Sports
Hopkins Matmen Headed To State
Third-seeded Royals defeat No. 2 Minnetonka, No. 1 Eden Prairie to claim Section 6AA team championship.
The Hopkins wrestling team cut a swath through the Section 6AA team tournament that it hosted on Saturday afternoon as the third-seeded Royals defeated No. 2 Minnetonka and No. 1 Eden Prairie to claim the championship and a berth in the state meet.
Hopkins opened the day by topping No. 6 seed Robbinsdale Cooper, 54-21, in the quarterfinal round before claiming a 42-27 victory over the Skippers in the semifinals to gain a spot in the title match against the Eagles.
The Royals never trailed in the final as Jacob Price's win by fall at 103-pounds gave Hopkins the lead for good, with teammates Ben Calvert (119 pounds), Nathaniel Haecherl (130), Michael DeJolsvay (135), Austin Haecherl (140), Romar Daniel (152), Trey Goeman (171) and Kevin Russell (215) also besting their Eden Prairie opponents in the triumph.
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Hopkins now advances to the State Class AAA Tournament, scheduled to run March 2-5 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Before that, however, Royals wrestlers will compete once more in the individual section meet — to be held at Minnetonka High School Feb. 25-26 — to determine which Hopkins grapplers will wrestle for themselves at state.