The ACGC wrestling team certainly used the home mats to their advantage Saturday afternoon as they hosted the Class 1A Section 3 tournament in Guthrie Center. After the matches concluded, the Chargers earned a 2nd place team finish and one of the qualifying spots in the Class 1A regional duals. Five individuals also earned spots in this upcoming Saturday’s Class 1A District 2 tournament.

The individuals who qualified for the gold and black include: senior Blaine Beeler (120), sophomore Gunnar Larsen (132), senior Easton Benson (138), senior Gabe Rowley (145), and senior Ben Kingery (195). Beeler, Larsen, and Benson were all victorious in their respective weight classes, while Rowley and Kingery finished in 2nd place. Freshman Dawson Muller (113), sophomore Cale Rowley (126) and sophomore Gage Buttler (285) just missed the cut, each finishing in 3rd. Other participants for the gold and black include: sophomore Devon Oberholtz (5th-152), freshman Bryce Rocholz (4th-160), freshman Gavin Cornelison (170), and junior Cole Plowman (4th-182).

The Chargers will travel to Emmetsburg on Tuesday to dual with the #6 ranked E-Hawks. The other semifinal in the Emmetsburg region pits #12 Central Springs against #14 GT-RA. The overall winner of that region will advance to the state dual competition. The Chargers will likely be without two of their normal starters due to injury, as Cornelison suffered a left knee injury during the first round of Saturday’s sectionals. He joins Seth Danker (113), who injured his wrist at the Charger Invitational the previous weekend.

The five individuals advancing to the District 2 tournament will travel to Truro on Saturday, February 9th. The top two individuals in each weight class at that competition will advance to state in Des Moines.