Section team tournament is next week at Farmington High
One result from last week might catch coaches’ attention when they seed teams for the Class 3A, Section 2 wrestling tournament.
Farmington’s 31-30 victory over New Prague on Feb. 1 could have an effect on the seedings. New Prague, which finished second in the 2023 Class 2A tournament before moving up this year, was sixth in the state Class 3A rankings while Farmington was outside the top 12. That could change when the newest rankings are released Thursday by TheGuillotine.com.
It suggests a closely contested tournament for the Section 2A championship. The final three rounds of the team tournament will be Friday, Feb. 16, at Farmington High School. Josh Barlage, coach of 11th-ranked and Section 2A contender Apple Valley, said recently as many as four teams could have a chance to win the section.
Count Farmington among them. Jon Heeren, the Tigers’ interim head coach, chuckled when asked Wednesday if the victory over New Prague changed his team’s expectations for the section tournament.
It wasn’t the first time he was asked about that.
“That was a popular question after the meet was over,” Heeren said. “‘Yes’ is the short answer. You never know how it’s going to go when you step on the mat, but I think we have a case for being one of the top seeds.”
New Prague led for much of the Feb. 1 match but chose not to send out an opponent at 189 pounds for Tigers senior and returning state champion Cole Han-Lindemyer. The forfeit gave Farmington a 28-27 lead. New Prague took a decision at 215, but a 5-0 victory by Farmington senior Dylan Henrikson at 285 gave the Tigers the dual victory. The Tigers won five of the final seven weights after falling behind 18-4 after four matches.
Farmington also wrestled Lakeville South in a South Suburban Conference match Feb. 1, winning 34-27. Farmington led by four points going into the heavyweight match, which Henrikson won 5-0 to seal the victory.
Like many teams, the Tigers rarely have been able to put their best lineup on the mat in the regular season. Injuries, illness and rest typically factor into lineup decisions, and it was no different for Farmington. Han-Lindemyer, for example, has been held out of some matches to rest a knee. He hasn’t wrestled enough matches to appear in the metro honor roll despite being ranked first in the state at his weight.
But a strong core group including Zach Olson (133), Davis Parrow (139), Edon Davis (160), Han-Lindemyer and Henrikson have helped keep the Tigers competitive as their lineup took shape. Parrow also is ranked first in the state in his weight class and Davis carries a No. 8 ranking.
“Davis and Cole have been dominant,” Heeren said. “Edon and Dylan are seniors and great leaders, and you can’t say enough about what it means to have wrestlers like that in your lineup. Zach Olson is another senior, and he’s been in the lineup at 133 almost every meet. It makes it a lot easier for the coach when you have a kid like him that you know you can plug into the lineup every day.”
The Tigers were second to Apple Valley in the 2023 Section 2 team tournament. Apple Valley defeated Farmington 41-27 in a regular-season South Suburban Conference match, but both teams’ lineups are likely to look a little different if they face each other at sections.
Burnsville, Eastview, Lakeville North, Lakeville South, Rosemount and Prior Lake are the other teams in the Class 3A, Section 2 team tournament. The eighth and ninth seeds will wrestle at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14, at Farmington High, with the tournament resuming with the quarterfinals at 4 p.m. Feb. 16th. The final two rounds of the tournament also will be Feb. 16.
Class 3A, Section 2 individual competition is scheduled for Feb. 23-24 at Prior Lake High School.
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