STEELE SPORTS

With the Section 2A dual between Medford and Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial (LCWM) tied 30-30 heading into the final match at 285 pounds, Medford’s Mason Degrood had nowhere to hide.

The winner goes to state and continues a run that could potentially end with a state title, while the loser gets a second-place medal and their dreams dashed.

“Before the match, everyone was coming up to me like, ‘You got this. We believe in you.’ I thought, ‘Oh my god, they’re cursing me,’” said Degrood jokingly.

As he stepped onto the mat with Medford’s fate on his shoulders, the match quickly became real for the second-year wrestler.

After going back and forth through the first two periods and trading leads, Degrood had a brush with an early exit when LCWM’s Dietrich Rosin nearly caught him in a cradle.

“He cradled me and instantly when he got it, I was like, ‘Oh no.’ But I got out of it, flipped him, went a point ahead and got it done for my team.”

Degrood’s escape-takedown sequence would end up putting him one point up on LCWM’s Rosin, and with smart decision-making and a tough ride until the final whistle, Degrood sent the Tigers to state with a 7-6 decision win.

“It’s really not my dream. I like to be up by about 20 when the heavyweights go out there,” said Medford head coach Dennis Whitman laughingly. “But Mason came through in the clutch. There’s a lot of pressure going into that third period. I know I wouldn’t want the dual to fall on my shoulders, but for him to come through with that win is pretty special.”

According to Whitman, the result was not only a special performance, but the result of a season’s work.

“We’ve talked before every dual. Everyone knows how important every match is and how hard we’ve worked all year. When it came down to it, we knew that this was our moment. So when Mason hit the mat we just said, ‘Hey, go on out there and let’s get this,” said Whitman.

With the win, Medford will advance to the Class A state tournament, scheduled to be held at the Xcel Energy Center on Thursday, March 2.

Class A matches will begin immediately following the Class AAA quarterfinal round scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on March 2.