3 in his weight class, suffered a setback in the quarterfinals with an 8-7 loss to Fairmont/Martin County West’s Kory Brown on Day 1. Westerlund rallied after Brown executed a five-point throw.

“He (Westerlund) came back, and that happened to be one heck of a dogfight,” said Larry Goodnature.

Despite his last-second efforts, Westerlund fell to the consolation bracket where he won three matches — including a 6-2 decision over No. 4 Abram Aho of Fergus Falls — to qualify for the third-place match.

Brown’s journey ended at the same place. He was pinned in the semifinals by Totino Grace’s Lance Benick in 52 seconds to fall to the consolation semifinals. Brown rebounded against Kasson-Mantorville’s Chase O’Connor with a pin in 2 minutes and 12 seconds.

The third-place match would be a rematch.

This time, neither wrestler scored in the first or second period.

“I told him, ‘You don’t have to push the issue. You’re not going to be behind this time,’” Goodnature said. “Just wait for the opportunity. When he makes a mistake or when it’s open, hit it. That’s exactly what he did. He wrestled a smart match.”

Westerlund built a lead and extended it to six points as time wound down in the third period.

“He got kind of sloppy because I was winning,” Westerlund said. “I just threw him on his back, and that pretty-much sealed it.”

Westerlund avenged his quarterfinal loss with a 7-1 decision.

“It’s hard having to come back through all those wrestlebacks,” Goodnature said. “It’s a true sign of a kid who can come back from a tough loss. Coming back to take third, that’s pretty awesome. He had a great tournament.”

Albert Lea’s Nelson and Samudio also competed at the state tournament, but both wrestlers were eliminated one round before placing in the consolation quarterfinals. The top six wrestlers in each weight class place.

“They gave it all they had in some tough weight classes,” Goodnature said. “It didn’t work for them to place, but they had a good tournament and a great year. The neat thing is that all four of these guys will be back next year.”

Garrett Aldrich is a freshman; Westerlund, Nelson and Samudio are juniors.