A trio of Bullermans represented Adrian High School at the Minnesota State Class A Wrestling Championships at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul last week. Tyler Bullerman (center) won his second consecutive state championship at 171 pounds. Lance Bullerman (left) went 3-1 and placed third at 145 pounds to cap his AHS career. Freshman Dusty Bullerman (right) went 0-2 without placing at 125 pounds.
By John Rittenhouse
While some tasks become easier with repetition, winning a state wrestling championship isnÕt one of them.
Still, when the mats were cleared after the Minnesota State Class A Individual Championships at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul Saturday night, there stood Adrian's Tyler Bullerman.
Bullerman was wearing his medal for being a repeat champion at 171 pounds, and he was experiencing mixed emotions after winning his title match that evening.
On one hand, he was overwhelmed with joy to be Adrian's third wrestler to finish a season as an undefeated state champion and the school's second repeat champion.
On the other hand, he felt relieved from the pressure that increased with every bout during what ended as a 41-0 campaign.
"It feels pretty good, but I'm glad to have it over with," Bullerman said from his home near Rushmore Monday night. "There is a lot of pressure up there (at state). I would say winning (a state title) was just as tough this year as it was last year. I did wrestle against a couple of the same kids as I did last year, but it wasn't any easier. It was tough the whole way."
Considering he was wrestling with a sore right ankle that he sprained during the Section 3A meet the week before, the deck seemed stacked against Bullerman last weekend. Instead of getting the chance to hone his mat skills in the days leading up to his title chase, Bullerman had to prepare in a different way.
"I sprained my ankle in the section finals, and I didn't get to practice at all last week. I rode a lot of (stationary) bike to make weight, and I took a lot of ibuprofen (for the pain)," he admitted.
When it came time to demonstrate their skills at the state tournament, no wrestler showed more heart at 171 pounds than the Adrian senior.
Bullerman opened his title defense by posting respective 4-2 and 5-4 wins over Kimball Area's Libbesmeier and St James' Lance Larson during ThursdayÕs preliminary and quarterfinal rounds.
Both wins were big as Libbesmeier was ranked No. 2 and Larson No. 4 behind No. 1 Bullerman prior to the tournament.
Wabasha-Kellogg's Josh Passe, ranked No 7 entering the event, squared off against Bullerman in FridayÕs semifinals. Bullerman came out on top of a 3-1 decision.
Bullerman took on Pierz's Dan Britz in Saturday's championship match, and Bullerman turned in his most impressive effort of the weekend by rolling to a 10-3 win to reach a milestone of completing an undefeated season.
"Coming into the year, it was one of my goals to be undefeated. It was nice to reach that goal," Bullerman offered.
By winning a state championship, Bullerman earned a spot on the Team Minnesota roster and will compete at the Minnesota-Wisconsin Classic (a wrestling competition made up of state champions and state runners-up) in River Falls, Wis., tomorrow, and at Augsburg College in Minneapolis Saturday.
He also plans to take part in the National High School Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio, later this month. State champions and runners-up from all 50 states are invited to that competition, and Bullerman is setting his sights on placing in the top eight to earn All-American status.
After those two events, Bullerman's wrestling future is undecided. He plans to wrestle at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Augustana College, Sioux Falls, or South Dakota State University, Brookings, next year.
Bullermans abound
Tyler Bullerman was joined by cousins Lance and Dusty Bullerman at the state tournament last weekend.
Lance Bullerman made a bid to join Tyler in the winner's circle at event's end before settling for a second-place finish at 145 pounds.
Lance Bullerman, another AHS senior, was making his second appearance in the state individual tournament after going 0-2 there as a junior. He went 3-1 to cap a 33-3 season.
Lance opened the tournament by pinning Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton's Ben Daschner in 1:38 and posting a 7-0 decision victory over Abe Olson during Thursday's first two rounds. Olson was representing the Trinity School at River Ridge.
Bullerman earned a berth in Saturday's championship match by securing a 4-0 decision win against Olgilvie's Matt Houtsma during Friday's semifinals.
Medford's Mitch Kulhlman, a defending state champion, ended Lance's title run by blanking the Dragon 7-0 in the finals.
Dusty Bullerman, a freshman, capped a 31-9 campaign by going 0-2 at state.
Dusty dropped a 7-2 decision to Menahga-Sebeka's Austen Rife, who eventually placed fifth at 119 pounds, on Thursday.
When Rife won his second match Thursday, Bullerman gained entry into Friday's wrestle backs, where he lost a 4-0 decision to St. James' Shane Johnson.