State wrestling: Day 3 tidbits

Le Sueur-Henderson's run through the Class A state tournament has not only been impressive but rather unexpected.

You didn't hear a lot about the Giants during the regular season because they didn't have the depth in their lineup to beat many of the top A or AA teams in southern Minnesota. It's obvious to everyone now, however, that LSH had a handful of awfully good wrestlers this season.

The Giants came to the state tournament in St. Paul represented by four wrestlers and each of them will be placing among the top six wrestlers in his weight class. Second-ranked junior Josh Willaert (171) and third-ranked sophomore Brett Pfarr (140) have both wrestled their way to championship matches. Fourth-rated senior Sam Lindgren (152) and seventh-ranked junior Brett Schwartz (130) are in fifth-place matches.

Congratulations go out longtime St. James assistant coach Dwight Burman. At that annual Minnesota High School Coaches Association brunch this morning he was named the State Assistant Coach of the Year.

"He's carried me all these years, and then some,"said St. James head coach Gene Hildebrandt, who did everything he could to keep the honor a secret from Burman until the brunch.

Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial goes up against Paynesville for the consolation team title this morning in Class A. Paynesville is coached by Arlington native Tim Woehler.

LCWM is coached by Mankato native Andre Harnitz. Although the four-day tournament is a stressful grind for both wrestlers and coaches, Harnitz says he revels in it.

"I love wrestling so this is just a lot of fun for me," he said Friday, shortly after his team beat Border West. "I look forward to this all year. This is a like a mini-Spring Break for me."

Anyone looking to mix in a little culture with their wrestling in St. Paul today should consider stopping over at the James J. Hill Reference Library in St. Paul. The library is located right next to Xcel Energy Center and currently features an exhibit of massive black and white landscape photos by reknowned photographer Clyde Butcher.

I snuck over during a break in Friday's wrestling action and was impressed. The detail and his use of light is amazing.

The James J. Hill library is located in the same building as the St. Paul Central Library just outside the front door of RiverCenter. The exhibit is free and runs from 1 to 5 p.m today. If you can't make it today, the photos will remain on display through April 15.