FARGO -- Grand Forks Central couldn't have asked for a better first day here at the North Dakota state wrestling tournament.
Central's four wrestlers who advanced to the semifinals Thursday each held seeds of fifth or lower.
Central 130-pounder Matt Wright, 140-pounder Erik Jones, 145-pounder Kaccee Morin and heavyweight Gabe Gorneau each advanced to the semifinals. Wright, Jones and Gorneau were each seeded sixth, while Morin was seeded fifth.
"To have four wrestlers that were five seeds or lower make the semifinals is a terrific first day," Central coach Matt Berglund said. "That's probably one of the best first days in a long time."
Morin advanced to the semifinals with an overtime win over Fargo South's Nick Larson.
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Jones may have been the day's biggest surprise. He defeated Fargo North's Brandon Lee 8-3 in the quarterfinals. Jones had lost to Lee at last weekend's region meet.
"And it wasn't close," Berglund said. "This time (Erik) was pretty dominant. That's a huge turnaround."
Wrestlebacks begin at 10:30 a.m. today, while the semifinals begin at 5 p.m.
"It's going to be a situation where none of our guys will be favored, but I wouldn't bet against any of them," Berglund said. "I won't make any predictions, but we're not out of the woods in any of those matches."
Two Riders advance to semis
For Grand Forks Red River, two wrestlers have advanced to the semifinals.
No. 2 seed Josstyn Richter recorded two pins to advance at 125 pounds, while No. 6 seed Jared Espe upset No. 3 seed, Delson Saintal of Fargo North, with a pin at 189 pounds.
"Jared wrestled very well," Red River coach Bruce Moe said. "He beat a guy who beat Jared earlier in the year."
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In the semifinals, Espe will face Fargo South's Tanner Jones, who finished runner-up last season at 189 pounds.
Richter will face West Fargo's Tommy Kuehn, who Richter has defeated in two of three matches this season.
"We're hoping for a couple guys in the finals, but both will have to wrestle well," Moe said.
Davidson makes final four
Devils Lake's Brock Davidson is the No. 1 seed at 145 pounds. And the senior reached today's semifinals with relative ease.
Davidson won twice Thursday, both with first-period pins. He'll take a 41-3 record into the semifinals against Central's Morin.
Five area wrestlers in B semifinals
Five area wrestlers -- one from Hillsboro and four from Rolla-Rock Lake-St. John -- have reached today's semifinals of the Class B individual state tournament.
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The Burros' Tanner Boeddeker will meet fourth-seeded Charles Becker of New Salem in today's semifinals. Boeddeker, the No. 1 seed at 171 pounds, advanced through the first two rounds with a pair of second-period pins.
Also in the 171 semis will be second-seeded Michael Bonn of Rolla-Rock Lake-St. John. He advanced with a pair of decisions and will meet Carrington's third-seeded Jordon Mittleider in the semifinals.
Also reaching the semis for the Bulldogs are Willson Hallaway, Jared Vandal and Seth Anderson.
Hallaway, seeded third, advanced with a pair of second-period pins in the 140-pound division. He'll meet second-seeded James Murphy of Carrington in the semis.
Vandal, the No. 2 seed at 189, won 6-0 in the first round, then scored a second-period pin in the quarterfinals to set up a semifinal match against Ellendale-Edgeley-Kulm sophomore Jamison Jangula.
Anderson, seeded third at 285, advanced with a first-period pin and a 6-2 decision in the semifinals. He'll meet second-seeded Alex Andel of Valley City, a junior who reached the semis with a pair of first-period pins.
