BEA’s Cooper Peterson, top photo, battles eventual State Champion Hudson Burnett in the opening round of the State Wrestling Tournament on March 1.

Three area wrestlers competed in the Minnesota State Individual Tournament held on March 1-2.

Blue Earth Area’s Cooper Peterson and Kade Gaydon competed in the Class A Tournament while Byron Getchell of Maple River/United South Central competed in the Class AA Tournament.

Peterson, wrestling at 139 pounds, began the day with a record of 21-17. He took a 2-0 lead into the second period against Pipestone Area’s Hudson Burnett, who entered the tournament with a record of 32-5.

However, Burnett, who would go on to become the champion at 139 pounds, used three second-period takedowns to eventually defeat Peterson 7-5.

In the wrestlebacks, Peterson, a senior, was pinned by Mark Schiefelbein of Kimball Area in the second period which knocked Peterson out of the tournament.

“Cooper wrestled well in his opening match and got a takedown to go up 2-0 in the first period,” BEA head coach Dan Eckhardt said. “He only trailed Burnett 6-5 heading into the final period but couldn’t get the points he needed.”

Peterson ended his high school career with 93 wins.

“Cooper is a very good technical wrestler and we will miss having him around next season,” Eckhardt added. “We have had a Peterson wrestling on the team for quite awhile between Cooper and his older brother Ty.”

Eckhardt shared that Peterson was a very reliable wrestler.

“He was always at the morning and afternoon practices. He had perfect attendance,” Eckhardt noted. “I was happy he could make State this year.”

Gaydon, also a senior, opened the tournament facing Landon Lehnertz of Dover-Eyota at 172 pounds.

Lehnertz began the tournament with a record of 35 wins and four losses and was the second seeded wrestler in the bracket. The senior was also ranked No. 2 in the State at 172 pounds in Class A.

Lehnertz scored a 16-1 technical fall over Gaydon just before the end of the second period. In the wrestlebacks, Gaydon lost a close, 5-4 decision to Aaron Jones of Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg to eliminate Gaydon from the competition.

“Kade faced one of the better wrestlers I have seen all year his first-round match,” Eckhardt said. “Lehnertz ended up finishing third. Kade’s second match went back-and-forth and was so close and Kade certainly could have won it. That kid ended up placing sixth.”

Gaydon recorded 72 career wins – 54 of them by pins. He was a two-time State qualifier.

“You could always count on Kade for points,” Eckhardt comments. “He was just a great kid to have on the team and was a great leader. We will miss him next year.”

Eckhardt pointed out that the graduation of Gaydon and fellow senior Caleb Langager means there are no longer any wrestlers left on the team who were members of BEA’s 2020 team that finished third at State.

“Caleb was our 106-pounder and Kade was an alternate on that team,” Eckhardt concludes.

Getchell, a junior on the Longhorns’ wrestling team, entered the tournament with 39 wins and nine losses at 160 pounds. He faced Luke Hoag of Hutchinson in the opening round of the Class AA Tournament.

Getchell earned a 9-5 decision over Hoag, who came into the tournament with a record of 46-5.

Getchell’s opponent in the second round was No. 2-seeded Luke Swanson of Kasson-Mantorville who sported a record of 40 wins and eight losses entering the tournament.

Swanson, who would claim runner-up honors at State, earned a 17-6 victory over Getchell.

Getchell won his first match in the wrestlebacks by a 12-4 major decision over Jayce Kovarik of Minnewaska Area.

However, Getchell lost his next match 7-2 to Alex Jennissen of Foley. Jennissen would lose his next match to finish sixth in the Class AA 160-pound bracket.