Seven Bemidji Wrestlers Advance to Class 3A State; Four Win First Matches

Senior Gabe Morin, senior Nick Strand, junior Nehemiah Schwinghammer and junior Taylor Merschman won first-round bouts for Bemidji at the Class 3A individual state tournament in St. Paul on Feb. 25, 2026, while teammates Ozzie Hanks, Brenalen Fredriksen-Holm and Mercy McIntyre fell and moved to the consolation bracket. The seven qualifiers represented Bemidji Area Schools among the roughly 30 area athletes headed to state this season.

Bemidji’s seven state qualifiers included juniors Taylor Merschman (106 lb), Brenalen Fredriksen-Holm (112 lb) and Mercy McIntyre (heavyweight; wrestled at 235 lb), plus boys Ozzie Hanks (107 lb), Gabe Morin (133 lb), Nick Strand (139 lb) and Nehemiah Schwinghammer (285 lb). Lakeland PBS noted Merschman was the lone Lady Lumberjack section champion at 106 lb and that the title was her third section crown after wins at 100 lb in 2024 and 2025. Lakeland PBS also reported that Strand and Morin each claimed their fourth straight section titles in their weight classes before advancing to St. Paul.

BemidjiPioneer game coverage recorded the first-round results: Morin defeated Irondale’s Arlo Brinkman 10-2 by major decision at 133 lb; Strand posted a 19-2 technical fall over Rochester Century’s Keegan Thoma at 139 lb; Schwinghammer pinned Centennial’s Brayden Boesch in 3:28 at 285 lb; and Merschman pinned Eagan’s Elouise Snook in 1:24 at 106 lb. Hanks lost at 107 lb to Wayzata’s Gavin Hoeft by a 19-2 technical fall and will wrestle in consolation on Friday; Fredriksen-Holm was pinned by Triton’s Adriana Kunz in 1:36 at 112 lb and will go to consolation Friday; McIntyre was pinned by St. Paul Harding’s Charlize-McCharisma Laban in 1:14 at 235 lb and also advances to the consolation bracket.

Strand and Morin framed the state trip as the culmination of long runs through section competition. Strand said, “95% of it’s mental. You’ve put in all the work, all throughout the year, so the condition your body is in right now, it doesn’t matter what you do from now on. In the hindsight, it’s all mental at this point, so having a good mentality on everything.” He added, “I treat all my opponents the same no matter their record, their size. I got my game plan going into it and I’m gonna stick to it.” Morin said, “It’s obviously hard every year to get through that tournament, but the main goal is to just go down at state and see how much damage you could do. State’s a lot more fun. I feel like just letting loose and just having fun out there my last year, see if I get farther than I have before and hopefully get to the finals there.”

Regional context across Section 8AAA and neighboring districts shows wide representation at state: West Central Tribune reported 30 area athletes, 26 boys and 4 girls, earned state berths. Wctrib’s Section 8AAA roundup listed Landen Kassel as the 107-pound section champion after a 12-1 major decision over Bemidji’s wrestler listed as “Oscar Hanks,” Cavin Carlson beating Moorhead’s Dalton Humeniuk 10-1 at 160 lb, Caiden Kassel falling to Buffalo’s Gabriel Roehl by fall at 5:23 at 127 lb, and Lawson Anez losing an 18-3 tech fall to St. Cloud’s Sutton Kenning at 215 lb.

Sources differ on two factual details: Lakeland PBS and BemidjiPioneer use the spelling Ozzie Hanks for the 107-lb Bemidji wrestler while West Central Tribune lists him as Oscar Hanks, and arena naming varies with Lakeland PBS identifying “Grand Casino Arena” in St. Paul and West Central Tribune calling the site “Grand Island Arena - formerly the Xcel Energy Center.” Lakeland PBS set the event schedule, stating, “The individual round of 16 will be on Friday morning for all boys’ classes and the girls. The quarters and semis will be Friday, Feb. 27 with championship bouts scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, Feb. 28.”

Hanks, Fredriksen-Holm and McIntyre will return to the mats in consolation on Friday as Bemidji’s winners prepare for deeper bracket rounds through the scheduled Feb. 27-28 championship sessions in St. Paul.