Bismarck High came out as the big winner of the night, with 260.5 points. Minot High was the runner-up of the evening, collecting a total of 208.5. Mandan rounded out the top three at 159.

Following the top three teams were Bismarck Century (152), Turtle Mountain Community High (144.5), Dickinson (135), Bismarck Legacy (105.5), Bismarck St. Mary’s (70), Jamestown (64) and Williston (42.5).

“I think today went really well for, I guess myself personally, and the entire team,” Minot High senior wrestler Brody Armstrong said. “We didn’t get the outcome we wanted as a team, you know, we took second, but I thought we wrestled strong. We had some guys surprise us in some weight classes so we’re looking good going into next week.”

Overall, the Magi had six wrestlers advance through to the final matches of their weight classes, three of which earning WDA championship titles.

Ashton Gerard/MDN Creighton Rudolph of Minot, left, faces off with Branden Franchuk of Bismarck St. Mary's, Saturday at Minot State University.

Minot’s Kelby Armstrong advanced to the semifinals in the 106-pound weight class to face Bismarck Legacy’s Tim Kadrmas. Armstrong was able to pin Kadrmas in the first round at 34 seconds into the match. Armstrong went on to face Hayden Johnsrud of Bismarck Century for the championship match.

Armstrong dominated most of the match, scrambling around Johnsrud to find an opening to make a move. Armstrong earned four points in the first from takedowns, while Johnsrud earned one off an escape.

The rest of the match was much of the same, leaving Armstrong victorious in a 12-2 major decision.

At 120-pounds, Minot’s Corey Hooker wrestled Ethan Bowman of Jamestown for the 120-pound semifinals. Hooker defeated Bowman in an overtime sudden victory, with a final point count of 6-4. Hooker went on to face Laken Boese of Bismarck High for the championship.

Boese was able to pin Hooker in the first round, giving Hooker second place in the western region.

Ashton Gerard/MDN Minot High senior wrestler Elijah Huff stands with Koby Brunelle during the 285-pound championship match, Saturday at Minot State University

“Corey Hooker had a really good day, he beat two really tough guys and put himself in a good position for the state tournament next week,” Minot High head coach Justin Racine said.

Brody Armstrong of Minot faced Izaiah Bitz of Bismarck Century for the 132-pound semifinal match. Armstrong was able to best Bitz with a major decision win, 11-2, to advance to the championship. Battling for number one in the western region at 132-pounds were Armstrong and Ethan Fleck of Mandan.

The match was a back and forth battle between No. 1 Armstrong and No. 2 Fleck. Ultimately, Armstrong landed more takedowns. Fleck, however, took Armstrong down once and escape three times. An 8-5 decision gave Armstrong the 132-pound WDA championship.

“I definitely think there’s improvements that need to be made before next week,” Armstrong said about his matches. “Just a couple small adjustments, but I thought I wrestled strong today.”

Armstrong was awarded senior athlete of the year in the west region later Saturday evening.

Ashton Gerard/MDN Kelby Armstrong, of Minot High, works to make his move, Saturday at Minot State University.

Minot sophomore Trevon McClanahan pinned Mandan’s Seth Berg and won in a decision over Bismarck High’s Jaden Smith to enter the finals for the WDA individual championship at 138-pounds.

McClanahan faced Turtle Mountain’s Dawson Zerr in the final round of the bracket, but couldn’t seem to make anything happen. The first round was very slow, with each wrestler coming up with a game plan. Zerr was able to land multiple takedowns in the second and third rounds to secure his 7-0 victory over McClanahan.

At 152-pounds, Jacob Mortensen was upset in the quarterfinals. Mortensen was seeded second and was outwrestled in a 3-2 decision by No. 6 Matthew Rader of Bismarck Century.

Mortensen, however, was not completely out, as he was able to wrestle his way through Bismarck St. Mary’s Christian Hanson for a shot at third place.

Tate Norby, of Dickinson, was also up for the third place slot. In the first round of their match, Norby was able to take Mortensen to the ground, where he kept most of the control but Mortensen wasn’t ready to back down.

Ashton Gerard/MDN Minot High wrestler Trevon McClanahan, left, eyes his opponent in a match Saturday at Minot State University.

Mortensen came out in the second and took Norby down, and within a minute had him pinned.

Creighton Rudolph returned to the mat for the first time since suffering an injury earlier this season. Rudolph won his quarterfinal match with an 11-1 major decision over Tanner Jarrett of Dickinson and his semifinal match over Bismarck St. Mary’s Branden Franchuk in a 12-7 decision.

Bismarck High’s Parker Wahl was ready to battle for the championship, but Rudolph had to forfeit for medical reasons and took home the second place badge.

Minot’s Wyatt Willenbring and Hunter Swartwout at 220-pounds battled each other for a shot at third place. Swartwout landed a takedown, had a nearfall and an escape. Though Swartwout led 5-0 with 26 seconds left in the match, he stopped the match due to injury.

Upon further inspection, Swartwout and medical staff were worried about a possible concussion. Swartwout forfeited the rest of his matches.

Willenbring subsequently won the match and went on to battle for a third place finish against Marcus Goulet of Turtle Mountain.

Goulet was able to land multiple takedowns and a reversal, tipping the scales in his favor as he won the watch in a 7-3 decision over Willenbring.

Eli Huff battled Bismarck’s Nolan Hintz in the 285-pound semifinal match. Huff pinned Hintz in the third round of the match at 5 minutes and 42 seconds.

Huff went on to face Koby Brunelle of Turtle Mountain for the final.

Both Huff and Brunelle were having a hard time finding the right moves for the bout, but Huff in the second round was able to land a significant takedown to win the match in a 4-1 decision.

“Coming in, I knew I wanted to take first and that’s exactly what I did,” Huff said. “Now I just gotta take it into next week.”

Huff believes if he keeps his mind straight and keeps working hard on the mat, an individual state title could be on his horizon.

With 10 guys in the semifinals and six making it through to the finals, Racine was pleased with the way his wrestlers performed Saturday.

The top eight wrestlers in each weight class Saturday will move on to the state individual tournament next week. Minot High had 13 wrestlers finish within the top eight.

The Class A state wrestling tournament will begin Thursday at the Fargodome.