Park wrestling: Park duo shows potential

The results didn’t come for Park freshman Colin LaBrosse and junior David Giadyu but they showed they belonged at the Class 3A state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center.

LaBrosse lost both his matches but nearly pulled out a victory in his opening match against Mound Westonka’s Sam Bennyhoff in a 7-5 loss where LaBrosse suffered a shoulder injury near the end of the match. Bennyhoff went on to the championship match where he fell to Apple Valley’s Malou Woiwor.

LaBrosse got into the wrestlebacks after Lakeville North’s Collin Degrammont suffered a concussion in his previous match. LaBrosse got another match in wrestlebacks and faced Owatonna’s Brandon Moen. Moen, ranked fifth at 113 pounds, came up with a 10-1 victory to end LaBrosse’s first state tournament.

“He wanted to quit, but he knew what his goal was which was to be all-state,” Wolfpack co-head coach Scott Hallock said. “He was happy with what he accomplished. He got into three different scrambles and those scrambles, if he wins two out of the three of them, he’s an all-state wrestler.”

The shoulder injury in his first match continued to hinder what LaBrosse could do on the mat.

“It stopped me a lot from me doing my stuff so I had to change it up,” LaBrosse said.

The tournament experience also left LaBrosse wanting more for next year.

Giaydu echoed those sentiments after just getting one match and a good one at that in his first trip to the state tournament.

“It showed me I can hang with anyone,” Giaydu said of the state experience. “I always knew that I could beat anyone.”

Giadyu almost knocked off eighth-ranked Brandon Strong from Minneapolis South in his match at 145 pounds, but fell 5-3. The match remained tied 3-3 late into the third period before Strong took advantage on a shot from Giadyu to secure the win.

“It was 3-3 and he did everything he was supposed to, to win that match,” Hollock said. “He just took a soft shot at the end of the third period and Strong took advantage of it and got his two. David’s a dangerous wrestler.”

Hollock described it as one of the more exciting matches and said he had other coaches coming up to him after the match to talk about it.

“The thing I feel bad about is he didn’t get another shot,” Hollock said. “He’s a placewinner and next year it’s amazing what can happen.”

Tags: sports, prep, park, wolfpack, updates, wrestling