The Blue Earth Area Elementary wrestling team took fourth place at the State tournament in Rochester.

In the opening round, the Bucs faced St. Michael-Albertville and defeated them in a close match, 35-28.

Blue Earth Area and Little Falls wrestled to a 30-30 tie in the quarterfinals.

The Bucs got the win, however, on the second tie-breaker – most wins. BEA had seven and Little Falls six.

The young Bucs ran into a tough team from Kenyon-Wanamingo in the semi-finals and lost 43-13.

They wrestled hard against the team from Medford for the third place trophy, but wound up losing 32-27 in a close battle.

In the individual tournament, Buccaneer Max Ehrich took the state championship in the kindergarten 50-pound division.

Cole Warmka, also a kindergartner, took fourth place.

Sixth-grader Mike Ankeny placed third in his weight class.

Third-grader Wyatt Tungland and sixth-grader Martin Granados were both just one win away from a medal.