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March 8, 2009

LSH's Sunderman wins wrestling title

Beats section rival for 130-pound Class A crown

By Tyler Buckentine

ST. PAUL — The last time Jason Sunderman wrestled Tony Vaske, the two were in middle school. It’s safe to say they know each other pretty well after this week.

Sunderman of Le Sueur-Henderson defeated River Valley’s Vaske 5-2 in the 130-pound championship match at the Class A tournament at Xcel Energy Center. The win avenged an 11-7 defeat last weekend in the Section 4A tournament.

“I can’t explain it, I’m just so happy,” said Sunderman, who remembers pinning Vaske in their match around four years ago. “Obviously things have changed, and he’s a lot better.”

No. 3-ranked Sunderman (34-5) took an early advantage Saturday against the top-ranked Vaske with two takedowns and an escape to build a 5-0 lead. Vaske got a late takedown, but Sunderman held on for the victory.

“I knew I had to wrestle my match,” Sunderman said. “When I wrestled him at sections, I was worried about what he was going to do.”

“We wanted (Sunderman) to control the match by slowing it down,” said Le Sueur-Henderson coach Scott Wilson. “Tony’s a good scrambler and when they both get going and scrambling, Tony is favored.”

It was Sunderman’s third-straight appearance in the finals. He lost the 125-pound championship by one point in 2008 and the 112-pound match the year before. Saturday’s win was Sunderman’s 100th victory since the 2006-07 season when he made his first appearance at state.

“It was devastating (losing the title match in 2008),” Sunderman said. “I knew I had to come back this year and win it.”

At 152 pounds, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial’s Cody Tibbets (34-10), unranked going into the tournament, defeated the Nos. 4- and 9-rated wrestlers on the way to the finals. He managed to keep the title match close against No. 10 Tyler Yule without scoring an offensive point until the end of the match where he gave up a takedown in the final seconds of a 9-5 loss.

No. 2 Tucker Freeman of Madelia-Truman/Martin Luther had a tough draw at 160 pounds with two-time defending state champion Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunberg’s Kevin Steinhaus, who posted a 14-3 major decision.

“He’s in great condition. He just keeps at you,” Freeman said of Steinhaus, who will wrestle at the University of Minnesota. “If you’re dead in the third period, he’ll crush you and that’s what he did to me.”

Maple River’s third-ranked Alex Bach took on No. 1 Joel Bauman of KMS in the 189-pound championship. Bach lost the title match 5-3, despite getting off to a fast start.

“I was feeling good after I got the first takedown,” said Bach, who finishes the season with a 33-2 record. “I can usually ride out anyone. I was riding him hard. I was giving my best.”

Jake Lee of Blue Earth Area saw his string of wins against ranked opponents get snapped when he fell to Chatfield’s Joe Farnell, 5-1, in the 285-pound title match. Lee (42-2), ranked third, knocked off top-ranked Brad Wollum Friday and the Nos. 4- and 7-rated wrestlers before that.

“When you wrestle all those ranked guys and then you get the No. 2 kid in the final, it’s kind of a struggle,” Lee said. “I got quite the draws up here this year, I’d say.”

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