Woodbury's quest for a team section championship fell just short on Friday, as the Royals were edged by Hastings in the section final dual 33-29.

In the opener against East Ridge, the Royals were dominant, taking 11 of 14 matches.  Alex Braun opened up the dual with a pin, and Brad Little, Ryan Holt and Will Bents followed up with forfeit wins.  Cade Johnson won by fall in just under a minute, Sebastian Zamorano won a tech fall and Dave Hawley won a major decision.  Finally, Omar Abdelal (fall), Tre Hockenberger (fall), Mason Barrows (forfeit) and Denis Tokin (forfeit) swept through the final five matches to make the final score 63-15 in favor of the Royals.

In the semifinal against Eagan, Braun and Little started with falls and Ryan Holt won a tough and bloody decision.  Bents and Johnson both pinned their opponents in under 50 seconds to give the Royals an early 27-0 lead through five matches.  Eagan, however, took the next four matches to narrow the lead to 27-19.  But Ahmed Abdelal (major decision), Omar Abdelal (decision), Tre Hockenberger (decision) and Mason Barrows (fall) gave the Royals a cushion and the final score was 46-22 in favor of Woodbury.

The final against Hastings would be a classic.  Braun (decision) and Little (fall) gave Woodbury an early 9-0 lead, and Bents (decision) and Johnson (fall) made the score 18-6.  Hastings tied the score at 18 through 145 pounds and Zamorano would give the Royals a 23-18 lead with a technical fall.  But Hastings would take the next 3 decisions to take a 27-23 lead with 3 matches to go.

Hockenberger and Barrows won decisions to give Woodbury a 29-27 lead but Hastings took the final match by fall to win the section final and a berth at the State Team Tournament, 33-29.

Woodbury finishes the season with a 17-10 dual record and now the guys prep for Saturday's individual section tournament at Park High School.  Wrestlers placing 1st or 2nd at their weight earn a trip to the Xcel Energy Center and the State Individual Tournament held February 28-29.  Action starts at Park HS on Saturday at 10:00am.