Aside from all the action, trophies and emotion, the best part about state tournament season is the people watching. It doesn't get more diverse than wrestling fans, and that's just in the food. It's barely 8:30 a.m., yet in one section this morning at Xcel Energy Center I spotted one hot dog, two bags of mini doughnuts, french fries and one of the largest cups of Diet Coke you'll ever see.
Guess these folks don't have to make weight, eh?
The competitors on the other hand, did have to weigh in around 3:45 yesterday. After a good night's sleep, it all gets started here at 9 a.m. Class 1A opening round matches in the 14 weight individual weight classes are up first, followed by Class 2A at 11 a.m. and Class 3A at 1 p.m. All three classes will then have quarterfinals (scheduled beginning with 1A for 5, 6 and 7 p.m.) and wrestlebacks (8 p.m.) tonight. We'll then have the semifinals and crown champions tomorrow.
I have my eye on a few different things for today. One obvious storyline is to follow Fulda/Murray County Central 103-pounder Elissa Reinsma. You can more about her here.
We have a lot of other stuff going on, too.
In all, 21 returning champions are here today: Nine in Class 3A, and six each in Class 2A and 1A.
The 125-pound weight class in Class 1A has five returning medalists from a year ago, but none were winners. So a good bit of talent will be on display there. Also in Class 1A, a trio of undefeated wrestlers - LeSueur-Henderson's Brett Pfarr, Anthony Caputo of Crookston and Joe Franta of Blue Earth - are all out for a first state championship.
In the bigger classes, Simley (2A) and Apple Valley (3A) each have 13 wrestlers competing. Both of those teams won championships here last night. Frazee has 11 qualifiers in 1A. The Hornets shared the 1A title with Jackson County Central after a 28-28 draw.
