The Bismarck Demons are individual team champions again. The Demons, who all but locked up the title in yesterdays semifinal round with seven victories, put up an impressive 250 team points; ninety-nine more than second place Minot.  Bismarck High was paced by five individual state champions.  At 170 pounds, Gage Roaldson put on a leg riding clinic against #2 Connor Chloupek of Davies.  Chloupek kept the match close through a period and a half, but Roaldson scored backpoints on multiple occasions and nearly secured a fall before scoring an 11-2 major decision.  The #1 ranked senior Roaldson won his title after missing the second half of his junior year with a neck injury.   The Demons continued winning at 182, where Isaiah Huus gave up the first takedown to #2 Colby Rance of Devils Lake, but promptly escaped and never looked back.  Huus led big before securing a fall in 5:29 and grabbing his first stat title.  Only a sophomore, Huus was third at Class B New Salem last season.  After a short break, Bismarck High then won the final three matches of the night at 106, 113, and 120.  At 106, Demon #1 LJ Araujo scored two escapes and a stalling point to edge Valley City’s Koye Grebel 3-2 in what was the most talked about final of the afternoon.  After a scoreless first period, Araujo took the bottom position.  Grebel rode strong for over a minute before being warned for stalling with after coming to his feet with a single leg in the air.  After a stoppage and restart, Grebel was again warned and gave up a stall point, plus an escape point at the buzzer.  Behind 0-2, Grebel went neutral in the third and scored the match’s only takedown via single leg. with :50 seconds on the clock Grebel cut Araujo looking for another takeodown for the win, but didn’t get it.  The Tanefeu brothers put the final stamp on the Demon domination with a major decision and fall respectively.  Christian opened up what had previously been a tightly wrestled series with Jamestown’s Aden Braun with an 11-2 major decision.  At 120, Wilfried made quick work Century’s Hayden Johnsrod with two takedowns before a fall in 1:37.  The Tanefeu brothers, both juniors and Fargo national champions, will now shift their focus on to the summer freestyle circuit and potential college suitors.

The Demons were not without loss in the finals.  At 132, Bismarck’s Kaden Renner ran into the most impressive finals performance of the day from Fargo South sophomore Jacob Thomas.  Thomas started the match with a bang, and didn’t stop until the whistle blew and he had a 19-3 technical fall.  Thomas’s two feet to back throws in the first period gave him an early 9-1 lead.  With Renner forced to push the action in effort to get back in the match, Thomas was able to score two go-behind takedowns before another throw with :6 seconds remaining ended the bout.  Thomas was South’s first state champion in seven years.  At 152, Jamestown senior Noah Braun bested Demon #1 Brock Fettig 8-3.  Braun scored the match’s first takedown in the second period, and after a Fettig escape found his way to the legs again with a fantastic hi-crotch from space that didn’t score because the second period ended.  Needing to score in the third, Fettig fired off a double and nearly ran it down for two points, but Braun was able to set his hips and pull Fettig in to a five point headlock that iced the bout.

The biggest shocker in an afternoon filled with intrigue came when Dickinson’s Troy Berg pinned Bismarck St. Mary’s Central state champion and five-time finalist Drew Steidler in 1:30.  Berg nearly scored from a single leg right away in the first, but Steidler scrambled his way out of bounds.  On the restart, Steidler took a shot and Berg was able to stuff the head find double underhook hip toss that ended in a pin.  Only a sophomore, Berg is now a runner-up and state champion.  Steidler was awarded the Class A Outstanding Senior Athlete award at the conclusion of the tournament.

St. Mary’s Central did crown one state champion in Reece Barnhart.  A junior, Barnhardt rolled to a 19-8 major decision over Devils Lake’s Brant Fisk.  The title was Barnhardt’s third.  He will look to join elite company with his fourth title next winter.

Bismarck Century’s Clay Radenz made it to the top of the podium at 138 after two years of runner-up performances.  Radenz scored the first three points of the match before giving up a late stalling to beat Minot’s Trevon McClaanahan 3-1.  Radenz has one more year left in a Patriot singlet.

Valley City’s Parker Larson left no doubt that he was the state’s best 160 pounder.  Larson maintained great motion from neutral, scoring a nice low level attack for an early lead.  Needing to push the pace, Minot’s Chase Burk walked right into a signature Larson throw.  The throw blew the match open and Larson went on to win 10-3.

Minot’s Jacob Carmichael got out to an large lead early against #4 Shane Kennedy of Sheyenne.  Kennedy inched his way back into the match and even took a 9-8 lead late before Carmichael scored an escape to send the match to overtime.  In overtime, Carmichael pulled the trigger on a beautiful double leg that wont he 195 pound championship

In an all-EDC clash at 220, Truman Werremeyer of Davies outlasted Ben Anderson of West Fargo 2-1 in the ultimate tie breakers.  Werremeyer controlled the match throughout, but Anderson was able to use solid hip motion and underhooks to fend off any Werremeyer scoring opportunities in regulation.  Only a junior, Werremeyer will look to add another title next season.

It was also all-EDC at 285, and #1 seed Brody DeFoe of Grand Forks Central left no doubt as to who the state’s best heavweight is Defoe scored pins in the semifinals and finals on his way to  a 41-3 overall record.  Defoe took the early finals lead over Isaiah Gates of Fargo South, and then closed the bout with the pin in 3:16.