Park Rapids' Ashton Clark, Justin Dravis and Cody Dravis were expected to contend for individual state titles at this year's state Class A wrestling tournament.
All three competed at state the last two seasons and all three were rated in the state Class A polls the entire season. Clark and Justin Dravis were also looking to repeat as state medalists.
All three opened state with a pair of wins and were in the running for state championships. Even though none of the three capped off the season as state champions, all three earned medals as Clark finished second at 106 pounds, Justin Dravis placed third at 160 pounds and Cody Dravis placed third at 170 pounds to give the Panthers three state medalists.
All three opened Friday's first rounds at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul by advancing to Saturday's semifinals to guarantee bringing home state medals.
Clark, the No. 1 seed and No. 1-rated wrestler in the state Class A poll at 106, used a pair of major decisions to reach the semifinals. The Park Rapids sophomore, who qualified for his third straight state meet by winning the Section 8A title, defeated Pipestone's Grant Budden 9-0 in the first round and followed with takedowns in the first and second periods and an escape, takedown and nearfall in the third period for a 10-0 major decision over Dover-Eyota's Taylor DeFrang in the quarterfinals. Budden was unranked and the No. 3 seed while DeFrang was the No. 8 seed and rated No. 5.
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Justin Dravis won the section title to enter his fourth state tournament as the No. 2 seed and rated No. 2 at 160 pounds. The Park Rapids senior needed a reversal and takedown in the third period to rally from a 4-2 deficit for a 6-4 minor decision over St. Charles' Bennett Sikkink in the first round and followed by pinning Blackduck-Cass Lake-Bena's Mason Preston in 1:18 in the quarterfinals. Sikkink was rated No. 7 in the state while Preston was the No. 7 seed.
Cody Dravis entered his third state meet rated No. 9 and as the No. 4 seed at 170 pounds after winning the section title. Dravis pinned his way to the semifinals, defeating Goodhue's Mason Huemann in 1:55 and Trinity School at River Ridge's Colin Maines in 51 seconds. Huemann was unranked while Maines was rated No. 10 and seeded No. 5.
During Saturday morning's semifinals, Clark advanced to the finals while Justin Dravis and Cody Dravis were thrown into the wrestlebacks.
Clark's first-period takedown and nearfall and pair of escapes in the third period led to a 7-4 decision over Grand Meadow's Jackson Hale, who was the No. 4 seed. That win sent Clark to Saturday night's championship match.
Jackson County Central's Dalton Wagner denied Justin Dravis his first trip to the finals as two takedowns in the first period, two takedowns in the second period and an escape and takedown in the third period sparked an 11-2 major decision. Dravis scored on an escape in the first period and an escape in the second period. Wagner entered state as the top-ranked wrestler at 160 and the No. 3 seed.
Staples-Motley's Alex Erpelding, who handed Justin Dravis his only loss during the regular season, lived up to his No. 1 seed and No. 2 ranking with a 15-0 technical fall over Cody Dravis in 4:51. Erpelding advanced to the finals with a takedown and nearfall in the first period, a takedown and nearfall in the second period, and an escape, takedown and nearfall in the third period.
During Saturday's consolation semifinals, Justin Dravis' takedown and nearfall in the second period and reversal and escape in the third period produced a 7-2 minor decision over United North Central's Toby Hintzman in a rematch of the section championship match. Cody Dravis held on for a 6-4 minor decision over Zumbrota-Mazeppa's Hayden Voxland as a takedown and nearfall in the first period and takedown in the third period provided a 6-2 lead before Voxland ended the scoring with a penalty point and an escape. Voxland was the No. 7 seed.
Justin Dravis defended his third-place title by pinning Westfield's Colton Krell in 1:26. That capped off Dravis' senior season with a 40-2 record to raise his career record to 189-44. The 189 wins are the most in Park Rapids history. That win also gave Dravis his third state medal. Dravis went 1-2 in his state debut at 145 as a freshman, placed fourth at 152 as a sophomore and took third at 160 last season. Krell, who was rated No. 3 and was the No. 4 seed, ended his season at 32-6.
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Goodhue's Bailee O'Reilly, who was the No. 1 seed and the top-rated wrestler at 170 in the final state poll, defeated Wagner 13-11 in the championship match. O'Reilly ended with a 41-1 record while Wagner finished at 39-4. Hintzman finished fifth to cap off a 36-9 season while Sikkink ended at 34-9 and Preston finished at 27-11.
Cody Dravis won his first state medal in his third trip to state as a takedown in the first period, takedown and penalty point in the second period, and escape in the third period led to a 6-1 minor decision over Huemann in the third-place match. Huemann closed the season with a 38-10 record. Cody Dravis capped off his sophomore season with a 38-7 record to raise his career record to 97-31. Cody Dravis went 0-1 in his state debut at 145 as an eighth grader and lost both matches at 152 last season.
Erpelding captured the state title with a 10-4 decision over Lake Crystal-Wellcome-Memorial Area's Jeremiah Colon, who was rated No 4 entering state. Erpelding ended with a 41-1 record while Colon closed at 27-3. Voxland finished fifth to cap off a 30-14 season while Maines ended at 30-9.
Clark was looking to become Park Rapids' first state champion since Tyler Safratowich won the third of his three straight state titles in 2004. After Clark and United South Central's Blake Legred battled through two scoreless periods, Clark chose the down position for the third period. Clark was looking for an escape to take the lead, but Legred's nearfall led to a 3-0 decision and the state title.
Legred, who was the No. 2 seed and the No. 2-ranked wrestler in the state, closed his sophomore season with a 38-3 mark. Clark, who was the only returning wrestler in the field at 106, ended the season at 39-3 to raise his career record to 103-20 to move into the No. 15 spot in school history for career wins. Clark lost both matches in his state debut at 106 in 2015 and placed fifth at 106 last season.
Hale ended up placing third with a 20-5 technical fall win in 4:13 over Windom/Mountain Lake's Brett Willaby while DeFrang defeated Frazee's Landon Byer 5-0 in the fifth-place match. Hale closed the season with a 36-4 record, Willaby went 38-7, DeFrang finished at 33-8, Byer ended at 35-9 and Budden closed at 36-8.
