Wrestling: Varsity, minus freshmen, 9th at Eastview

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When you’re a squad with as much youth as the Farmington wrestling team, the ninth-grade state tournament can cause quite a conflict.

The Tiger varsity squad wrestled to a ninth-place total of 62.5 points at Saturday’s Eastview Invite while five regulars were in Hastings helping the ninth-grade team to its best state showing ever, a fifth-place finish, at the Ninth Grade League Team State Tournament.

“We did not fill a full lineup and had five JV wrestlers wrestling varsity at Eastview,” Farmington coach Chad Olson said. “(The ninth-grade team) competed against and beat some traditional wrestling powers in the state of Minnesota. I know the wrestlers were really excited by how well they did.”

The Tigers’ highest finish at Eastview went to Jacob Gabbard, who finished second at 106 pounds. Gabbard, now 14-3, lost a 5-2 decision in the finals to the No.10-ranked wrestler in Class 2A.

Joe Hoeve finished third at 160 pounds after losing 5-3 to the No. 4-ranked wrestler in Class 2A in the semifinals. Hoeve now has a record of 17-9.

Kelvin O’Brien added a fifth-place finish at 113 in his first career varsity tournament and Chris McCue placed fifth at 145 pounds.

Shakopee outscored Scott West 210-196 to take top honors in the 12-team invite.

The ninth-grade team beat Forest Lake 58-19 and Canby 43-12 before falling to St. Francis 43-30 in the quarterfinals of the 24-team tournament. The Tigers bounced back to beat Cambridge-Isanti 39-30 in the consolation semifinals and Centennial 47-29 in the fifth-place match. Coon Rapids won the championship match 43-30 over Hastings.

The Tiger varsity is back in action tonight when it hosts New Prague for a Missota Conference dual.

Tags: sports, farmington, tigers, prep, wrestling