Orono Wrestlers Perform Well in Post Season Tournaments
Leonard Tukhlynovych, Noah Arneson, and Danny Striggow competed this past weekend in the MNUSA State wrestling tournament in Rochester. Over 1500 wrestlers competed in 5 different aged based divisions.
In the Novice division, 5th grader Leonard Tukhlynovych earned a third place medal at 75 pounds among a field of 47 boys. His only loss of the tournament came in the round of 16 to the eventual champion, Carter Ban of Anoka. The 0-1 score was decided in overtime. Leo fought his way back through six matches in the consolation rounds to earn a third place finish over Northfield’s Beau Murphy 6-2.
7th Grader Noah Arneson competed in a field of 29 boys at 120 pounds in the Schoolboy division. In a bracket that featured a Minnesota State High School Champion, Charlie Pickell of Mankato West and two other state qualifiers, Arneson made it to the round of 8 before being knocked out of the tournament (the top six place winners in each weight earn a medal).
8th Grader Danny Striggow made it to the top of the podium at 160 pounds in the Schoolboy division with an opening round 4-3 decision and three subsequent falls in the quarter, semi, and final rounds. His last fall came against Louden Johnson of Anoka in just 0:53 seconds of the first period in the Championship round. Danny’s championship medal earns him an invitation to participate on the Minnesota Storm Middle School Dual Meet Team that will compete against other states at the Heartland Middle School Duals in Council Bluffs, Iowa later in April.
A week earlier, Sophomore Bobby Striggow earned a first place medal at 182 in the Cadet division. The tournament, held at Anoka High School featured numerous place winners from the State High School tournament held a few weeks earlier. As a result of his win, the older Striggow will be competing in the Cadet Division at the USA Wrestling National Tournament held at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa in early April.
Eight Orono wrestlers will be competing this weekend at the NYWA State Regional qualifier in Lakeville. This tournament is held for those boys in grades 1-8 that qualified in earlier District Tournaments. The divisions are separated by grade groupings 1st-2nd, 3rd-4th, 5th-6th, and 7th-8th. The top three place winners in this tournament will qualify for the NYWA State tournament held later in April.
