Blain Swenson has season ended with pair of opening-night losses in his first-ever State Tournament

Waukon wrestling 182-pound senior Blain Swenson had his season and high school wrestling career brought to a close with a pair of losses on the opening night in his first-ever qualification for the Class 2A State Tournament in Des Moines Thursday, February 16. Swenson opened the season grand finale with a 9-3 loss to fellow Northeast Iowa Conference mat senior Alex Koehler of Charles City (24-12). That loss forced Swenson to have to wrestle again that same Thursday night in a first-round consolation battle against fourth-rated senior Kyle Benson of Sergeant Bluff-Luton (46-8), who lost by opening-round fall in 3:47 to ninth-rated Dubuque Wahlert junior Boone McDermott (32-5). Swenson took Benson down first in the match, but Benson was able to work a second period reversal that he eventually turned into a fall in 2:34 and an end to Swenson's State Tournament debut. For complete coverage of Swenson's State Wrestling Tournament experience, see the February 22 edition of The Standard.