Austin’s Winkels finishes second at 285 pounds at state
Published 9:30 pm Saturday, March 1, 2025
Austin's Sam Winkels took second place at the state meet Saturday. Photo provided by Dayna Winkels
Austin's Sam Winkels wrestles at the state meet. Photo provided by Dayna Winkels
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Austin senior Sam Winkels went out with his best finish as a Packer as he finished in second place at 285-pounds in the Class AA state wrestling meet in Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul Saturday.
Winkels dropped the title match 5-1 to Logan Bender of Chisago Lakes, who also won the 285-pound title last year.
Winkels took a 1-0 lead with an escape with 47 seconds left in the second period, but Bender outscored him 5-0 in the third period as he scored an escape and a takedown.
Bender, a Northern Illinois University commit, finished with a record of 32-0 overall and Winkels, a St. Cloud State University commit, finishes with a record of 47-3 overall.
The last time an Austin wrestler competed in a state title match was when Michael Hirsch took second at 189-pounds in 2010. The last Packer wrestler to win a state title was TJ Parlin at 130-pounds in 2004.
Winkels defeated Ian Larrabee of Hibbing 17-0 in the semifinals.
