BRAINERD — In Shane Carlson’s first wrestling action of the season he proved why he’s ranked in the top five for his class. The Brainerd senior won the Paul Bunyan Tournament for the second consecutive year at 189 pounds Saturday, Dec. 14, at Brainerd High School.
ADVERTISEMENT Carlson faced Pierz’s Jayden Zajac in the finals and won in a 5-2 decision. After a scoreless first period, Carlson forced a reversal and recorded a takedown with three seconds left to take a 5-1 lead. “I’ve wrestled the Pierz kid a lot before at other tournaments and my biggest thing was to stay in good position and not make stupid mistakes,” Carlson said.
“It feels good to win the tournament in my hometown and in my first matches of the year. It’s a really good way to start the season” Carlson began his day with a 10-8 decision over Detroit Lakes’ Ryan Francis in the semifinals. In the quarterfinals, he recorded a 17-2 technical fall over Pierz’s Bradly Tanner.
Carlson is currently Class 3A’s fifth-ranked wrestler at 189. He did not wrestle when Brainerd participated in the St. Michael-Albertville Tournament last week.
“There are not too many people who have won the Paul Bunyan Tournament back-to-back, so I think it’s something cool to remember in Brainerd wrestling history,” Carlson said. Brainerd’s William Dircks won at 107. He faced off against Pierz’s Rylan Gruber in the final.
Dircks walked away with a 12-1 major decision. In the semifinals, Dircks won with an.