Wrestling: Venz goes 3-0, moves to 26-1 at Eastview

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With several team members fighting illness, Farmington sent just seven wrestlers to compete in the Eastview Invite Saturday in Apple Valley.

Second-ranked 106-pounder Taylor Venz captured the Tigers’ lone individual title, upping his record to 26-1 with a perfect 3-0 day. Venz opened with a technical fall, and then won his semifinal match 14-9 over a Shakopee wrestler that entered with a record of 21-4. In the finals, Venz scored a 10-2 major decision over the state’s fifth-ranked 106-pounder, Christian Bahl of Stillwater.

Matt Rustad and Jamie Scavone each added fifth-place finishes. Rustad went 3-2 at 132 pounds and capped off the tournament by defeating ninth-ranked Brandon Peterson of Faribault 2-0 in the fifth-place match. Scavone lost his first match at 220, but came back to win 13-11 in the consolation bracket and 2-1 in the fifth-place match.

“We are starting to get some guys back from illness and injury, but are probably two weeks away from having everyone back in our line up,” Farmington coach Chad Olson said. “Our goal is to have everyone healthy and ready to go for Friday, Feb. 8 when we wrestle No. 12 Anoka and then springboard that into team sections.”

The Tigers came out on the losing end in a couple of Missota Conference duals last Thursday in Northfield. New Prague defeated the Tigers 60-17 and the host Raiders won, 45-28. Venz, Rustad, Jamin LeDuc and Joe Hoeve each went 2-0. LeDuc improved his record to 19-1 and Hoeve moved to 16-9.

Tags: high school, sports, farmington, tigers, prep, wrestling