Bears have one of three make podium at State

English Valleys sent a trio of wrestlers to the State tournament February 14 through February 16 with Cooper Andreassen, Caleb Peach and John Fisher having qualified with their runners-up finishes at the Montezuma District meet the weekend prior. Andreassen wound up finishing in fifth place at 152 lbs. and Fisher took ninth at 195 lbs. with all three rounding out their EV careers.

Andreassen matched up with the top seeded Brady Henderson of North Linn in the first round and fell behind 8-1 through two periods. He was unable to pick up any other points en route to a 13-1 loss, sending him to the consolation side of the bracket. From there, every match going forth was threatening to be his last, not only for the tournament but also as a Bear.

He flipped the script in round two, facing off against Cory Stewart of Highland. A quick five points put him in the lead, and he continued to surge with near-falls while being taken down once but still lead 10-2. Andreassen kept the pedal to the metal with a near pin and tacked on another seven points in the process, cruising to a 17-4 decision.