Bismarck High leads Minot by 6.5 points heading into tomorrow afternoon’s all-important semifinal round.  The two teams have created some the field, as Minot sits 22 points ahead of third place Mandan.  Rounding out the top five are Valley City and West Fargo.

The Demons advanced wresters to the semifinals in six of the first seven weight classes and eight overall Their lone hiccup early came in the first round when four seed Troy Berg defeated state finalist and #4 seed Jaden Schmidt 7-5 in the first round.  Brothers Preston and Brock Fettig advance through to the semifinals as four seeds at 106 and 113 respectively.  Brock scored a third period fall over Century’s Neil Bohrer, while Preston defeated Samuel Goodman of Minot 5-1. Demon 132 Adam DeBoer will wrestle in the semis after a 8-2 decision of Turtle Mountain’s Tate Lauder.  From there, Bismarck #1 seeds did the rest of the heavy lifting.  Laken Boese (113), Ryan Ripplinger (126), Devin Steidler (145), Parker Wahl (170), and Chase Dockter (220) all advanced though to the Friday evening session with relative ease.  Boese, Ripplinger, and Dockter all recorded falls for maximum bonus points.

Minot held serve with Bismarck by sending eight of their own through to the semis, though the Magi have fewer probable finalists based on seeds.  That doesn’t mean they won’t be ready to defend their title tomorrow evening. Minot’s two number one seeds, brothers Kelby (106) and Brody (132) Armstrong advance to the semifinals with pins.  As did heavyweight Eli Huff.  Minot got a huge win at 120 from Corey Hooker, who scored a 9-8 decision over Jaren Berger of Dickinson in one of the most entertaining quarters of the evening.  Also advancing for Minot were Hunter Swartwout (220), Trevon McClaanahan (138), Jacob Mortensen (152), and Creighton Rudolph (170).

Minot and Bismarck will meet twice tomorrow, with the Magi being favored with Kelby Armstrong  at 106 and Bismarck favor at 120 with Laken Boese.