Though he was disappointed that his season ended with a loss, Kamm still recognized the achievement he accomplished by placing second in the state tournament.

“No matter what I feel or what it is, it’s a huge accomplishment no matter what,” Kamm said. “Stepping out on that mat, seeing everybody with you watching you wrestle, it’s huge. It sucks to come off a loss, but it was a great way to end my year … My goal was to get to the finals, accomplished that. My other goal was to win a state final, came up a little short, but now it’s time for college.”

Slater faced off in the semifinals at 189 against Paynesville Area’s Peyton Hemmesch. Slater started the match with a takedown and a 3-point near fall, but Hemmesch got a reversal to cut Slater’s lead to 5-2. Slater started down in the second, scoring an escape and a takedown, along with a 3-point near fall. In the third, Slater finished it off with a takedown and a pin at 5:31 to advance to the finals.

In the finals, Slater fell by a 6-5 decision to Canby’s Nick Wagner, unable to get a last-second takedown after making an escape.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial Area's Nick Slater celebrates after advancing to the championship round of the Class A State Individual Wrestling Tournament Saturday at Xcel Energy Center.

In the semifinals round, Kamm took on Chatfield’s Gage Bartels at 133. After a scoreless first period, Kamm got a 2-point near fall after starting up in the second and held on to take a 2-0 lead going into the third. Kamm scored an escape in the third, a point he needed as Bortels got a last-second takedown, but Kamm ended on top with the 3-2 decision.

In the finals round, Kamm took on Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg’s Trey Gunderson, falling by a 10-0 major decision.

With his high school wrestling career concluded, Kamm plans on wrestling at University of Wisconsin Eau Claire next season, studying accounting and finance with an undergraduate business degree.

Three other area wrestlers also medaled in the Class A tourney at Xcel Energy Center. Sibley East’s Benito Diaz and LCWMA’s Ryan Palmer finished third in the tournament, while LCWMA’s Zach Palmer placed fifth.

Diaz matched up against Ogilvie’s Deegan Birkaker at 133 in the second round of the consolation bracket to open up the day. After a scoreless first period, Diaz got an escape to open the second but was taken down by Birkaker to put the score at 1-2. Diaz got another escape, however, and managed a takedown of his own to close the second. Birkaker got another takedown to tie the match in the third to tie the match, but a last-second escape gave Diaz the win to advance to the consolation finals.

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Sibley East's Benito Diaz, top, wrestles with Westfield Razorbacks’ Bo Zwiener during the semifinal round of the consolation bracket of the Class A State Individual Wrestling Tournament Saturday at Xcel Energy Center.

Diaz followed that up with another win over Westfield Razorbacks’ Bo Zwiener. Diaz got a takedown in the first, with Zwiener getting an escape. Zwiener got another escape in the second to tie the match up, but Diaz scored a reversal in the third to clinch a spot in the consolation finals.

Diaz matched up with Bartels in the third-place match, and after a scoreless first, started down in the second and got a reversal. Bartels responded with a reversal of his own, but Diaz flipped it once more for a surprise pin in 3:42 to win.

Ryan Palmer matched up against Staples-Motley’s Colbe Tapp at 152 in the semis, with Tappe winning a 9-3 decision and knocking Ryan Palmer in the consolation bracket. Ryan Palmer bounced back, however, with a 1-0 decision over Kenyon-Wanamingo’s Dillon Bartel in the consolation semifinals. Ryan Palmer won his third-place match against Souk Rapids’ Sawyer Simmons with a 5-0 decision.

Zach Palmer also wrestled in the second round of the Class A consolation bracket at 139, getting a 6-1 decision over Kimball Area’s Mark Schiefelbein after an escape, a takedown and a pair of 3-point near falls before getting the pin in 4:39. Zach Palmer was defeated by Osakis’s Jacob Taplin by a 5-2 decision in the consolation semifinals before taking a 5-1 decision in the fifth-place match over Aitkin’s Nathan Trotter.