Park senior Zack Carr ended the 2026 MSHSL individual state wrestling tournament on a high note.

Carr scored a 7-3 decision in the third-place match at 152 pounds to cap a remarkable senior season in the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.

“It means a lot,” said Carr. “Because last year, I did come down with a sickness last year and only got to wrestle one match here, and it's just nice getting actually rolled through a state tournament with a couple wins here and going for third place. Now it's really something I've been looking forward to since my freshman year.”

With more the 200 wrestling wins in his Park career, Carr was a four-time state competitor for the Wolfpack, finishing fourth in 2023 at 120 pounds and then third this season at 152.

Carr (46-4) opened the tournament with a fall in 2:27 over Nathan Granberg (34-17) of Wayzata. Carr then scored a 4-2 decision over Sam Hamer (32-11) of Northfield in the championship quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals.

But in the Class AAA state semifinals, Carr dropped a controversial and very tough 2-1 decision to Brainerd’s Easton Dircks (40-3), who went on the finish second in the tournament.

“So the stall in the first or second period end up costing us,” said Park head coach Jim LaBrosse after the semifinal match. “Because when he went down to move his shoelace or tuck it back in, the ref said, you can't do that. And that was the one that gave him (Dricks) that extra point. But the one that really hurt was the takedown. When he got hurt, we felt he had the takedown, and they called the injury time, and that should have been called after the takedown, so that really hurt.

“It was just a couple of really close technical calls,” LaBrosse added. “And, you know, the rules are set up for kids to kind of let them decide the match, and it would have been nice to see that gold over time, so, but it is what it is, and we're coming back today, and I'm proud of it. Super proud.”

That moved Carr into the consolation round where he made hay. Carr scored a 7-3 decision over Zachary Johnson (44-6) of Blaine in the consolation semifinals. Then in the third-place finals Carr scored another 7-3 win, this time taking down Kenny Farrario (33-9) of St. Francis.

Asked what his future wrestling plans were.

“I have a couple offers here,” Carr said. “I'm visiting Augustana next week, going to see how that is, see what they're offering, check out campus. My teammate is over there right now, loves it. Gunner Mullen, okay, he's up there. He's having fun.”

115 pounds

At 114 pounds, Park sophomore Nolan Bloch (32-14) lost by fall in the opener to eventual champion Landon Thoennes (47-2) of St. Michael-Albertville in 3:05, then dropped a 7-5 decision in the consolation semifinals to Evan Boesch (30-18) of Centennial.

145 pounds

Park’s 145-pound sophomore Landen Brooks (17-5) opened the tournament with a 12-6 decision over Joseph Rippie (30-12) of Rosemount to advance to the second round. There, Brooks lost a 10-1 major decision to undefeated and 2026 state champion Lincoln Robideau (51-0) of St. Michael-Albertville.

Moved to the consolation bracket, Brooks dropped a tough 4-3 decision to Ryan Collins (42-11) of Albert Lea.

215 pounds

At 215, Park senior Jesse Wright (24-14) was pinned in 51 seconds by Cohen Lumby of Stillwater (36-5) in the opener. Wright was then eliminated in the consolation semifinals, losing by a 22-5 technical fall to Sawyer Nemitz (31-15) of Waconia.

“We're expecting four or five, but to get four through was good,’ said LaBrosse. “We kind of had a tough year this year, so we had a lot of off the mat issues, but we cleaned some things up and got the kids here. Nolan Bloch missed out last year, so it's good to get him here at 114 for some good state experience for next year. Landen Brooks fell short this year, and I think we can get him on the podium next year.

“And 215, just happy to get him here,” LaBrosse continued. “But Carr. Carr’s been our man all year, right? He's been carrying the team all year, 200 plus wins, four times state entry, two-time state all state. I can't say enough about him, but he came back, lost really close to him last night to Brainerd. That one hurt. We were hoping to get him in the finals, obviously, but that didn't happen. So for him to come back and show composure and wrestle like he did here.”

Team tournament

In the Class AAA team tournament Thursday, St. Michael-Albertville breezed to another team title, pinning Brainerd 53-11, Hastings 45-12 and Shakopee 46-18. Stillwater of the Suburban East Conference finished third with a 58-10 win over Hastings.