ST. PAUL -- Adrian's wrestling team got off to a fast start Friday morning.
The Dragons registered dramatic comeback victories in each of the first two matches against Scott West in the Class AA consolation quarterfinals at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
It was all downhill from there.
Scott West won eight of the remaining 12 matches en route to a 34-21 victory, eliminating Adrian from the state tournament.
It was the first time in their past five trips that the Dragons failed to place in the top five. They placed third two years ago, third in 2006, runner-up in 2005, and third in 2004.
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"They're tough," Adrian coach Gregg Nelson said, referring to the Panthers. "There's a reason they came within six points of the No. 10 team in the country (Thursday). So it's not a mistake; they're tough. They're just a little bit tougher than we are."
Scott West, which is ranked No. 6 in Class AA, trailed top-ranked Simley by three points going into the heavyweight match Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals. Simley, which had all of its starting wrestlers qualify for the individual tournament, held on for a 31-25 victory.
Adrian had the Panthers on the ropes early.
Nelson again opted to move Nate Lynn from 103 pounds, at which he qualified for the individual tournament, to 112 pounds, and start eighth-grader Ben Mulder at 103.
Mulder, who won a 7-4 decision at 103 against Saint Michael-Albertville in the first round Thursday, trailed 2-0 entering the third period on Friday against Scott West ninth-grader Luke Betchwars (20-11).
Betchwars recorded a takedown early in the final period to take a 4-0 lead, but Mulder reversed him to his back and recorded a fall at 4:55.
Adrian's fans erupted, and Mulder was congratulated enthusiastically by his teammate and coaches.
Next came Lynn, who suffered a 5-2 defeat at 112 pounds against STMA on Thursday, to face Scott West ninth-grader Gabe Fogarty, who was inserted at 112 so teammate Lee Goldberg could move up to 119.
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Fogarty (5-4) took a 4-0 lead into the second period and eventually stretched his advantage to 9-4 early in the third. Lynn earned a reversal to make it 9-6, but Fogarty answered with an escape to make it 10-6. Then, late in the third period, Lynn took Fogarty down to his back, earning two points for the takedown and three points for a near-fall en route to a dramatic 11-10 victory.
"I was hoping to get those first two because I thought we were kind of favored, maybe, in both of those," Nelson said. "We didn't start out real good, but then the kids came back and got it done. It was a nice way to start the dual."
The Dragons' stellar start ended rather abruptly.
Adrian sophomore Dru Strand was trailing by one point late in the third period at 119 pounds, but Goldberg (24-3), a junior ranked No. 2 in Class AA at 112 pounds, earned a fall with 18 seconds remaining in the match.
Panthers sophomore Tyler Silverberg (26-7) recorded an early takedown against Adrian's Jacob Dorn and eventually won a 2-0 decision at 125 pounds to even the score at 9-9. Jake Siegle (29-4), who is ranked No. 7 at 125 pounds, won a 6-2 decision against Adrian's Jordan Bullerman at 130 pounds to give Scott West the lead.
The Panthers never trailed thereafter.
Mark Dvorak (24-9), who is ranked ninth at 135 pounds, held a 6-4 lead against Adrian's Luke Tiesler after two periods. The wrestlers opened the final frame in the neutral position, but neither scored, and Dvorak put the Panthers up 15-9.
Adrian's Tyler Sieve trailed by one point after two periods before Scott West's Paul Dvorak took a 5-1 lead midway through the third period on a three-point near-fall. Sieve quickly earned a reversal but eventually lost a 5-3 decision.
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Scott West senior Tyler Kivel (36-2), the top-ranked wrestler at 145 pounds, followed with a 9-2 victory over Adrian's Brock Bullerman to cap the Panthers' 21-0 run.
Adrian senior Neal Mulder stopped the bleeding and ended his high school career with a 6-3 victory over Alex Hentges at 152 pounds.
Scott West senior Dillon Fogarty (29-9), who is ranked No. 6 at 160 pounds, answered with a 21-7 major decision against Adrian's Dustin Polzine, and Connor Fogarty, who is ranked 10th at 171 pounds, overcame an early two-point deficit and earned a 3-2 victory against Adrian's Stephen Loosbrock.
"Dru was wrestling really well until he got caught, and then we wrestled pretty good, for the most part, up and down," Nelson said. "But we just didn't have enough. We had a close one at (135 pounds), a close one at 140, and a close on at 171. We were decent; they were just better."
Adrian senior Shea Klooster earned a 9-6 victory against Michael Kroells at 189 pounds, and Trent Slater pinned Scott West's Andrew Peltz in 4:26.
Scott West heavyweight Bruce Koepp pinned Adrian's Aaron Lonneman in 1:12 to end the match.
"This is the way you want to end your career, by being up here," Nelson said. "You'd like to end it on a win, but this is where you want to end your season, up here at the state tournament."
103 B. Mulder (A) fall 4:55 Betchwars, 6-0
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112 Lynn (A) dec. 11-10 G. Fogarty, 9-0
119 Goldberg (SW) fall 5:32 Strand, 9-6
125 Zilverberg (SW) dec. 2-0 Dorn, 9-9
130 Siegle (SW) dec. 6-2 J. Bullerman, 9-12
135 M. Dvorak (SW) dec. 6-4 Tiesler, 9-15
140 P. Dvorak (SW) dec. 5-3 Sieve, 9-18
145 Kivel (SW) dec. 9-2 B. Bullerman, 9-21
152 N. Mulder (A) dec. 6-3 Hentges, 12-21
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160 D. Fogarty (SW) maj. dec. 21-7 Polzine, 12-25
171 C. Fogarty (SW) dec. 3-2 Loosbrock, 12-28
189 Klooster (A) dec. 9-6 Kroells, 15-28
215 Slater (A) fall 4:26 Peltz, 21-28
Hwt. Koepp (SW) fall 1:12 Lonneman, 21-34
